http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/04/sports/orioles-hammer-tigers-bullpen-again-in-the-eighth.html 2014-10-03 22:53:50 Orioles Hammer Tigers’ Bullpen Again Delmon Young’s pinch-hit, bases-loaded double in the eighth inning helped give Baltimore a two-games-to-none lead in its division series with Detroit. === BALTIMORE — The Detroit Tigers have some of the most imposing starting pitchers in baseball, assets that would seem to make them a formidable opponent in a playoff series. In Game 1 of this American League division series there was Max Scherzer. In Game 2 it was Justin Verlander, and in Game 3 David Price is scheduled to pitch. They are the last three A.L. Cy Young Award winners. But the Detroit bullpen is not nearly as stout, and for the second game in a row the Orioles worked their way into it in the eighth inning, coming away with wins both times. If these games lasted only seven innings, the Tigers might be in better shape. In Game 1 Thursday, Game 3 is Sunday in Detroit, where Price will make his postseason debut for the Tigers at Comerica Park, against Miguel Gonzalez. The big hit was struck by Delmon Young, the former Tiger who was pinch-hitting in the eighth with the bases loaded. He doubled on the first pitch from Joakim Soria, driving in three runs and giving the Orioles the lead. Detroit had scored in the top of the eighth to go ahead, 6-3. But in the bottom of the eighth it fell apart once again. When relief pitcher Joba Chamberlain came in to start the inning, the fans at Camden Yards cheered loudly because of what happened the night before. In Game 1, Chamberlain replaced Scherzer, and the game turned into a debacle for Detroit. Chamberlain, a former Yankee, induced two ground balls in that game, but Friday was worse. He got one out, then hit Adam Jones with a pitch. Nelson Cruz and Steve Pearce singled, with Jones scoring on the latter to make it 6-4. Chamberlain was replaced by Soria — as he was Thursday — and Soria walked J.J. Hardy, loading the bases. Then Young hit the first pitch he saw into left field, three runs came across, and the fans turned jubilant. J.D. Martinez hit a three-run home run for Detroit in the fourth inning and Nick Castellanos followed with another as the Tigers scored four times in that frame. The Tigers rocked Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen with five consecutive hits, including a double by Miguel Cabrera that hit halfway up the wall in dead center, and the back-to-back home runs by Martinez and Castellanos. Torii Hunter started it off with a single to center and went to third on Cabrera’s double. Hunter scored on a well-placed ground ball single to the left side by Victor Martinez, then Cabrera and Martinez scored on J.D. Martinez’s home run. After he touched home plate, Cabrera looked to a small pocket of friends and family members of the Tigers’ players and pumped his fists. The Orioles jumped to the early lead when Nick Markakis hit a two-run homer off Verlander in the third with Jonathan Schoop on base. The ball hit the roof of the grounds crew hut in right field and bounced back into play. Brad Ausmus, the Tigers manager, requested a review, but the call was upheld. Verlander pitched only into the sixth inning, and did not appear to want to come out of the game when Ausmus came out to make the change. It was the bottom of the sixth inning and Verlander had given up a leadoff single to Cruz. When Ausmus walked up to him, Verlander placed his glove to his face to prevent the cameras from showing what he was saying, but he eventually handed the ball to the manager and walked to the dugout. He gave up three runs and six hits, walked one and struck out four. Chen gave up five runs and seven hits in three and two-thirds innings.