Martinez homer lifts Tigers past Orioles
DETROIT -- Victor Martinez drilled a go-ahead solo homer in the eighth, lifting the Detroit Tigers past the Baltimore Orioles 4-3 on Friday at Comerica Park.
Martinez led off the inning against reliever Brad Brach (8-3) with his blast to right-center as the Tigers tied the Orioles for the second wild-card spot in the American League at 76-64. J.D. Martinez reached base four times and drove in two runs and Erick Aybar added an RBI double for Detroit.
Alex Wilson (3-0) picked up the win in relief and Francisco Rodriguez nailed down his 40th save. Starting pitcher Michael Fulmer gave up just two runs on three hits with five strikeouts in seven innings.
Jonathan Schoop hit a two-run homer for Baltimore, while Adam Jones scored a run and knocked in another. Orioles starter Kevin Gausman allowed three runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts in six innings.
Schoop's sixth-inning homer into the left-field stands pulled Baltimore within one, 3-2.
Hyun Soo Kim's bloop double and Jones' run-scoring single off Wilson tied it in the eighth.
Gausman carried a streak of 19 consecutive scoreless innings into the game. He tacked on another inning before the Tigers ended it with a two-out run in the second.
J.D. Martinez smacked a one-out single. After Justin Upton's flyout, James McCann walked and Aybar brought Martinez home with a double down the right-field line.
Detroit had runners on the corners with no one out in the third but didn't score. Gausman struck out Miguel Cabrera, then Ian Kinsler was thrown out trying to score on Victor Martinez's flyout.
Baltimore didn't have a hit until Adam Jones' bunt single in the fourth.
The Tigers loaded the bases with one out in the fifth. Gausman struck out Victor Martinez for the second out but J.D. Martinez bounced a single up the middle, knocking in Jose Iglesias and Kinsler for a 3-0 lead.
NOTES: Detroit 3B Nick Castellanos, who has been on the 15-day disabled list since Aug. 7 with a left hand fracture, is hopeful he can return to action by Sept. 18. He's been taking grounders this week but has yet to face live pitching. "Every game is important and every game I want to play," he said. "It (stinks) that I can't." ... Tigers RHP Jordan Zimmermann, who was activated off the DL earlier this week, will start Saturday's game. "I feel like I've been around long enough that I can be thrown into a situation like this," he said. ... Orioles 1B Chris Davis returned to the lineup after missing a game with a sore left hand. "(The injury) won't be gone until after the season," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. ... Baltimore RHP Darren O'Day (rotator cuff strain) will pitch a simulated game in the coming days and Showalter is hopeful he'll be activated from the DL "in the next week or so."