A look at some heroes from first two ALDS games for O's

You want a real unsung hero from the first two games of the American League Division Series?

How about Orioles third base coach Bobby Dickerson?

He had aggressive sends of Alejandro De Aza in the eighth inning Thursday night and J.J. Hardy in the eighth yesterday. Both players scored critical runs in what were, at the time, close games.

When you coach third and a runner gets cut down at home, the fans notice and are often critical and questioning of the move. So Dickerson should get some props this time.

He is aggressive and pushes the envelope at times - just like his manager wants him to do.

"If you feel something out there, go for it," Buck Showalter tells his players. The same applies to the coaches.

The Orioles have outscored the Tigers 12-2 in the eighth inning of this series. The score is 7-7 in all other innings.

The O's are 9-for-16 (.563) in the eighth with four doubles and 10 RBIs. During the regular season, the eighth was actually the club's third-worst inning for runs and they outscored opponents by 74-56 on the year in that frame.

In two games, the Detroit bullpen has pitched 3 2/3 innings allowing eight hits and 11 runs (10 earned). That is with Anibal Sanchez's two scoreless innings yesterday. Without Sanchez, the Tigers relievers have an ERA of 54.00 in the ALDS.

A few O's players were actually getting asked about looking ahead now or being overconfident with a 2-0 lead after Friday's game.

"We're pretty good at just taking it game by game," pitcher Zach Britton said. "We've shown that throughout the year. We'll enjoy the off day, get our work in and then be ready to go."

First baseman Steve Pearce said there will no looking ahead for the Orioles.

"No, they're a good team. They're a really good team and we haven't won anything yet. We have the advantage of going up 2-0 but we have to go there and keep playing good baseball," Pearce said.

So many O's players have had a hand in the two wins. Almost everyone that has played. From Nelson Cruz, who started it Thursday with a first-inning homer, to Andrew Miller and his dominant slider to Kevin Gausman and a dominant fastball to Delmon Young and one of the biggest hits in Orioles history.

I don't think that is overstating it. Do you?

Young is 11-for-21 this year (.524) as a pinch-hitter with two doubles, a triple, a homer and eight RBIs.you

His first-pitch, three-run double produced what may have been the loudest moment in Camden Yards history. I don't think that is overstating that, either.

Pearce knows something about pinch-hitting. He admires Young's ability to do it so well.

"That is the hardest job in sports," Pearce said. "Going up there cold and you haven't seen any pitching. Now facing bullpen pitching, which is tough. He does a great job with that."

In a mild surprise, the Orioles have been out-homered 5-3 in this series. But they made up for that by going 9-for-20 (.450) batting with runners in scoring position.

And before we think the O's have done all their damage against the Detroit bullpen, the two Tigers starters in this series, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander, have combined for an ERA of 5.84.

In two days, the Orioles have won more games against the Tigers than they did during the season in two series.

In the season series, they went 1-5 then and were outscored 33-20. In this series, they lead 2-0 and have outscored the Tigers 19-9.

By the way, in mentioning some key players earlier in this story, I left out Nick Markakis. He often seems to get overlooked, so let's not make that mistake again. Markakis is 3-for-8 with a homer and three RBIs in the series.

Now how will the Tigers react? Well, I don't expect them to go quietly. But their clubhouse has to be a bit shaken by those late-game bullpen meltdowns two days in a row.

They responded big-time yesterday to falling behind 2-0 when they struck quickly for five runs in the fourth inning. But, their lead didn't last. Now their season hangs by a thread.

As for the Orioles, they are a team missing three key players right now., But they also are a team closing in on the three wins they need to reach the American League Championship Series.