The Tigers entered Sunday afternoon’s affair against the Orioles as baseball’s only without a loss at 4-0, but they are undefeated no more. Starter Justin Verlander pitched well, allowing two runs over eight innings, but was out-dueled by Orioles starter Chris Tillman. The soon-to-be 26-year-old right-hander allowed just one run in 8 1/3 innings and was backed by just enough offense -- including an eighth-inning Adam Jones sacrifice fly to break a 1-1 tie, and a ninth-inning Matt Wieters solo home run to add an insurance run -- to grab the victory.
Overall, Tillman allowed five hits and a walk while striking out five. The only damage come on a fifth-inning Torii Hunter solo home run. Tommy Hunter got the final two outs of the ninth inning to nail down the win, getting his second save in the process. Victor Martinez was the only Tiger with multiple hits. Similarly, Nick Markakis was the only Oriole with multiple hits.
The Nationals were baseball’s final undefeated team last season, starting out 3-0 before losing 15-0 to the Reds in the fourth game of the season to end the dream.