Major League Baseball
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Detroit 7, Baltimore 6
When: 1:08 PM ET, Saturday, April 5, 2014
Where: Comerica Park, Detroit, Michigan
Temperature: 41°
Umpires: Home - Gary Cederstrom, 1B - Kerwin Danley, 2B - Lance Barksdale, 3B - Mark Ripperger
Attendance: 32041


Tigers 7, Orioles 6:
Torii Hunter homered and drove in five while Rick Porcello worked 6 2/3 strong innings as Detroit held off visiting Baltimore.

Don Kelly went 3-for-4 and added an RBI triple while Rajai Davis drove in a run for the Tigers, who have won their first four games. Porcello (1-0) allowed one run on three hits - all in the first two innings - and struck out three in his first start of the season for Detroit, which made a game of it in the ninth when three relievers combined to allow five runs.

Bud Norris (0-1) started for the Orioles and was knocked around for five runs on nine hits in five innings. Chris Davis drove in a run and scored while Steve Clevenger, Nick Markakis and Adam Jones combined for four RBIs in a five-run ninth inning for Baltimore, which has dropped four straight since opening with a win.

The Orioles pushed across a run on Davis’ single in the first and put the first two runners on in the second but Porcello induced a double play and a flyout before cruising through the rest of his outing. The Tigers struck in the third, loading the bases on three singles before Hunter ripped a 2-0 fastball off the wall in left for a three-run double.

Hunter got another fastball from Norris in the fifth and put a little more air under it, lining it over the wall in left-center for a two-run blast and a 5-1 cushion. Detroit scored two more runs in the sixth that turned out to be important when Phil Coke, Al Alburquerque and Joe Nathan struggled in the ninth, surrendering five runs before Nathan struck out Nelson Cruz and got Davis to fly to left to strand the tying run on third and pick up his first save.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Hunter went 0-for-8 in two games against the Kansas City Royals to begin the season but is 4-for-8 with a pair of home runs and six RBIs in two games against Baltimore. … Orioles SS J.J. Hardy (back spasms) returned to the lineup following a one-game absence and went 2-for-3. … Markakis started the first four games in the leadoff spot but was dropped to fifth while serving as the designated hitter on Saturday.

Top Game Performances
Starting Pitchers
Baltimore   Detroit
Bud Norris Player Rick Porcello
Loss W/L Win
5.0 IP 6.2
2 Strikeouts 3
9 Hits 3
9.00 ERA 1.35
Hitting
Baltimore   Detroit
J.J. Hardy Player Don Kelly
2 Hits 3
0 RBI 1
0 HR 0
2 TB 5
.667 Avg .750
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Hits HR TB Avg LOB K RBI BB SB Errors
Baltimore 10 0 15 .278 12 5 6 3 1 0
Detroit 13 1 20 .371 17 5 7 2 2 1