Cowser walk-off – Colton Cowser crushed a three-run homer off Kenley Jansen with two outs in the ninth as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 5-3 in the opener of a day-night doubleheader, extending Detroit’s skid to eight games.
BALTIMORE — Two outs in the ninth. Kenley Jansen in his save attempt. and the Tigers still leading by a fragile two-run margin. Then Colton Cowser turned an 0-2 sinker into a blast that sailed about 440 feet—roughly six rows into the right-center field seats—and the Baltimore Orioles flipped the game in a heartbeat.
Cowser’s three-run homer completed a 5-3 win over Detroit in the day-night doubleheader opener on Sunday. and it pushed the Tigers’ losing streak to eight. Detroit. which lost for the 16th time in 18 games. carried a 3-1 lead into the eighth before the Orioles chipped away on Taylor Ward’s RBI single off Kyle Finnegan.
Jansen entered with two on and two outs and retired Pete Alonso on a popout—one clean out after another—before trouble returned in the ninth. Jackson Holliday walked with one out and stole second, Leody Taveras followed with a walk, and Jeremiah Jackson popped out. With runners in scoring position. the game turned on execution: the runners carried out a double steal. leaving Cowser with one job and a pitch he could drive.
Jansen tried to finish a four-out save, but Cowser didn’t give him the chance. The homer was Cowser’s second home run of the season and came off Jansen as he was seeking the save.
It wasn’t just one swing—it was the pattern the Tigers couldn’t escape. Jansen blew a save for the fourth time in 11 chances this season.
Detroit’s skid has a specific history, too. The Tigers have lost eight straight for the first time since June 2023, and they have not dropped nine in a row since August 2020.
The Orioles didn’t just survive the innings that followed the early lead—they made them count. Dietrich Enns (2-0) retired four straight batters on just 11 pitches. and Gunnar Henderson added a sixth-inning homer off Framber Valdez. who allowed two hits in six innings. Brandon Young for Baltimore allowed two unearned runs and five hits over 6 2/3 innings.
For the Tigers, Matt Vierling finished with three hits. The Orioles’ win kept the focus where it belonged: on a late-game swing that turned Detroit’s slide into something harder to look away from.
Elsewhere in MLB. Esmelyn Valdez homered for his first career hit to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-1 and avoid a three-game sweep. Valdez was promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis on Friday and went 0 for 7 before a two-run homer off Chase Lee in the sixth. Dylan Cease left after 4 2/3 innings because of a sore left hamstring, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. left after being hit on the inside of his right elbow by a pitch from Mitch Keller. and the Blue Jays said an X-ray did not reveal a fracture. Gregory Soto struck out Daulton Varsho for the final out to finish the ninth for his fifth save in seven chances. stranding two runners.
In Boston. Brooks Lee delivered a tiebreaking. two-run single in a three-run sixth inning as Minnesota held off the Red Sox at soggy Fenway Park to complete a three-game sweep and secure their 10th victory in 14 games. Pinch runner Connor Wong was cut down at the plate by shortstop Ryan Kreidler’s relay on Isiah Kiner-Falefa’s double for the second out in the ninth. Willson Contreras hit his team-leading 11th homer. a two-run shot. and Masataka Yoshida added a solo homer for his first as Boston fell to a majors’ worst 8-17 at home. Bailey Ober (6-2) earned the win. giving up four runs in five innings. and Travis Adams recorded the final out with two on for his first career save.
Rhys Hoskins’ RBI double in the sixth and Travis Bazzana’s home run in the eighth powered Cleveland to a win over Philadelphia. Hoskins scored Chase DeLauter after DeLauter worked a two-out walk in the sixth. In nine games Hoskins has played in Philadelphia as an opponent. twice with Milwaukee in the past two seasons and this year with Cleveland. he has five extra base hits—three homers and two doubles. Cleveland scored again when Steven Kwan added an RBI single in the fifth and Bazzana hit a solo shot in the eighth. his third of the season. Parker Messick (6-1) earned the win with 5 2/3 shutout innings. allowing five hits and striking out six. and Cade Smith pitched a perfect ninth for his MLB-leading 18th save.
Aaron Judge ended a career-worst 11-game streak with no RBIs by hitting a game-ending. two-run homer off Kevin Kelly in the ninth to lift New York over Tampa Bay. The Yankees’ Cody Bellinger made a key defensive play in the eighth with Oliver Dunn at second and Junior Caminero at first. throwing out Caminero at third after Ryan Vilade singled to left. Judge hit his 17th homer and first since May 10, finishing with his fourth walk-off homer and first since 2022. The drive ended New York’s fastest game of the season after 2 hours, 12 minutes.
In Miami. Heriberto Hernández hit a grand slam off Devin Williams in the ninth for his first big league walk-off hit as the Marlins beat New York and completed a three-game sweep. The Mets were shut out for the sixth time this season as they finished a 2-5 trip and dropped into last place in the NL East. Juan Soto was scratched before the game because of a fever. and Marcus Semien went 0 for 10 in the series. dropping his average to .214.
Salvador Perez powered another late swing for Kansas City. making Seattle pitcher Bryan Woo pay for intentionally walking the bases loaded ahead of him. Perez delivered the go-ahead, two-out single, and the Royals beat the Mariners. Seth Lugo (2-4) allowed a first-inning homer by Julio Rodriguez, but pitched into the seventh. After Lugo retired J.P. Crawford leadoff in the game. Rodriguez hit an 89-mph sinker into the left-field bullpen to give Seattle a 1-0 lead; Kansas City ultimately won as Carter Jensen and Maikel Garcia each had two RBIs.
Los Angeles beat Milwaukee a bold pitching day backed by bullpen momentum. Andy Pages hit a two-run homer immediately after Kyle Tucker delivered a tiebreaking two-run triple in the fifth. supporting Yoshinobu Yamamoto’s seven-inning work. Los Angeles’ bullpen kept rolling—Will Klein worked the eighth and Tanner Scott pitched the ninth—pushing the modern-day franchise record to 38 straight scoreless innings.
Houston completed a three-game sweep of Chicago as Christian Walker hit a three-run homer to cap a five-run fifth inning. The Astros scored the lead for good on Jeremy Peña’s two-run single in the fifth before Walker’s blast into the middle of the left-centerfield bleachers.
San Francisco’s Rafael Devers hit the Giants’ third grand slam in seven days, a tiebreaking fifth-inning drive off Grant Taylor that led San Francisco over Chicago, and the Giants followed a 2-7 slide with a second straight win after scoring 18 runs in the final two games of the series.
Arizona routed Colorado 9-1 behind Corbin Carroll’s two run-scoring triples, while Ryne Nelson pitched eight effective innings. Carroll extended his hitting streak to 12 games and finished 4 for 4 with eight triples this season.
At San Diego. Carlos Cortes hit a leadoff home run and Nick Kurtz extended his on-base streak to 47 games as the Athletics beat the Padres to avoid a three-game sweep. Kurtz singled with one out in the third to tie Jimmie Foxx for the second-longest streak in Athletics history. came up with the bases loaded and two outs in the fourth. and ultimately laid down a push bunt for a single in the ninth.
All across the league, Sunday’s games swung on late moments—none louder than Cowser’s 440-foot answer in Baltimore, where the Orioles didn’t just win the opener. They made the Tigers’ longest stretch of losing in more than a year feel inevitable.
MLB Orioles Tigers Colton Cowser Kenley Jansen Framber Valdez Gunnar Henderson Kyle Finnegan Day-night doubleheader MLB roundup