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BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles powerful lineup can erupt at any time. And once those bats get rolling, the Orioles can be difficult to contain. That proved to be the difference in the series finale against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday.
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Jonathan Schoop, Chris Davis and Trey Mancini hit consecutive home runs in the first inning and Baltimore beat Detroit 12-3 to earn a split of their four-game series.
Schoop tied a career high with his 25th home run, while Davis and Mancini each hit their 18th of the season. Joey Rickard and Manny Machado homered and had four hits apiece for the Orioles.
It was the third time this season the Orioles hit five homers.
"You knew the ball was going to be flying out of here today," Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said. "For our pitching staff to only give up one is pretty remarkable. Any pitching staff. I'm just saying, that's a tough gig here in a day game."
Baltimore has won seven of nine to get back into the wild card race. The Orioles open a key 10-game West Coast road trip beginning Monday against the Los Angeles Angels.
"Our guys know what's at the stake the rest of the season and that road trip includes that." Showalter said.
Entering the day, Baltimore starter Ubaldo Jimenez (5-7) had more career losses against Detroit than any other team with 12. However, he was staked with an early and took advantage, allowing one run and nine hits with six strikeouts and three walks over 5 2/3 innings.
"It wasn't pretty, but I got the job done," Jimenez said. "I was happy that I was able to compete. And they didn't make it easy for me at all. They got a lot of hits. They took a good approach, hitting the ball to the opposite field. But our guys picked me up. Our guys scored a lot of runs and they played great defense."
Baltimore is 30-6 when it allows three or fewer runs.
Detroit's Anibal Sanchez (3-2) suffered his second loss in three starts. The right hander allowed eight runs on 10 hits, including five homers, in just three-plus innings.
"The wrong place and the wrong team to miss a pitch," Sanchez said. "Those guys have a lot of power. The pitches I missed they put on pretty good contact."
Nicholas Castellanos got his 16th home run for Detroit. John Hicks, Ian Kinsler and Andrew Romine each had three hits as the Tigers dropped to 4-3 on their current nine-game road trip.
"We had a lot of opportunities but left guys on base," Hicks said. "It was singles and things like that."
Their hits were homers and doubles.
Schoop set the tone in the first with a two-run shot to left-center field off Sanchez. Davis and Mancini followed with solo home runs over the center field fence to boost the lead to 4-0.
"It's really fun," Schoop said. "When you go back-to-back-to-back, you score some runs early, and Ubaldo pitched really good today. He attacked the zone. It's fun when everybody's hitting, and especially when we win."
Machado had a two-out, RBI double the following inning and the Orioles weren't threatened the rest of the way.
Rickard led off the fourth with a home run, and after an Adam Jones single, Machado followed with another shot to center for an 8-0 lead that ended the outing for Sanchez.
"The ball was up and they hit home runs," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "It's pretty simple. But it was really all about the Baltimore Orioles' offense more than anything else. They took advantage of some mistakes. Sometimes you get away with them. Today we did not."
Castellanos broke up the shutout with a solo homer in the fifth.
Machado got his fifth RBI of the game with a two-run single in the eighth.
NOTES: Tigers LHP Daniel Norris (left groin strain) threw 30 pitches in his first bullpen session since going on the DL. ... Orioles INF/OF Ryan Flaherty (right shoulder inflammation) played left field in a rehab assignment for Double-A Bowie and went 4-for-4 with three runs. ... Detroit INF Jose Iglesias went on bereavement leave Sunday after a family member passed away, manager Brad Ausmus said. Iglesias will be gone a minimum three days or a maximum of seven.
