Brooks delivers what the Orioles ordered

DETROIT -- Aaron Brooks certainly improved on his last two starts.

The right-hander allowed two runs and walked three over 5 1/3 innings on Friday night, earning the win without a strikeout in the Orioles’ 6-2 victory over the Tigers at Comerica Park.

Brooks (5-8) had given up a combined 10 runs (nine earned) in seven innings over his last two appearances.

• Box score

“I’m looking for a clean first couple of innings from him, and I think he’ll be alright,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said before the game.

Brooks walked two with two out in the first, but he escaped the jam on Dawel Lugo’s groundout.

“Brooks stumbled some in the first but got out of it,” Hyde said after the game. “He threw strikes and had his slider going a little bit. He pitched from ahead of the count and threw strikes.”

Brooks allowed seven hits, the last was Jordy Mercer’s RBI single in the sixth. He was replaced by Shawn Armstrong, who gave up Willi Castro’s run-scoring single before getting out of the inning.

“It was good to get out of that first inning,” Brooks said. “And then the boys did what they did.”

DJ Stewart connected for a two-run shot in the fifth. It was his second of the year and second in his last three games. Trey Mancini hit a two-run homer, his 31st, in the seventh inning and drove in three runs.

“Brooks did such a good job, though he didn’t necessarily have his best stuff,” Mancini said. “But he grinded through.”

Tigers starter Jordan Zimmermann (1-11) took the loss against the Orioles. He allowed four runs on eight hits in five innings.

The Orioles took a 1-0 lead in the first as they were given to and taken away from by the baseball gods. Jonathan Villar scored on Mancini’s one-out single. He reached on a single when his topper down the first-base line appeared to be going foul, but stayed fair as Zimmermann tried to field it too late. A stolen base and groundout brought Villar to third.

But after driving in Villar, Mancini was hit by Dwight Smith Jr.’s grounder that appeared to be heading for right field. Mancini was the second out of the inning, and Smith Jr. was credited with a single.

Stevie Wilkerson started a three-run burst in the fifth inning, which gave Baltimore a 4-0 lead, with a leadoff double. Stewart followed with a 394-foot two-run homer, according to Statcast, down the right-field line. Mason Williams brought in the third run with a groundout.

Defensively, third baseman Rio Ruiz made an outstanding stop, diving towards the line on Grayson Greiner’s one-hopper, to start an inning-ending double play in the second. Later, Wilkerson threw Mercer out at the plate to end the fourth.

“Pitching and defense tonight,” Hyde said.