Tigers 9, Orioles 8
BALTIMORE -- Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run homer to lead a 16-hit Detroit attack, and the Tigers held off a late rally and snapped Baltimore's five-game winning streak with a 9-8 victory over the Orioles on Thursday night.
Cespedes finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs. The left fielder singled twice and scored three runs. Cespedes batted third, and the top two hitters in the Detroit lineup, second baseman Ian Kinsler and shortstop Jose Iglesias, both went 3-for-5 as well.
Designated hitter J.D. Martinez hit two doubles and drove in three runs, and center fielder Rajai Davis added a two-run triple as the Tigers (50-52) raced to a 7-0 lead in the fourth inning.
Detroit starter Alfredo Simon (10-6) got the win while facing his former team for the first time. The right-hander gave up four runs on just two hits -- two-run homers from center fielder Adam Jones and right fielder Chris Davis -- in 5 2/3 innings.
Simon left with a 9-4 lead, but the Orioles got a two-run single from Chris Davis in the seventh, and pinch hitter Matt Wieters followed with an RBI single to make it 9-7.
Baltimore (51-50) cut the lead to 9-8 in the eighth on third baseman Manny Machado's RBI grounder, but the Orioles left the tying run at third and could do no more.
Detroit right-hander Alex Wilson, who came on to escape a jam in the eighth, pitched the final 1 2/3 innings and earned his first major league save.
With the victory, the Tigers ended a tough day on a positive note. Detroit traded left-hander David Price to the Toronto Blue Jays early in the afternoon and dealt right-handed closer Joakim Soria to the Pittsburgh Pirates just before the game.
Manager Brad Ausmus said before the game that his team would need to regroup and keep going because it is still in the battle for one of the American League's wild-card spots, and the Tigers did just that.
Detroit knocked out Baltimore starter Miguel Gonzalez (9-7) after just 3 1/3 innings. He allowed five runs on 10 hits as the Tigers repeatedly pounded him.
The Tigers didn't waste any time jumping on top. Martinez's two-run double in the first off Gonzalez gave Detroit a 2-0 lead. The Tigers got four hits in that inning and forced Gonzalez to throw 30 pitches.
Detroit broke the game open with five runs in the fourth. Davis lined a two-run triple to right and scored when Kinsler ended Gonzalez's night with an RBI single that boosted the lead to 5-0.
Right-hander Bud Norris replaced Gonzalez and picked off Kinsler -- who previously was thrown out at third by Chris Davis in the first inning when his foot came off the bag after his slide.
Iglesias then doubled and came in on Cespedes' two-run homer that gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead.
Detroit got 12 hits in the first four innings. The Orioles went hitless until Jones belted a two-run homer to left in the fourth, making it 7-2.
NOTES: Orioles RHP Chris Tillman rolled his right ankle while covering first base late in Wednesday's win over the Braves. He is getting treatment, and there is no word yet on how it might affect his next start, scheduled for Monday in Oakland. ... The Orioles came into the game first in the major leagues with 28 outfield assists, and RF Chris Davis added one in the first inning. ... Tigers LHP Daniel Norris, acquired Thursday from the Blue Jays in a deal for LHP David Price, will take his turn in the rotation Sunday in the finale of the four-game series. ... 3B Mike Hessman of Detroit's Triple-A Toledo affiliate tied the record for homers in the minor leagues set by Buzz Arlett (1918-37) with the 432nd of his career Wednesday.