Tigers 7, Orioles 3
BALTIMORE (AP) - Alex Avila homered and had a career-high five RBIs to back an effective pitching performance by Justin Verlander, and the Detroit Tigers ended the Baltimore Orioles' unbeaten run with a 7-3 victory Wednesday night.
Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez also connected for the Tigers, who became the first team this season to score more than one run against Baltimore.
Derrek Lee hit his first homer with the Orioles and Vladimir Guerrero got his first RBI. But Baltimore came up short in a bid to match the franchise-record 5-0 start of the 1970 squad that went on to win the World Series.
Avila, who came in batting .100, doubled in two runs in the fourth inning, hit a two-run homer in the fifth and added an RBI single in the eighth.
Verlander (1-0) gave up three runs and four hits in eight innings, striking out nine and walking two. He is 6-0 with a 2.64 ERA in eight career starts against Baltimore, including 4-0 at Camden Yards.
Orioles starter Brad Bergesen (0-1) allowed four runs, two earned, and five hits in 3 2-3 innings. His performance raised the ERA of Baltimore's starting staff from 0.69 to 1.21
Bergesen pitched in place of Jeremy Guthrie, who was released from the hospital Wednesday after being treated for a high fever. Guthrie hopes to rejoin the rotation Sunday against Texas.
Baltimore made only one error in its first four games, then committed two in the second inning to provide Detroit with a 2-0 lead. After second baseman Brian Roberts dropped a two-out popup to short right field, Bergesen walked Jhonny Peralta and threw wildly to second on an attempted pickoff. Avila followed with a double off the right-field scoreboard.
Prior to that, the Orioles had not trailed in any game this season.
After Avila's first homer of the season made it 4-0 in the fourth, Lee connected in the bottom half following a one-out walk to Nick Markakis.
Cabrera and Martinez homered in succession in the fifth inning off Josh Rupe.
Guerrero made it 6-3 with an RBI single in the sixth, but he was thrown out by Avila trying to advance on the throw to the plate.
NOTES: Attendance was 12,451, a significant drop from the sellout crowd of 46,593 at Baltimore's home opener Monday. ... Orioles LF Luke Scott missed a third straight game with groin tightness. He was available to pinch hit. ... Magglio Ordonez went 2 for 4 to raise his lifetime batting average against Baltimore to .343. ... Lee's homer was his first in the AL. He has 313 career HRs. ... Cabrera was credited with a ninth-inning single when his hard grounder became wedged in the webbing of third baseman Mark Reynolds.
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