Baltimore Orioles conquer Detroit, begin chasing October

Chris Tillman came off the DL yesterday afternoon to lead the Baltimore Orioles to victoy in what could be the biggest win of the year.

There was a lot of uncertainty about yesterday’s game for the Baltimore Orioles with Chris Tillman back on the mound. Tillman of course was making his first start in over a month, after being on the DL. Especially facing Justin Verlander, the O’s were going to need a good pitching performance in order to win the game, the series, and to stay up in the wild card race.

And they got that good performance. Tillman’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K. There are always several different things that add up to a win or a loss. But Tillman’s effort fo the O’s yesterday cannot be downplayed. After a DL stint, this late in the season with these types of implications, and no rehab in the minors, it was borderline epic.

And Tillman had some fortune in his favor as well. As much as we’ve talked about how the Orioles struggle against pitchers like those in Houston or Oakland who throw softer, they thrive against fastball pitchers like Verlander. And Verlander pitched a decent game yesterday for the record. The O’s just got to him enough to win.

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The O’s took a 2-0 lead on Verlander in the third when Michael Bourn smacked a two-run homer. Keep in mind that the Orioles traded for Bourn in late August before the waiver trade deadline. And in an immensely important game, Bourn put the O’s on top.

The Orioles extended that lead to 3-0 on Jonathan Schoop’s solo homer in the fourth, however Detroit closed to within 3-1 with Ian Kinsler’s RBI-single in the fifth. However that’s as close as Detroit was able to get. Tillman performed valiently throughout the game, sending Detroit hitters back to the dugout questioning themselves. Verlander in a sense did a number on the O’s as well, but they got to him just enough to get the win.

In perhaps the most important game of the season to this point, Detroit did threaten in the last of the eighth. However reliever Mychal Givens induced perhaps the biggest double-play of the year to end the threat. Miguel Cabrera grounded into that double-play, and the threat was over. At the end of the day, this was a huge reason why Charm City bested the Motor City this weekend.

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With the win, the O’s took two-of-three in Detroit. They’re now tied with Toronto for the first wild card spot, with Detroit two games back. The Orioles are also two games out of first, behind Boston – which is the next stop on the road trip.

However the fact remains that this team took two-of-three in a series against a team that was and still is nipping at their heels. Detroit may well still come back and overtake the O’s, however the Birds made the road all the more difficult for them. In a series Detroit needed to win, Oriole pitching brought them to their knees.

Next: Baltimore Orioles: Home run donnybrook wins it for the O's

As I said above, the O’s now head to Boston for another huge series. Wade Miley will make the start tonight in game one and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s David Price. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.