ALDS | GAME 2

BALTIMORE 7, DETROIT 6

Orioles rise up

They again batter the Tigers’ relievers to take 2- 0 lead in the series.

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 important, 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 pullout a 76 win Friday for a 2- 0 lead in the best-of- fiveALdivision series.

Baltimore will try for a sweep in Game 3 on Sunday at Detroit, when Miguel Gonzalez starts against the Tigers’ third straight Cy Young winner, David Price.

“It’s huge going into Detroit up 2- 0,” said J. J. Hardy, whoscoredthego- ahead runwith 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 Thursday night.

Itwas 6- 3 with one out in the eighth when Chamberlain hit Adam Jones with a pitch and gave up a single to Nelson Cruz. Steve Pearce singled in a run, and the towel- waving, orange- wearing fans among the sellout crowd of 48,058 sensed another comeback win by a team that won 10 games during the regular season during its final at- bat.

Soria entered and walked Hardy to load the bases for Young, who lined the first pitch into the left- field corner.

“We did it yesterday, we’ve been doing it all year against teams in our own division,” Young said. “So any time we have an opportunity and get guys on, we think we can win.”

Young went 10 for 20 as a pinch- hitter in the regular season. He also was the AL Championship Series most valuable player in 2012 for the Tigers when they swept the Yankees.

“It’s very hard to sit around and not know where the consistent at- bats are coming,” Orioles Manager Buck Showalter said. “He has done the things that you need to do to give yourself a chance to be successful.”