Orioles 4, Tigers 2
BALTIMORE -- Baltimore rookie Kevin Gausman allowed one run in six innings and Chris Davis hit his league-leading 20th home run of the season to lead the Orioles to a 4-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers before an announced crowd of 39,182 on Sunday at Oriole Park.
With the victory, the Orioles took the three-game series and moved into a second place tie with the New York Yankees in the American League East, two games behind Boston.
Gausman made tremendous strides from his previous two starts, when he allowed a combined 11 runs and didn't make it out of the fifth inning. The highly touted right-hander gave up one run and five hits with four strikeouts and no walks in six innings.
Davis went 2 for 4 and raised his average to .357. Prince Fielder hit his 11th home run for the Tigers.
Detroit starter Rick Porcello had an effective outing before appearing to tire in the seventh. Porcello allowed two runs and six hits with seven strikeouts and a walk.
Porcello cruised through much of the game and retired nine consecutive batters before allowing a two-out single to Nick Markakis in the sixth. The Orioles trailed 2-0 before Davis hit a solo home run to lead off the seventh.
Chris Dickerson and J.J. Hardy followed with back-to-back singles that ended Porcello's day. Phil Coke entered for Detroit and allowed a tying single to pinch-hitter Danny Valencia. Nate McLouth then provided the Orioles' first lead at 3-2 with a single up the middle.
Alexi Casilla added an insurance run for the Orioles with a two-out double in the eighth. Jim Johnson pitched a scoreless ninth for his 18th save. Brian Matusz got the win for the Orioles despite allowing a run in the seventh.
Baltimore bounced back from Saturday's 10-3 loss when starter Jason Hamel allowed three consecutive homers in the fourth inning and was then ejected for hitting the next batter. The Orioles won the series opener 7-5 on walk-off homer by Chris Dickerson in the ninth inning on Friday.
Detroit took a 1-0 lead in the fourth a two-out, solo homer by Fielder, his 11th home run of the season. It was also the eighth Tigers' homer in the three-game series.
Jjonny Peralta opened the fifth with a single and took second on a wild pitch by Gausman. He took third a fielder's choice by Alex Avila. However, Gausman got out of the inning unscathed by forcing ground outs to Ramon Santiago and Avisail Garcia.
The Tigers boosted the lead to 2-0 in the seventh when Fielder led off with a double off Brian Matusz and scored on a single by Peralta.
NOTES: Miguel Cabrera entered the game leading the major leagues with 82 hits, three more than Orioles shortstop Manny Machado. Cabrera went 1 for 4 and hit into two double plays on Sunday. Machado went 1 for 3. ... Peralta has hit safely in 38 of his last 45 games. ... The Tigers have Monday off before a six-game homestand against Tampa Bay and Cleveland. ... McLouth stole the Orioles' 15 consecutive base in the third inning. Markakis was the last to get caught on May 18. ... With Davis' homer in the seventh, Baltimore has homered 28 times in the past 13 games and have scored more runs (125) on homers than any other club in the major leagues.
