[Baltimore Sun] Orioles launch 5 homers, Corbin Burnes dominant in 7-1 rout of Tigers
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The Orioles’ frustration has been mounting for weeks, if not months. They took it all out on the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.
Baltimore exploded for five home runs to back Corbin Burnes’ seven dominant innings in a 7-1 series-opening win. Anthony Santander, who walked off the San Francisco Giants with a two-run homer Thursday, hit another in his first at-bat Friday to set the tone, and both Colton Cowser and James McCann left the yard twice to lead the Orioles’ most lopsided win against a team not named the Chicago White Sox since July 31.
After pitching seven shutout frames against the same Tigers lineup in his previous start, Burnes once again left Detroit helpless at the plate. He used a cutter-heavy approach to scatter two hits and rack up eight strikeouts — his most in a start since May 19 — while forcing weak contact to get himself out of the few jams the Tigers created. Burnes has put his rough month of August firmly behind him; the right-hander owns a 1.08 ERA so far in September.
Yet while the Orioles (86-68) desperately needed Burnes to return to form, the biggest contributor to their struggles over the past three months — aside from injuries — has been their lackluster offense. Before Friday, the team had not hit three home runs in a game at Camden Yards since June 27. They busted out of that slump by hitting so many homers that not only did they set a season high, but they broke a hose off the hydration station in the dugout as well.
Only a week before, the Tigers pitched a bullpen game against the Orioles that came within one out of being a no-hitter. Manager A.J. Hinch opted for the same strategy Friday to much less success. Santander made sure opener Tyler Holton gave up a crooked number when he crushed a two-run home run into the “Bird Bath” in Section 86 for his 43rd blast of the season.
The Orioles then knocked bulk reliever Keider Montero around for five runs on seven hits, including two homers each by Cowser and McCann. Cowser, whose 22 long balls this season rank third on the team and tied for second among MLB rookies, went deep to straightaway center field with his first homer before nearly reaching Eutaw Street on his second.
McCann pulled both of his to left field to make him and Cowser the first pair of Orioles teammates to have multi-homer performances in the same game since Ryan Mountcastle and Cedric Mullins on June 19, 2021. Baltimore scored all seven of its runs on homers.
With the Orioles holding a comfortable lead, manager Brandon Hyde pulled Burnes after seven innings at 91 pitches to give the ball to setup man Danny Coulombe. The left-hander made his first appearance since June 8, missing three and a half months after undergoing surgery to have bone chips removed from his elbow. He struck out the first batter he faced and worked around a pair of singles to post a scoreless eighth.
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It wasn’t until the ninth inning when the Orioles finally lost the shutout. Jacob Webb allowed an RBI single to shortstop Trey Sweeney with two outs to put the Tigers on the board, but he rebounded to get center fielder Parker Meadows to pop out and end the game.
With their magic number down to three and the New York Yankees entering the day holding a four-game lead in the American League East, the Orioles need every bit of momentum they can find over their final eight games of the regular season. It’s only two games, but the Orioles’ offense showed more life Thursday and Friday than it had in weeks.
This article will be updated.
Tigers at Orioles
Saturday, 4:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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