Nelson Cruz had two hits, including a two-run homer in the first inning, and knocked in three runs to lift the Orioles to a 12-3 victory over the Tigers in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Thursday.
Tigers vs. Orioles, 2014 ALDS Game 1 final score: Nelson Cruz leads Baltimore’s offensive onslaught in 12-3 rout
The Orioles jumped on Max Scherzer early and put together a big inning late to take a 1-0 lead in the ALDS.
With two outs in the opening frame, Cruz smacked a first-pitch fastball from Tigers starter Max Scherzer over the wall in right-center field to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. It was Cruz's 15th career postseason homer, and seventh against the Tigers. He added an RBI single as part of a huge eighth inning for Baltimore that turned a close game into a laugher.
Detroit followed Cruz's early blast with back-to-back solo home runs from Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez off of Baltimore starter Chris Tillman to tie the game in the top of the second after Tillman struck out the side to begin the game. The Orioles bounced back with a run in the bottom half of the inning to regain the lead and got some insurance a few frames later when J.J. Hardy took Scherzer deep for his first career playoff long ball.
Miguel Cabrera hit an opposite-field homer -- the ninth of his postseason career, setting a franchise record -- off of Orioles set-up man Darren O'Day in the eighth inning to pull the Tigers to within a run. That came after Ian Kinsler, who began the inning with an infield single, was doubled off of first base on Torii Hunter's line out. Baltimore closer Zach Britton recorded the final out of the inning before the onslaught began.
The Orioles sent 12 batters to the plate and scored eight runs in the eighth. Jonathan Schoop and Alejandro De Aza each had two-run doubles as part of the late explosion. The big inning, which lasted nearly 35 minutes, allowed Baltimore to set a franchise record for runs in a postseason game.
Tillman made it through only five innings, but the Orioles' ace worked around the two solo homers to notch six strikeouts and exit with a one-run lead. Baltimore got great relief work from Andrew Miller, who picked up five key outs -- three of which came via punch-out -- to bridge the gap to the back-end of the bullpen.
Scherzer settled down nicely between the second and seventh innings, allowing only one baserunner during that time, but the home runs killed him. The defending AL Cy Young winner’s night ended after seven frames, during which he allowed four runs on six hits while striking out six batters.
Wei-Yin Chen will try to give the Orioles a 2-0 series lead on Friday when he takes the mound against Justin Verlander in Game 2 at 12 p.m. ET.
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