BALTIMORE _ The Detroit Tigers' bats were silent, all night, totaling three hits off a left-hander named John Means.
It was another uninspiring offensive performance, with just a few hits, one of them for extra bases, sprinkled among a lot of bad at-bats.
Then catcher John Hicks came to the plate in the top of the eighth inning, hit a baseball 433 feet, immediately dropped his bat _ Hicks knew he got all of it _ and the Tigers were afforded new life, tying the game at 2.
An inning later, Brandon Dixon untied the game with a two-run home run to dead center field. Shane Greene picked up his 18th save and the Tigers beating the Orioles, 4-2, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, winning their first series since taking two of three from the Royals on May 3-5.
Dixon's home run highlighted what has been an impressive month for him: In 20 May games, he's hitting .296 with five home runs and 12 RBIs.
Left-hander Ryan Carpenter made his fourth start of the season, and he was solid, allowing two runs in five innings.
Nicholas Castellanos hit an RBI double in the fourth inning and JaCoby Jones upped his hitting streak to six games.
It was another solid start from the left-hander _ his second consecutive after two rough ones _ who threw five innings. The Orioles made good contract, launching two line-drive comebackers in back-to-back innings, but he largely kept their bats at bay. Carpenter allowed two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out three. He wasn't great, but he gave the Tigers a chance to win.
It wasn't pretty early, with Means getting a lot of quick at-bats and setting a career-high in strikeouts, with seven. But the Tigers' bats awoke when it mattered most, with Hicks' game-tying home run in the eighth and Dixon's go-ahead homer in the ninth. Six different Tigers accounted for the team's hits.
Greene has been virtually automatic in the back of the bullpen, picking up his 18th save in 19 tries. There's a different attitude when he takes the mound this season, one of a pitcher who has fully acclimated to closing. A key to Greene's success has been recording quick outs in the ninth inning. Also, a hat tip to lefty Nick Ramirez, who threw three scoreless innings in relief of Carpenter, allowing the Tigers an opportunity to come back.
