BALTIMORE (AP) - The Baltimore Orioles found the ideal way to end a successful week that featured five wins and standout performances from two players brought on board for a potential playoff push.
Jonathan Schoop, Chris Davis and Trey Mancini homered in succession during a four-run first inning, and the Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 12-3 Sunday to complete a 5-2 homestand.
Joey Rickard and Manny Machado also connected for the Orioles, who led 8-0 after four innings and cruised to their seventh win in nine games.
The homestand began with a sweep of Kansas City, capped by a brilliant outing from right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, obtained in a July 28 trade with Philadelphia. Then, newcomer Tim Beckham led the charge against the Tigers, who won the first two games of the series before Baltimore captured the final two games.
Beckham has a hit in all six of his games since being traded from Tampa Bay and is 14 for 24 with six RBIs. He also made a great grab of a grounder for the final out Sunday.
Everyone got into the act in a blowout that took shape quickly against Anibal Sanchez (3-2).
First, Schoop hit a two-run shot. Davis then homered to deep center and Mancini hit a shot into the left-field seats.
That put Sanchez in a 4-0 hole after only 17 pitches.
“It’s really fun when you go back-to-back-to-back and you score some runs early,” Schoop said.
Machado went 4 for 5 with five RBIs, and Rickard had a career-best four hits and scored three runs.
Backed by all that firepower, Ubaldo Jimenez (5-7) earned his first win in five starts since July 9. The right-hander pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up one run and nine hits.
“It’s always fun when the guys go out there and score a lot of runs,” Jimenez said. “Our lineup is capable of doing that every single night or every single day.”
Nicholas Castellanos homered for the Tigers, who went 2 for 15 with runners in scoring position and stranded 12.
Then again, it would have taken a whole lot of offense to outdo the Orioles on this day.
“They took advantage of some mistakes,” manager Brad Ausmus said. “Sometimes you get away with them. Today we did not.”
Sanchez yielded a career-high tying eight runs and 10 hits in three-plus innings. He gave up three straight homers to Milwaukee in May 2015, but this was the first time he surrendered five in a game.
“Those guys have a lot of power,” he said. “The pitches I missed, they put on pretty good contact.”
After giving up a solo homer to Rickard and a two-run shot by Machado in the fourth, Sanchez was mercifully lifted.
Baltimore batted around in a four-run eighth that featured a two-run single by Machado.
ROSTER MOVE PENDING
Detroit SS Jose Iglesias left the team Sunday because of a death in the family and will be placed on the bereavement list. The move will be formally announced on Sunday night or Monday, Ausmus said.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Tigers: LHP Daniel Norris (groin strain) threw a bullpen session. He’s been on the DL since July 6. … 1B Miguel Cabrera was given a day off.
Orioles: INF Ryan Flaherty (shoulder), who’s been on a rehab assignment with Double-A Bowie, “is getting better little by little,” said manager Buck Showalter. … C Caleb Joseph started Sunday, showing no ill effects from getting hit the hand with a fastball Friday night.
UP NEXT
Tigers: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (7-8, 5.38 ERA) will start Monday when Detroit opens a home-and-home interleague series with the Pirates. The first two games are in Pittsburgh, the last two in Detroit.
Orioles: Baltimore launches a 10-game road trip against the Angels on Monday night. If the Orioles are to make a playoff run, they must improve on a 20-33 road record that Showalter attributes to poor starting pitching.
“Our pitching staff is doing well, we’re playing as a team,” Machado said. “We’re doing things correct. We’re finally starting to sink in, so hopefully we can take this road trip and get some more Ws.”
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