Tigers can’t overcome Orioles’ homers

BALTIMORE — Jonathan Schoop hit two home runs, including an eighth-inning grand slam, as the Orioles beat the Tigers, 9-3, on Saturday night for their seventh straight win. Matt Wieters and Adam Jones also homered for the O’s, who lead the Majors with 54 home runs this season, including 18 in their last seven games.

Baltimore improved to 23-12 with its 12th win in 16 games. Detroit dropped to 15-21 and has now lost 11 of 12.

Mike Wright (2-3) earned his first win since April 12 and provided the Orioles with their sixth quality start over the course of their seven-game winning streak. The right-hander allowed two runs and three hits over seven innings and matched his career high with six strikeouts.

“I think that seventh inning makes me feel really good,” said Wright, who threw a career-high 108 pitches. “If I had gone six and [allowed] two runs, that feels OK as long as we get the win, that’s positive. But in that seventh, going out there and throwing that and getting over 100 pitches, it makes me feel really good, and hopefully I ride that the rest of the season.

The Tigers’ struggling offense broke a 17-inning scoreless drought in the sixth when Miguel Cabrera connected on a two-run homer to give Detroit a 2-0 lead.

Miggy’s 462-foot HR snaps scoreless streak

The Orioles responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame, highlighted by a go-ahead, two-run homer from Wieters off Tigers starter Anibal Sanchez (3-4). Sanchez has lost four of his last five decisions.

“Really, the story is any time we were able to do something, we gave up a run or gave up a lead the next half-inning,” said Tigers manager Brad Ausmus. “You can’t win that way. It takes the wind out of your sails.”

Schoop and Jones led off the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, with solo blasts to left. Jones has hit four home runs in his last five games, after going deep just once in his first 26 games of the season.

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDScoreless drought ends for Tigers: The Tigers appeared ready to break out when they loaded the bases in the third on a single by James McCann and a pair of one-out walks by Ian Kinsler and J.D. Martinez. However, Wright got out of the jam by getting Cabrera to hit into a 4-6-3 double play to keep the game scoreless.

It was a sequence that underscored Detroit’s recent struggles to score runs. Cabrera, however, redeemed himself by launching a two-run, 462-foot homer to center in the sixth. Victor Martinez added an RBI single in the eighth, but it was all the Tigers could muster.

“When you’re struggling like this, it just takes one thing to click,” Ausmus said. “You have to …

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