BALTIMORE — The way Nelson Cruz and the Baltimore Orioles are hitting this season, it might not matter much who pitches for the other guys.
Cruz and J.J. Hardy homered, and the Orioles hammered out 12 hits in defeating Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer and the Detroit Tigers 12-3 on Thursday in the opener of their American League Division Series.
Rookie Jonathan Schoop had two hits and two RBIs for the Orioles, who turned a close game into a rout with an eight-run eighth inning against Scherzer and three ineffective relievers.
The 12 runs set a postseason record for Baltimore, making its second playoff appearance since 1997.
Game 2 of the best-of-five series is Friday at Camden Yards. Justin Verlander, the second of three straight Cy Young winners the Orioles will face, is set to go against left-hander Wei-Yin Chen.
Cruz led the majors with 40 homers during the regular season, a good portion of Baltimore’s big league-best 211 long balls. His first-inning drive off Scherzer put the Orioles up 2-0 before Detroit’s Victor Martinez and J.D. Martinez connected off Chris Tillman in the second to tie the score.
Tillman (1-0) allowed two runs in five innings before Andrew Miller got five outs — three by strikeout. Darren O’Day gave up an eighth-inning homer to Miguel Cabrera, but the drive followed a double play.
Baltimore manager Buck Showalter then called upon closer Zach Britton, who had 37 saves during the regular season. Britton got the last out in the eighth, and by the time the ninth inning rolled around, he wasn’t needed anymore.
Meanwhile, Detroit’s revamped bullpen has looked shaky — although it was shortstop Andrew Romine’s error that got the big eighth inning going.
Pitching against Baltimore for the first time since 2013, Scherzer allowed five runs and seven hits in 7 1/3 innings. The right-hander was 18-5 during the regular season, but in this one, he was burned by the long ball and outpitched by the Orioles.
Photo via Tommy Gilligan/USA TODAY Sports Images
