DETROIT | Johnny Damon followed up his 2,500th hit with a game-winning homer in the 11th inning to lift the Detroit Tigers to a 7-5 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night. Austin Jackson led off the inning with a single off David Hernandez (3-7) and Damon followed with a long homer to right. Damon had singled in the third inning for his 2,500th career hit, and received a ovation from the crowd of 22,532. Ryan Perry (2-4) got the win with a scoreless inning of relief. The Tigers trailed 4-1 going into the eighth, but Miguel Cabrera led off with a triple and scored on Brennan Boesch’s single. Brandon Inge’s one-out triple scored Boesch to make it 4-3 before Alfredo Simon struck out Alex Avila. Ramon Santiago walked, but pinch-hitter Austin Jackson bounced out to end the inning. Julio Lugo made it 5-3 Baltimore with an RBI single in the ninth. Damon walked to lead off the ninth before Cabrera tied the game with a long homer off Simon, who was trying for the first multi-inning save of his career. The Orioles stranded 10 runners in the first six innings, but finally broke through against Armando Galarraga on Nick Markakis’ two-run homer in the seventh. Felix Pie, activated from the disabled list before the game, added an RBI single later in the inning. Baltimore got a break in the bottom of the inning. After Santiago walked, Don Kelly hit a hard grounder off first baseman Ty Wigginton’s glove, but the ball bounced right to Lugo, who threw back to Wigginton for the rare 3-4-3 putout. Markakis added an RBI single in the eighth before Detroit’s rally in the bottom of the inning. Detroit had taken a 1-0 lead on Avila’s RBI single in the second, and kept the lead in the third when Don Kelly’s diving catch in center field robbed Wigginton of an RBI single. NOTES: Pie replaced Kevin Millwood, who was placed on the disabled list with a strained forearm. … Wieters hit his second career triple in the seventh inning — both coming against the Tigers. … Damon joins former teammates Manny Ramirez, Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez as the only active players with 2,500 hits, 1,500 runs and 1,000 RBIs. … Miguel Cabrera extended his hitting streak to 15 games. … Michigan native Mike Modano, currently a free agent, spent the game in the suite of Tigers and Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch.
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