Joey Wentz pitched 5 2/3 shutout innings to set the tone and Akil Baddoo and Kerry Carpenter homered as the Detroit Tigers defeated the host Baltimore Orioles 3-2 on Tuesday night.
The Orioles (76-71) took another damaging loss in their quest to move into an American League wild-card spot. They have dropped 10 of their past 15 games.
Wentz (2-2), a rookie left-hander, gave up two hits while striking out four and walking two. He has made two career road starts, going 2-0 without yielding a run in 12 1/3 innings.
The Tigers (57-91) have racked up double-digit hit totals in back-to-back games. They will aim for a sweep of the three-game series on Wednesday.
Baltimore starter Austin Voth (5-3) allowed two runs and six hits in five innings, striking out three without issuing a walk.
The Orioles were held scoreless across the first 15 2/3 innings of the series until Gunnar Henderson’s two-run homer with two outs in the seventh off reliever Joe Jimenez. It was the rookie’s third long ball.
The Orioles, who left two runners on base in the sixth, stranded two more in the seventh. They were hurt by grounding into a double play in the eighth after Jesus Aguilar led off with a single, and they still put another runner on base.
Detroit’s Gregory Soto threw a perfect ninth inning to post his 26th save.
The Tigers went up 2-0 on Baddoo’s two-run home run in the third inning. It was just his second homer in 60 games this season.
Carpenter led off the seventh inning with a homer off Joey Krehbiel. It was his fifth long ball in 27 career games.
Detroit’s Jeimer Candelario, who was batting in the No. 8 spot, went 4-for-4 and Baddoo, who was in the No. 9 slot, finished 2-for-3 as the duo combined to account for more than half of Detroit’s 10 hits.
It was a rough outing for Jimenez, who recorded two outs but surrendered half of Baltimore’s six hits.
–Field Level Media