Baltimore Orioles vs Detroit Tigers

Sarasota, Florida: The battle for roster spots heat up as spring training nears conclusion and Friday afternoon’s game between the Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers was no different. Headlining this contest was a pair of pitchers battling for the fifth spot in the rotation as Brian Matusz battled for a spot in the Orioles rotation while Duane Below found himself in a similar situation in the Tigers rotation.

As for the game itself, another exciting spring game with the Tigers edging the Orioles by two thanks to a ninth inning rally.

The Tigers jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. With runners on first and second, Miguel Cabrera came through with an RBI double to right that scored both runners. Cabrera later scored on a ground ball by Delmon Young as the Tigers took an early 3-0 lead.

The Orioles got a run back in the bottom of the second as Detroit’s starter Below worked himself into a bases loaded jam. Below walked three straight batters to load the bases and then issued a bases loaded walk to score Mark Reynolds and put the Orioles on the scoreboard.

Then in the third, Adam Jones went deep with a solo home run to pull the Orioles within a run of the lead 3-2.

The Orioles tied the game in the fourth inning. Endy Chavez singled home Wilson Betemit to tie the game 3-3.

The Orioles took their first lead of the afternoon in the sixth inning. Jai Miller struck an RBI double to center to score Betemit and give the O’s a 4-3 lead.

But the lead didn’t last long as the Tigers tied the game in the top of the seventh. Tony Plagman hit a solo shot to left to tie the game 4-4.

The game would remain tied until the top of the ninth when Plagman came through again for the Tigers. This time Plagman drove home two runs with a triple to right that scored Curt Casali and Daniel Fields to give the Tigers a 6-4 win.

Brayan Villarreal was the winning pitcher for the Tigers. Jim Johnson suffered the loss for the Orioles.

Click on the photo above to view pictures from the game.