Depleted Tigers get 16 hits and squeeze past Orioles 9

Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run homer to lead a 16-hit Detroit attack, and the Tigers held off a late rally and snapped Baltimore’s five-game winning streak with a 9-8 victory over the Orioles.

Clubs that spoke with the Tigers on Wednesday got the impression the decision to “reboot, but not rebuild” came from owner Mike Ilitch but was endorsed by team president and general manager Dave Dombrowski. They sent Price to the Blue Jays for three left-handed pitching prospects in the afternoon and then traded Soria to Pittsburgh for a minor-league shortstop later.

In fact, these are the key pieces the Tigers have acquired around the deadline the past six years: Jarrod Washburn, Aubrey Huff, Jhonny Peralta, Doug Fister, Delmon Young, Anibal Sanchez, Jose Veras, Jose Iglesias, Joakim Soria, Price. “So it doesn’t mean we give up”.

On the mound, Alfredo Simon did enough to collect the win.

Cespedes is making $10.75 million this year, and has launched 17 homers while hitting.289/.320/.497 in his first season as a Tiger. “I wanted to face the Orioles so bad”. The left fielder singled twice and scored three runs.

After Simon left, the Orioles began to bang away against the Tigers’ bullpen. An infield out by Manny Machado scored Jonathan Schoop in the eighth to draw the Orioles within one.

Alex Wilson, filling the closer’s role after Soria’s departure, got four outs for his first save.

The Tigers are still in striking distance and so they could demand an overwhelming return for Price and if not met just keep trying to make the playoffs. I was real proud.

In 3 1/3 innings, Gonzalez allowed five runs on 10 hits. The Tigers are now placed fourth in the American League Central; the organization is 13.5 games behind the Kansas City Royals. Seven of the first nine players would do so as the Tigers jumped out early to a 7-0 lead.

Detroit made it 9-2 in the sixth when Cespedes singled in a run and Martinez added an RBI double. He was replaced by Bud Norris, who yielded four runs and six hits over 2 2-3 innings.

This is a chance for Detroit to hit the reset button and gain some financial flexibility, farm depth and try to re-tool to make another run in 2016. Rajai Davis tripled in two runs and Kinsler hit an RBI single before Cespedes connected with a man on against Norris. “They were aggressive since the first inning”.

NOTES: Jones’ home run was his 182nd with the Orioles, tying him with Ken Singleton for seventh place on the team’s all-time list.

“They know Price is not coming back there”, an executive of one team that talked with them said. “When you lose a pitcher like David Price, you dont generally think youre getting better, ” he said. “We did today, but didn’t come [through]”. Zunino has struggled in his times in the Majors and Seattle is looking to add a veteran catcher who could help Zunino to fine tune his skills behind the plate and team him about the game, Avila is the flawless fit for this. In his senior season, he averaged 16.5 points and 5.8 assists in 38 games.