Tigers welcome back familiar faces in blowout victory

This was a very different game from Monday as the Tigers beat the Orioles 14-0.

After taking their third loss in a row on Monday, the Tigers were really hoping to get out of their run of bad luck. With Troy Melton on the mound, they were looking to improve over their dismal series opener. They would be facing Dean Kremer of the Orioles. They also had a familiar face back in the lineup in Javier Baez, finally back from the IL.

Pete Alonso got a one-out walk in the top of the first, but two outs followed to leave him stranded. Kevin McGonigle got the home half going with a leadoff single, then with one out, Riley Greene walked. With two outs, Colt Keith tripled to bring two runs in and put the Tigers in an early lead. Kremer really struggled through the first inning, but he did get the final out of the inning at last.

In the second, Jackson Holliday got a one-out single, but like in the first, two outs followed to leave one runner on the base and no runs scored. With one out in the bottom of the inning, Eduardo Valencia (now the Tigers’ permanent backup catcher with the DFA of Jake Rogers), announced his arrival with a solo home run.

Javier Baez singled, then a McGonigle single got Baez to third and McGonigle to second. Gleyber Torres then doubled, bringing in two more runs. At the end of the second the Tigers were up 5-0, certainly a welcome difference from last night. Belated Squirrel Magic? Happy Baez Returns Luck? Who knows!

Yohel Pozo got a leadoff single in the top of the third, but a lineout and a double play got the Tigers out of any potential danger. In the bottom of the inning Keith took a leadoff walk. Two outs helped advance him to third, then Valencia singled to bring in another run.

The Orioles went 1-2-3 for the first time in the game in the fourth. In the home half McGonigle got a leadoff walk, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Torres then hit a home run to add two more to the Tigers’ lead. Three outs followed, but the buffer was a nice one.

Holliday must know he’s being mentioned in trade talks because this is back-to-back multiple-hit games for him. He started the fifth with a leadoff single. Three outs followed, though, ending the inning with no harm done. The O’s dipped into their bullpen in the bottom of the inning, bringing in Albert Suárez. Valencia got a two-out single, followed by a Baez single. A McGonigle single brought Valencia home.

The Orioles went 1-2-3 in the sixth. In the home half, a pinch-hitting Ben Malgeri got a leadoff single. With one out, a Keith single sent Malgeri to third. Josh Walker came in from the Orioles’ bullpen. Then Spencer Torkelson hit a sac fly to score Malgeri and put the Tigers ahead by double digits at 10-0.

With one out in the seventh, Leody Taveras walked, but a double play eliminated the runner and ended the inning. That would likely be all she wrote for Melton, with a great outing and a final line of 7.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K, on 92 pitches. With one out in the home half, Baez doubled. It seems like he’s happy to be back.

James Outman replaced him on the basepaths, likely to avoid tempting fate since he’s fresh off his rehab stint. McGonigle singled then advanced to second on an error from Coby Mayo. Torres grounded out, scoring Outman. Then, Ben Malgeri singled, bringing in another run.

Ty Madden replaced Melton in the eighth and got the O’s three-up, three-down. In the home half we got a position player pitching with Chadwick Tromp. Colt Keith walked, and was eliminated in a double play off the bat of Torkelson. McKinstry then doubled, followed by another home run for Valencia. Welcome back to the bigs, buddy.

The Tigers wrapped things up with a smooth 1-2-3 final inning. They scored in every inning where they came to bat.

Final: Tigers 14, Orioles 0