O's kept blowing leads, but kept scoring in wild win over Detroit

The Orioles had a 7-1 lead and lost it. The Tigers had an 8-7 lead with two outs in the ninth inning and lost it. The Orioles had an 11-8 lead in the 12th and lost it. The Orioles had a 13-11 lead in the 13th and held it.

In a bizarre and crazy game that saw the Orioles bullpen allow seven more runs, including a grand slam, they somehow won over the Tigers. It started last night but ended this morning. After the midnight hour.

It was the longest game of the year by both innings (13) and in the time of game at 5 hours and 19 minutes. So much seemed to go wrong, but a few things went right.

With the Orioles down to their last out in the ninth, Mark Trumbo homered off Justin Wilson to force extra innings. Then the Orioles scored three in the 12th and led 11-8. Detroit scored three in the bottom half off Donnie Hart to tie it as the O's blew another lead.

But Chris Davis hit a two-run homer in the top of the 13th, and this time they held the lead. Left-hander Richard Bleier got the final three outs to pick up his first major league win.

According to a stat on MASN's "O's Xtra" postgame show, Davis became the second player in Orioles team history to homer twice in extra innings in the same game. Mike Young did it in 1987. Davis hit a solo homer in the 12th to provide a 9-8 lead and a two-run shot in the 13th for the 13-11 lead. Those were homer Nos. 7 and 8 on the year for Davis, and the last one was his first in 2017 that was not a solo shot.

Over his past three games, Davis is 6-for-11 with four homers and seven RBIs. His last two games he has reached base in 10 of 12 plate appearances, going 5-for-7 with five walks. In those two games, his on-base percentage has jumped from .345 to .384. In hitting four homers over three games, his OPS jumped from .738 to .892.

The Orioles set new season highs for runs (13) and hits (20) and tied their season high with eight extra-base hits. Their four home runs is one off a season high. The team batting average gained four points, going from .254 to .258.

Over the last two games, the Orioles have lost 9-8 and won 13-11. So they've scored 21 runs to their opponents' 20.

The Orioles are now 6-1 in extra-inning games, winning their last three.

Now for some unsightly stats. The Orioles bullpen has an ERA of 7.06 over the last five games. Over 21 2/3 innings, they have allowed 30 hits, 18 runs (17 earned) and six home runs. That has raised the 'pen season ERA to 4.09 from 3.54 in the five games.

Last night, a 7-4 lead in the seventh turned into an 8-7 deficit. Mychal Givens walked the bases loaded. Brad Brach came on and yielded a grand slam to the first batter he faced, J.D. Martinez. When the O's took the 11-8 lead to the last of the 12th, Hart could not hold it. Bleier came on and got out of the mess to send the game to the 13th. That is where Davis homered again, and this time the O's held the lead as Bleier gave up a two-out single but then got the final out.

The teams combined for 24 runs, 38 hits and seven homers. The Orioles used seven pitchers and had none left in their six-man bullpen after Bleier. Detroit used seven pitchers as well. No doubt the Orioles will make a roster move - maybe several - to add fresh arms for tonight's game. At least we saw Darren O'Day pitch for the first time in eight days. He pitched a scoreless eighth with two strikeouts on 15 pitches. Before the game he told reporters he had a tired shoulder and that is why he had been held out of several recent games.

Over their last five games, the Oriole have blown leads of four, five and six runs. Last Wednesday at Washington, they took a 6-2 lead to the last of the eighth and lost 7-6 in the ninth. Sunday at Kansas City, they led 5-0 heading to the last of the fourth and Kevin Gausman allowed five runs. They went on to a 9-8 loss. Last night, they led 7-1 after the top of the third before Detroit scored the game's next seven runs. The blown six-run lead was an out away from ending in another loss before Trumbo's homer in the ninth extended the game.

Had the O's lost last night, it would have extended their losing streak to five games and all five losses would have come by one run. That would have set a team record. The most consecutive games lost by one-run in team history is four and that has happened four times, according to MASN's "O's Xtra" show:

* May 17-21, 2000
* July 6-10, 2008
* Sept. 17-20, 2008
* May 10-14, 2017

The O's bullpen is springing leaks all over the place. Last night, Givens, Hart and Brach all had bad nights. It was Alec Asher and Bleier that combined for 4 1/3 scoreless to help save the day.

Note from the farm: The Single-A Frederick Keys put right-hander Cody Sedlock on the temporary inactive list Tuesday, retroactive to May 15, the previous day. I'm told this is about a personal matter for Sedlock and it is not baseball-related. There is no injury to be concerned about.

The club's first-round draft pick last June, Sedlock is expected to make his next start for the Keys on Thursday. In seven starts so far, he is 4-1 with a 4.38 ERA.