Orioles launch 5 homers, Corbin Burnes dominant in 7-1 rout of Tigers (2024)

The Orioles’ frustration has been mounting for weeks, if not months. They took it all out on the Detroit Tigers on Friday night.

Baltimore exploded for five home runs to back ace Corbin Burnes’ seven dominant innings in a 7-1 series-opening win, helping put a stretch of nine losses in 12 games further in the rearview mirror.

Anthony Santander, who walked off the San Francisco Giants with a two-run homer Thursday, hit another in his first at-bat Friday to set the tone, and both Colton Cowser and James McCann left the yard twice to lead the Orioles’ most lopsided win against a team not named the Chicago White Sox since July 31.

“Hitting is contagious, right? So, all it takes is that one guy to come with a big hit, and next thing you know it follows on with everyone else in the lineup,” McCann said. “So, hopefully we can continue to ride that momentum and hopefully the contagious hitting continues.”

After pitching seven shutout innings against the same Tigers lineup in his previous start, Burnes once again left Detroit helpless at the plate. He used a cutter-heavy approach to scatter two hits and rack up eight strikeouts — his most in a start since May 19 — while forcing weak contact to get himself out of the few jams the Tigers created. Burnes has put his rough month of August firmly behind him; the right-hander owns a 1.08 ERA so far in September.

“Tonight, the plan was to go out and kind of trust what we did last time and see if they make some adjustments and react to it,” Burnes said. “Didn’t make a ton of adjustments, so we were able to kind of stick to the game plan we had last time and move in and out, mix speeds. McCann did a great job again back there mixing it up. Good win today.”

Yet while the Orioles (86-68) desperately needed Burnes to return to form, the biggest contributor to their struggles over the past three months — aside from injuries — has been their lackluster offense. Before Friday, the team had not hit three home runs in a game at Camden Yards since June 27. They busted out of that slump by not only setting a single-game season high, but breaking a hose off the hydration station in the dugout as well.

Only a week before, the Tigers pitched a bullpen game against the Orioles that came within one out of being a no-hitter. Detroit manager A.J. Hinch opted for the same strategy Friday to much less success. Santander made sure opener Tyler Holton gave up a crooked number when he crushed a two-run home run into the “Bird Bath” in Section 86 for his 43rd blast of the season.

The Orioles then knocked bulk reliever Keider Montero around for five runs on seven hits, including two homers each by Cowser and McCann. Cowser, whose 22 long balls this season rank third on the team and tied for second among MLB rookies, went deep to straightaway center field with his first homer before nearly reaching Eutaw Street on his second.

“With the early homer from Santander, and then Cowser tacking on the very next inning, you could sense the crowd feeling a good ballgame, a game we expect to play,” McCann said of the announced 33,629 at Camden Yards showing energy early. “Burnes throwing up zeroes, that helps a lot, and the crowd, that’s huge for us.”

McCann pulled both of his to left field to make him and Cowser the first pair of Orioles teammates to have multi-homer performances in the same game since Ryan Mountcastle and Cedric Mullins on June 19, 2021. Baltimore scored all seven of its runs on homers.

With the Orioles holding a comfortable lead, manager Brandon Hyde pulled Burnes after seven innings and 91 pitches to give the ball to freshly activated setup man Danny Coulombe. The left-hander made his first appearance since June 8,taking the field to a standing ovation from Orioles fans after missing three and a half months recovering from surgery to have bone chips removed from his elbow. He struck out the first batter he faced and worked around a pair of singles to post a scoreless eighth.

“First time in my career I’ve had anything like that,” Coulombe said. “That was pretty cool. So, thank you, Baltimore.”

It wasn’t until the ninth inning when the Orioles finally lost the shutout. Jacob Webb allowed an RBI single to shortstop Trey Sweeney with two outs, but he rebounded to get center fielder Parker Meadows to pop out and end the game.

With their magic number down to three and the New York Yankees entering the day holding a four-game lead in the American League East, the Orioles need every bit of momentum they can find over their final eight games of the regular season.

They’re hoping Coulombe isn’t the only boost they get from the IL, either. Infielders Jordan Westburg, Ramón Urías and Ryan Mountcastle all suited up for Triple-A Norfolk on Friday as part of their rehabilitation assignments, though Mullins was out of the lineup and unavailable off the bench after he experienced neck discomfort stemming from a collision in the outfield Thursday.

It’s only two games, but the Baltimore offense showed more life Thursday and Friday than it had in weeks.

“We’ve played good baseball the last few days,” Burnes said. “If we come out and play like that, we’re a tough team to beat. Now it’s just about keeping it going and playing our baseball and not worry about what’s going on. We’ve got eight games left, so we’ve got to kick it into gear if we want to try to get the division. At this point, we know we’re going to be in the postseason, and that’s what’s more important.”

Tigers at Orioles

Saturday, 4:05 p.m.

TV: MASN

Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM

Originally Published: September 20, 2024 at 9:40 p.m.