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BALTIMORE -- The Detroit Tigers jumped out to a six-run lead in the fourth inning Friday night. But the Baltimore Orioles needed only three innings to wipe out that deficit and rally for a big victory. Manny Machado hit a two-run homer in the sixth that gave Baltimore the lead for good, and Chris Davis added an RBI single later in the inning as the Orioles rallied from that early six-run deficit to pull out an 8-7 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Friday.
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The Orioles (52-50) nearly rallied from two seven-run deficits on Thursday but the Tigers hung on for a 9-8 victory. In this game, Detroit could not hold an early 6-0 lead as Baltimore scored a total of eight runs in the fourth through sixth innings.
"That's where you can never quit, never give up," said Orioles catcher Matt Wieters. "You never know what some confidence or some good swings last night might have done for some guys tonight, to be able to come back and have a shot at the end. That's why when we get down, there's no quit in this team."
Still, the Tigers started fast. Right fielder J.D. Martinez hit a two-run homer in the third while catcher James McCann and first baseman Jefry Marte went deep on back-to-back pitches off left-hander Wei-Yin Chen in the fourth to help the Tigers to the 6-0 lead.
The Orioles rebounded thanks to a three-run homer from center fielder Adam Jones in the fifth off Detroit starter Buck Farmer. That knocked out the right-hander, and the Orioles scored once more in the inning on an error.
Left-hander Ian Krol walked left fielder David Lough to start the sixth. Right-hander Jose Valdez (0-1) came on to make his major league debut, and third baseman Machado welcomed him with that two-run homer which gave Baltimore a 7-6 lead.
Right fielder Davis added his RBI single off Valdez later in the inning to make it 8-6.
The Tigers (50-53) cut it to 8-7 in the seventh on designated hitter Victor Martinez's ground out. They almost did more damage, but second baseman Jonathan Schoop made a great relay throw from right-center to nail shortstop Jose Iglesias, trying to score on a double from second baseman Ian Kinsler (4-for-5) just before the Martinez grounder.
Right-hander Mychal Givens (1-0) earned his first major league victory for the Orioles with 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief. Givens got the win in just his second big-league appearance.
"It feels great, just taking everything in, enjoying the moment, enjoying the time with the team right now," Givens said. "Just take it one day at a time and try to cautiously not worry about anything and just go out there and have fun."
Left-hander Zach Britton closed it in the ninth and earned his 27th save.
Detroit's first three batters had hits in the first inning, making it 1-0 when Kinsler singled to center. Marte made it 2-0 with an RBI double in the second.
J.D. Martinez belted his two-run homer in the third, and McCann led off the fourth with a home run. Marte then homered on the next pitch off to give Detroit a 6-0 lead. Chen lasted just 3 1/3 innings and gave up six runs on 10 hits with three homers.
The Orioles began to rally in the fourth Wieters doubled and later scored when Marte misplayed first baseman Ryan Flaherty's grounder, making it 6-1.
Baltimore knocked Farmer out of the game in a four-run fifth. Jones hit his three-run homer to make it 6-4 and end the right-hander's night. The Orioles added a run when Krol made a throwing error on shortstop J.J. Hardy's infield single, cutting the lead to 6-5, and eventually scored eight consecutive runs.
"The hitting was there, the pitching wasn't there," Krol said. "That seems to be the problem so far in our season. I think the pitching just needs to be better."
The Tigers will need to find more offense also as they lost one of their top weapons when they traded free-agent-to-be outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to the Mets for two minor league pitchers earlier in the afternoon.
Manager Brad Ausmus said they're just trying to find a way to put it all together.
"Offensively we're fine right now," Ausmus said. "A week ago we couldn't buy a run. Now we see to get runs but we can't seem to hold them."
NOTES: The Orioles added two outfielders in deadline deals, acquiring OF Gerardo Parra from the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league pitcher Zach Davies and getting OF Junior Lake from the Chicago Cubs for RHP Tommy Hunter. ... Orioles RHP Chris Tillman said his sprained left ankle is a "day-to-day" thing and he still isn't sure he'll be able to make his next scheduled start, Monday in Oakland. He said it's not a serious situation but the start might have to be pushed back a day or two if trouble persists. ... Despite recent problems in that area, the Orioles still were hitting .283 with runners in scoring position entering the game. That was second in the American League -- behind the Toronto Blue Jays (.286) -- and fourth in the majors. ... The Tigers recalled RHP Jose Valdez from Triple-A Toledo. He was 4-4 with a 3.83 ERA with the Mud Hens. ... 2B Ian Kinsler had three hits Thursday in a win over the Orioles and ranks third in the American League with 37 multi-hit games.
