Offense backs Eflin with eight runs in late innings to seal 10-1 win over Tigers

Eflin put up his third consecutive quality start and the Orioles offense scored seven in the 8th to take down the AL-leaders, Detroit.

Starter Zach Eflin held Detroit down for 6.2 innings, and the offense exploded in the late innings, as the O’s topped the MLB-best Tigers, 10-1.

Eflin was the star Wednesday night, as the Orioles’ de facto ace delivered his third consecutive quality start, silencing the bats of baseball’s best team. It was evident that Eflin was locked in from the very first inning. He led off the game by striking out Parker Meadows looking on a changeup. He then got back-to-back groundouts on a well-executed sweeper and tailing changeup to breeze through a 1-2-3 inning.

After falling in love with his changeup over his last three starts, Eflin’s cambio was once again his best pitch against the Tigers. He got Riley Greene to roll over a change to start the 2nd, and then got another lead-off grounder on the offspeed pitch to start the 3rd.

The Tigers were like a cat chasing a laser pointer against Eflin’s change again in the 4th. Gleyber Torres pounded a 0-1 changeup to third for a 5-3 groundout to begin the inning. Then No.3 hitter Kerry Carpenter swung through a changeup that dropped off the bottom of the zone for another K.

Riley Greene would break up Eflin’s no-hit bid on a changeup, hooking a low-and-away change into center field for a single. Overall, Eflin got nine of his 20 outs via the changeup and only allowed two singles on the offspeed offering.

Eflin put up another 1-2-3 inning in the 5th, starting the inning by punching out Wenceel Pérez on a cutter up and in. Colt Keith then got jammed by a cutter, leaving him only able to fly out to left. Jake Rogers then ended the inning on another 4-3 groundout off Eflin’s excellent changeup.

The 10-year vet got the first two outs of the 6th on five pitches, and then worked around a two-out single with yet another groundout via changeup. Eflin made it through six scoreless innings on only 70 pitches, looking like he was on track for the O’s first complete game since 2022.

The complete game dreams and Eflin’s evening would end in the 7th. Spencer Torkelson started a Detroit rally by getting a lucky single on a jammed ball hit over a bare-handed catch attempt by Gunnar Henderson. Pérez then singled up the middle to give Detroit their first runner in scoring position.

Keith then blasted a double off the top of the right field scoreboard to give Detroit their only blemish on Eflin’s record. Eflin would get pinch-hitter Dillon Dingler to ground into a 5-2 fielder’s choice for his last out of his outing, as he gave way to Keegan Akin. The 31-year-old finished with a final line of 6.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB and 5 Ks.

Early on, it looked like the offense was in for another frustrating night full of wasted opportunities. Ramón Urías got the offense going in the 3rd as the Orioles began to jump on Detroit starter Casey Mize. Cedric Mullins led off the inning by pouncing on a first-pitch fastball and sending it into the right field corner for a double. Urías wasted no time bringing Ceddy home, turning on a first-pitch inside sinker and launching it onto the Splash Pad in left.

And while Ramón’s blast was certainly epic, it was undercut for the six innings by the O’s inability to hit with runners in scoring position. Through six the O’s were 1-for-12 with RISP, including wasting an opportunity with runners on first and third and no outs in the 4th.

Those painful memories were erased when the bats finally woke up in the 7th. With the O’s up 2-1, Adley Rutschman started the inning by dumping a double into the left field corner to kickstart Baltimore’s search for an insurance run. Henderson did his best State Farm impression, giving the O’s their first insurance run on a single lofted into center.

However, the fireworks didn’t truly start until the 8th. Ramón Laureano started the explosive rally with a single up the middle. Mullins then connected for his second double of the night, blasting a one-hopper off the wall in right-center, driving Laureano in from first and giving the O’s a 4-1 lead. Mullins then moved to third on a groundout from Urías and scored on a wild pitch from Tigers’ reliever Beau Brieske.

At 5-1, the O’s had all the insurance they needed. What came next was them just working out their offensive demons. Jackson Holliday reached on a single deflected off Brieske for his second infield hit of the night. Rutschman and Henderson then worked back-to-back walks to load the bases for Ryan O’Hearn.

Mr. Turn and Burn was the only O without a hit to that point, but quickly remedied that fact by slashing a two-run single into center field. Jordan Westburg, in his second game off the IL, provided the final crescendo in the fireworks show, turning on an inside fastball and sending a Weaver into the left field bleachers.

Akin, Brian Baker and Gregory Soto combined for 2.1 shutout innings as the bullpen continued their excellent run. The Baltimore pen has now only allowed one run combined over their last 30.2 innings, their longest such streak since 2015.

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Every Oriole registered at least one hit on Wednesday, and their 16 combined hits were a season high. The win over the Tigers was also only the second time the O’s have scored 10+ runs this season, with the first coming on Opening Day in Toronto. Baltimore will try to keep that offensive momentum going tomorrow night against reigning AL Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal.