O's get lead on early homer barrage (O's hit four homers, win 11-3)

DETROIT - The Orioles suffered a frustrating loss last night. Perhaps they took out some of those frustrations early in tonight's game at Comerica Park.

The Orioles bashed three homers off Detroit starter Jordan Zimmermann among their first eight hitters to take a 6-1 lead after their second at bat tonight.

Adam Jones homered on the game's first pitch. He hit No. 27 on a 92 mph fastball. It was his 10th homer this year on the first pitch of an at bat. After Jonathan Schoop lined out and Manny Machado walked, Chris Davis hit a two-run homer to left on an 0-2 pitch for a 3-0 lead. It was No. 36 for Davis, who is now 4-for-7 with two career homers off Zimmermann. Davis has homered four times in his last seven games and 12 times in his past 22.

Detroit scored off Ubaldo Jimenez on a bloop RBI single to right by J.D. Martinez in the last of the first. But Jimenez stranded two runners in a 24-pitch frame that ended with the O's leading 3-1.

Zimmermann faced four batters, all of whom reached, and was replaced before getting an out in the second. Pedro Alvarez walked and Matt Wieters hit a two-run homer for a 5-1 lead. It was No. 13 for Wieters. After Zimmermann allowed J.J. Hardy's single and walked Jones, he was pulled after facing 10 batters. Lefty Blaine Hardy then came on.

Zimmermann went one inning plus four batters, allowing four hits and six runs with three walks on 42 pitches. It was his first start since coming off the disabled list Aug. 4 and he gave up a season-high three home runs.

The Orioles now have 223 homers as a team. That leads the majors and is second-most in team history. The 1996 squad hit 257 home runs. The 2016 Orioles have now hit 46 homers in the last 22 games.

The O's made it a 7-1 game on a Jones' RBI single to center on a grounder in the third inning. Jones is 4-for-5 with a homer and two RBIs in this series.

O's still up big: The Orioles lead was 8-2 heading to the last of the fifth. The O's made it 8-1 in the fourth. Mark Trumbo drove in his 99th run of the year with a double to left. Detroit closed within 8-2 in the last of the fourth. They loaded the bases with no outs, but Jimenez minimized the damage allowing one run on Erick Aybar's groundout. Jimenez was at 76 pitches and had allowed four hits through the first five innings.

Jones is 3-for-3 with a walk tonight, making him 5-for-6 with a homer and two RBIs in this series. He is batting .388 his last 12 games.

Wieters again: Wieters hit a three-run homer to left in the sixth to make it an 11-2 O's lead. It was No. 14 on the year and his second tonight. This is Wieters' sixth career multi-homer game and second of this year. He had one on June 25 versus Tampa Bay.

Orioles win 11-3: The Orioles moved a game ahead of Detroit for the second American League wild card and two games back in the AL East race with an 11-3 win tonight in front of 36,634 at Comerica Park. With another win tonight, the Yankees are also just one game behind the Orioles.

The Orioles are 77-64 with 21 games to play. They improved to 3-2 on this road trip, 32-39 in road games and 4-2 versus the Tigers, clinching the season series.

They hit four homers, two by Wieters, and had 12 hits in the win. They opened the early 6-1 lead and the game never got close after that.

Jimenez didn't get a second straight complete-game, but he went seven innings. He gave up four hits and two runs with three walks and four strikeouts. He threw 106 pitches and is now 7-11 with an ERA of 5.98. He has pitched to an ERA of 2.67 his past five starts.

Over Jimenez's last two starts - covering 16 innings - the Rays and Tigers have hit a combined .111 (6-for-54) against the right-hander.

Check back later for a new entry to include a wrap-up of tonight's game with postgame quotes.