BALTIMORE — Tigers manager AJ Hinch called his new boss Monday night.
“I told him, ‘Your first night on the job and you already fixed us,’ ” Hinch said, joking about the 11-0 win over the Orioles on Monday. “Already off to a good start.”
The coaching staff and players watched the live stream of new president of baseball operations Scott Harris’ press conference in the clubhouse before the game Tuesday.
“It's an important day," Hinch said. "You got a very good sense that he has extremely high standards and he’s going to have high expectations of the people that work in this organization.
“And that should be enough for me and anybody else to be the best version of ourselves.”
Day 2 of the new Harris administration went well. He won the press conference and the Tigers beat the Baltimore Orioles for the second straight night, this time 3-2 at Oriole Park.
After lefty Andrew Chafin got four outs, closer Gregory Soto locked it down for his 26th save.
“All of us should just focus on doing our jobs well and the rest will fall into place,” Hinch said. “I know there is going to be a lot of nervousness to this. But the best way to make the best first impression on a new boss is to do your job well.
“If you are a coach, coach your butt off. If you are a player, play well … that’s what’s going to resonate.”
Rookie lefty Joey Wentz certainly made a good impression. After Harris talked about prioritizing owning the strike zone on both sides of the ball, Wentz started the game by throwing seven straight strikes on his way to 5 2/3 innings of scoreless baseball.
Mixing cutters and change-ups off a well-spotted four-seam fastball, Wentz allowed just two infield hits along with a pair of walks. After needing 91 pitches to go four innings in his previous start, he was much more efficient in this one — 86 pitches and 53 strikes.
After reliever Alex Lange struck out Ramon Urias with a filthy 91-mph change-up, the Tigers had kept the Orioles off the board for 15 straight innings.
But with a runner on in the seventh, Joe Jimenez put a 95-mph fastball into the wheelhouse of Orioles rookie Gunnar Henderson and he did not miss it. His 409-foot rocket landed on the concourse, clearing the bleachers in right field, and very suddenly it was a one-run game.
The Tigers scored 11 runs Monday without a homer. All three runs came off long balls Tuesday.
Akil Baddoo, who had been stuck on one home run since April 13, slammed a 92-mph fastball from Orioles starter Austin Voth 448 feet into the bleachers in right-center field — a two-run home run.
Rookie Kerry Carpenter hit a solo home run to left-center in the seventh, a 406-footer off reliever Joey Krehbiel. It was his fifth home run in just 27 games.
The had another run cut down at the plate in the fifth inning. Jeimer Candelario, who had four hits including a pair of doubles, singled and tried to score on a double to right by Baddoo.
Candelario seemed to be leaking oil around third base and was thrown out by a strong relay throw by second baseman Urias.
The Tigers had two runs swiped from them in the ninth. Candelario drilled a two-out double, but hit it so hard off the wall, Eric Haase, running from first base, couldn't score.
Baddoo made a bid to plate both runs, but Orioles shortstop Jorge Mateo made an incredible lunging catch of a blooper running with his back to the infield.
