The Baltimore Orioles went into the series with the Detroit Tigers coming off of a five-game winning streak. Baltimore lost in Thursday night’s matchup, 7-5. With Kevin Gausman pitching for Baltimore, they almost were able to pull out the win on Friday. 

BALTIMORE, Md. — In the top of the first inning, Jim Aducci homered off of Gausman. It was his first of the season and it put the Tigers up 1-0. Orioles shortstop Tim Beckham answered in the second inning with a home run (14) of his own to center field off of Justin Verlander.

With the game tied at 1-1 after the second inning, Baltimore looked to pull ahead. They accomplished just that with a Manny Machado home run (19) to center field. Gausman would look sharp in his start. He would go seven innings, allowing just three hits, one run (one earned), one walk, one home run, while striking out eight. With this outing, Gausman was able to lower his ERA to 5.15 on the year.

Baltimore went into the eighth inning with a 2-1 lead and they handed the ball over to the usually reliable Mychal Givens. Givens loaded the bases in the top of the eighth with Andrew Romine, Jose Iglesias and Jim Aducci on. Justin Upton was at-bat and he looked to do some damage. Upton was able to break the game open with a grand slam, putting the Tigers up 5-2.

To put things in perspective, in 32 2/3 innings over 29 outings, dating back to May 18, the only runs that Givens has allowed have been home runs. Before this outing, Givens has had a 0.60 ERA in 26 games since May 26.

The Orioles attempted to comeback in the ensuing inning, with Beckham singling. Beckham was able to take second base on defensive indifference, putting him in scoring position. With Joey Rickard at-bat, Beckham looked to capitalize by attempting to steal third base. Despite the valiant effort, Beckham was thrown out and Rickard struck out. This resulted in the Orioles losing 5-2.

Baltimore will take on Detroit once again on Saturday at 7:05 PM. Wade Miley will take on the Tigers’ right-handed heavy lineup.

Kyle Andrews

Born in Norfolk, VA, raised in the Baltimore area and currently living there. Originally pursuing a degree in exercise science at McDaniel, Andrews became interested in sports writing. He was the sports editor of McDaniel's newspaper in 2014 and became an English major, and hasn't looked back since.

Bylines at Fox Sports 1340 AM, Bullets Forever, Baltimore Beatdown, Underdog Dynasty and many other sites.