The Detroit Tigers rolled over the Baltimore Orioles, 15-2, in Tuesday's Grapefruit League opener. The Tigers were led by the newest member of the team, Yoenis Cespedes, as he launched a grand slam in the fourth.
Kyle Lobstein got the start and threw two inning and did not give up a run, but he gave up two hits that caused no damage. It was great to see Joe Nathan back in action for the first time in awhile. He allowed to hits in the fifth inning. Newly acquired reliever Tom Gorzelanny pitched a scoreless inning and struck out one hitter.
"Overall, it felt good for the first one," Nathan said. "Definitely got my work in today."
Ian Kinsler started the home run party with a three-run shot in the second inning. Cespedes followed it up with a grand slam in the fourth. Aaron Westlake ripped a three-run home run in the sixth inning. It was weird seeing Alex Avila hitting the the two hole, but he did well, going 1-for-2, while getting walked once.
"When you get your first hit out of the way, your first ground ball out of the way, I accomplished both of those in the first two days," Kinsler said. "It's always nice to get that out of the way."
Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez was handed the loss after giving up six runs (five earned) on two hits and two walks. He was only able to make it 1.1 innings before Chris Jones came in relief. Almost all the hitters struggle, walking a combined seven hitters and giving up 15 runs on 10 hits.
The Tigers will play again on Wednesday against Baltimore in Sarasota. That game will take place at 1:05 PM EST.