Matt Vierling had three hits and four RBIs as the Detroit Tigers never trailed in a 7-4 victory against the visiting Baltimore Orioles in the first game of Saturday’s split doubleheader.
Zack Short belted a solo homer among his three hits and Eduardo Rodriguez (2-2) allowed one run on four hits in 5 2/3 innings for the Tigers.
Vierling’s four runs batted in matched his total from his first 21 games this season. That helped Detroit win for the third time in its last nine games.
Jorge Mateo launched a three-run homer for the Orioles, who saw their four-game road winning streak come to a halt.
Baltimore brought the potential tying run to the plate with two outs in the ninth inning against Alex Lange. The threat was dashed when Ryan Mountcastle struck out, however.
The teams were set to return to the field in a couple of hours for the second game on Saturday. The doubleheader was necessary after Friday’s postponement due to inclement weather.
Dean Kremer (2-1) took the loss after yielding five runs on 11 hits in five innings for Baltimore, which had won nine of its previous 10 games.
Detroit opened the scoring with three runs in the first inning, the first run coming on Javier Baez’s single and the next two on Vierling’s single.
It was 4-1 in the third inning before Vierling doubled in a run. His seventh-inning double plated another run for a 6-1 edge.
Mateo smacked his fifth homer of the season — and his second in a three-game stretch in which he has played — with two outs in the eighth inning.
Short’s first homer of the season halted that momentum in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Rodriguez threw 98 pitches, so his innings total was his shortest in his last four outings.
Mountcastle and Anthony Santander each had two hits for the Orioles.
–Field Level Media
