Jones on big win, Showalter backs Ausmus, plus more

DETROIT - After losing a tough 4-3 game on Friday night, the Orioles responded well last night. They hit three homers the first time through the batting order, had eight runs by the fourth inning and hammered Detroit 11-3 at Comerica Park.

"We understand what's going on right now," center fielder Adam Jones said. "(Friday) night was a very tough loss. We battled back, but it wasn't like we just gave the game away. We fought and fought and fought, but we got beat. In baseball, there's always a next day, unless there's a last day.

"We knew where we stand, and we're a resilient team. We were going to come back and do what we need to do. Now, we put this day behind us and come out (today) because we've got (Justin) Verlander. He's going to be on his game. We need to get a good night's sleep and be prepared (Sunday) because Verlander is."

Jones has certainly been prepared for this series. Here is what he said on Friday before the first pitch of the game: "We have to be focused from the first pitch to the last pitch the rest of the year. Every inning, every pitch is important. That is the focus we need in our dugout, our organization and our fanbase.

"It's a team effort, not an individual effort. We'll lean on every last player to get the job done. It's not going to be easy seeing a lot of AL East teams. And this weekend we play the Tigers, who play like an American League East team. If we take care of our personal business, we'll be fine. If we start to worry about other people and scoreboard watch, that is when we get off track."

Jones is 5-for-7 with two walks, a homer, two runs and three RBIs in this series. Jones is batting .380 (19-for-50) over his last 12 games. The Orioles hit four homers last night, two by catcher Matt Wieters, who came up with his sixth career multi-homer game. They have hit 47 homers in their past 22 games and 224 on the year to lead the majors.

Buck backs Ausmus: Orioles manager Buck Showalter is a fan of Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, one of his former players. He thinks Detroit has a pretty good skipper and he was reminded yesterday of how he said that back in May when the Tigers left Camden Yards with a record of 16-21.

They are 60-44 since that date. Ausmus is in his third season as the Detroit manager after being named the Tigers' 37th skipper on Nov. 3, 2013.

"He's good. They're lucky to have him here," Showalter said. "I'd like to be in their division if they want to let him go somewhere. He's got a lot of confidence. He's been through a lot of situations and he has a lot of respect for how hard this is to do for his players. He's smart, but he doesn't have to show you how smart he is."

Showalter was asked if it can be tough for a young manager when there is speculation about his job security, as there was with Ausmus earlier this year.

"I didn't pay attention to it," Showalter said of his early years as a skipper. "I had a one-year contract. The contract doesn't drive you. I think Brad understands it's an honor to be asked to do this every day. I've seen him, with things not getting better, but just affirmed that he's good at it. If they don't get that, they're not watching."

Buck backs Jimenez: The Orioles have had a few games recently where their starter needed to stay focused after providing a big early lead. It happened with Ubaldo Jimenez last night. Jimenez stayed locked even with a 6-1 lead in the second inning. He pitched seven innings allowing four hits and two runs on 106 pitches.

"We like that," Showalter said. "That lineup, you can't ever take your foot of the pedal. They're a walk, a bloop and a blast from being right back there, and I think our guys knew we were going to need some tack-on runs. It was good to get some people off the field before the day game (today) with the quick turnaround."

Jimenez has pitched to an ERA of 2.67 his last five starts. Over his past two starts - against the Rays and Tigers - he has allowed just six hits in 54 at-bats for a .111 batting average against.

So now the Orioles and Tigers play the third game of this series to decide it this afternoon. The Orioles have a chance to move two games ahead of the Tigers as Chris Tillman (15-5, 3.76 ERA) faces Verlander (14-7, 3.28 ERA).

Tillman is pitching for the first time since Aug. 20. In eight career starts versus Detroit, he is 5-0 with a 2.56 ERA. Verlander has allowed two earned runs or fewer in his last 13 starts, going 7-1 with a 2.09 ERA in that span.