Orioles prey on Tigers’ bullpen to take 2-0 edge
BALTIMORE — Down by three runs in the eighth inning, the Baltimore Orioles had every reason to believe they could rally against the Tigers.
Not only because the Orioles are capable of scoring in bunches, but more importantly, they were going up against Detroit’s leaky bullpen.
Delmon Young drove in three runs with a pinch-hit double, and Baltimore used a four-run eighth to pull out a 7-6 victory Friday for a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five AL Division Series.
Baltimore will try for a sweep in Game 3 Sunday at Detroit, when Miguel Gonzalez starts against the Tigers’ third straight Cy Young winner, David Price.
The Kansas City Royals will also be looking for a sweep Sunday after their 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels later Friday.
“It’s huge going into Detroit up 2-0,” said J.J. Hardy, who scored the Orioles’ go-ahead run with a sweeping slide. “We’ve got to go over there and do our job.”
A day after the Orioles battered Detroit relievers during an eight-run eighth that produced a 12- 3 win, they pushed the Tigers to the brink of elimination with an uprising against the beleaguered duo of Joba Chamberlain and Joakim Soria — the primary victims on Thursday night.
Peavy outpitches Strasburg in opener
WASHINGTON — Never much of a post-season performer, Jake Peavy sure outpitched Stephen Strasburg in the former No. 1 pick’s playoff debut.
Guess that October aura the San Francisco Giants proudly own has rubbed off on Peavy.
The intense right-hander took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, San Francisco’s bullpen barely held onto a lead, and the wildcard Giants won their ninth consecutive post-season game by beating Strasburg’s Washington Nationals 3-2 on Friday in an NL Division Series opener.
Peavy won the 2007 Cy Young Award but was 0-3 with a 9.27 ERA in five previous starts beyond the regular season.
This time, the 33-year-old right-hander threw 5 ⅔ scoreless innings, allowing only two hits. Buster Posey, Joe Panik and Brandon Belt drove in San Francisco’s runs.
Game 2 is Saturday, with Washington’s Jordan Zimmermann — who threw a no-hitter in the regular-season finale — facing Tim Hudson.
Cards deal Kershaw a losing hand
LOS ANGELES — Matt Carpenter hit a go-ahead, threerun double off a wilting Clayton Kershaw in an eight-run seventh inning, and the St. Louis Cardinals rallied for a 10-9 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in a fiery NL Division Series opener Friday.
It was 92 degrees at gametime, and things quickly got more heated during a surprising slugfest.
St. Louis overcame a five-run deficit against Kershaw and held on when Trevor Rosenthal blew an 100 m.p.h. fastball past Yasiel Puig with a runner on third to end a back-andforth game that lasted nearly four hours.
In a matchup of 20-games winners, Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright hit Puig with a pitch leading off the third, triggering a bench-clearing scrum.
There was shoving and shouting, but no punches were thrown.
Wainwright succumbed first on the mound, allowing six runs and 11 hits in 4 2-3 innings. But Kershaw failed once again in the post-season.
What a day for Royals’ Greg Holland
ANAHEIM, Calif. — After a cross-country scramble that included the birth of his first child, a night in the hospital and some fast talking, just getting inside Angel Stadium was quite a relief for Kansas City closer Greg Holland.
Holland capped off his wild adventure with a save Thursday night as the Royals held off the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 in 11 innings in their AL Division Series opener.
Not bad, considering he got to the ballpark in the middle of the game.
“The guy that dropped me off did a great job getting me here, but he didn’t really know where to go, and I didn’t know where to go, either,” Holland said before Game 2 on Friday night.