ALDS Game 1 Tigers vs Orioles final score: Orioles blow out the Tigers 12-3

The Baltimore Orioles followed their exact formula for success in Game 1 of their ALDS series against the Detroit Tigers. They took a lead into the late innings, rode their studs in the bullpen, and then blew things wide open, beating the Tigers by a final score of 12-3.

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This game served as an appropriate illustration of the stark difference between these two teams. The Orioles have a shutdown bullpen, one of the best units in baseball. The Tigers have whatever the opposite of that is; they have a bad bullpen, in case you were having word-finding issues or did not know what we were getting at there.

Baltimore charged out to an early lead in the first inning of this game thanks to a home run from Nelson Cruz, who was able to have his tremendous regular season carry over into the start of the playoffs.

The Tigers answered in short order with back-to-back home runs in the second inning, with the ball flying out of Oriole Park at Camden Yards as one would expect it would.

The pitching tightened up for a while after that, with Max Scherzer settling in and pitching into the 8th inning before he saw trouble again. In the meantime, the Orioles handed the ball over to their bullpen starting in the 6th inning, leaning on the strength of their roster as Andrew Miller, Darren O’Day, Zach Britton, and Tommy Hunter combined to pitch those innings and give up just one run.

This game stayed close until the 8th inning…and then it wasn’t close anymore. The Orioles blew this game wide open as the Tigers’ bullpen melted down. For a team that has relied so heavily on the home run ball this season, Baltimore buried the Tigers in this one by stringing together hits, getting a bunch of guys on base, and taking advantage of mistakes.

One of the big questions entering this postseason was how much the Tigers would be held back by their issues in the bullpen. This is only a one game sample, but this loss puts the pressure on and turns up the heat on those concerns. As for the Orioles, they shift their focus to trying to take a 2-0 series lead at home.

These teams are back in action for the early game on Friday at 12:07 P.M.

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