Andy Dirks’ batting helps Detroit Tigers defeat Baltimore Orioles 5-4 - MLB Update
Detroit Tigers’ left-fielder, Andy Dirks had a tremendous day with the bat as he hit one RBI including just one run and went 4-for-4 with an average of .273 in the Tigers’ 5-4 victory against the Baltimore Orioles at Oriole Park, Baltimore on August 12.
At the top of first inning, Tigers took one run to get off the mark while the Orioles added two runs at the bottom of first inning and went ahead 2-1. Miguel Cabrera drove a single-run shot towards left-field and Dirks scored a single run while Magglio Ordonez
occupied second base. On the other side, J.J. Hardy struck a two-run homer (385 feet) to left-field and Nolan Reimold contributed the leading run for the Orioles.
Tigers’ batters scored one run during second inning to tie the game 2-2. Alex Avila posted a tie run when Austin Jackson hit a sacrifice fly towards right-field. In third inning, the pitchers struck-out batters by pitching their throws in perfect consistency.
Tigers got a 4-2 lead at the top of fourth inning by adding two runs.
Wilson Betemit hit a two-run homer (409 feet) to centre-field and Avila scored another run to give his team a strong position in the game. In fifth inning, Orioles’ batters put a couple of runs on their individual score-card to again tie the game 4-4. Hardy
hit his second home-run (374 feet) of the game towards left-field while Adam Jones contributed a tie run for the Orioles when Vladimir Guerrero singled off left-field.
Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland said, “That's what a club needs to win games. It's nice when you get contributions from everybody. In the end, the big bats are going to carry you, but it's always nice when some other guys chip in.”
During sixth inning, Tigers went ahead 5-4 when Dirks hit a single-run shot to centre-field and Jackson posted one run. Later on, Dirks moved to second base on the throwing error of Orioles’ centre-fielder Jones. The last three innings remained without even
a single run as the batters struggled to play scoring shots.
Tigers’ starter, Brad Penny pitched just over five innings with an ERA of 4.99. He permitted four runs, seven hits, one walk and two homers including four earned runs. Penny had only two strike-outs on his 91 pitches.
However, Tigers led off with 1-0 in the three-game series played at Oriole Park.
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