DETROIT -- A runaway title in a division of behemoths, then an unexpected sweep against a trio of Cy Young winners.

For Nelson Cruz, Buck Showalter and this unheralded bunch from Baltimore, the question now is: What's next?

Cruz sliced a two-run homer for his latest big postseason hit, and the Orioles held off the Detroit Tigers 2-1 Sunday to reach the AL Championship Series for the first time since 1997.

Bud Norris outpitched David Price in Game 3 of the AL Division Series. The Tigers scored in the ninth inning and put the tying run on second with no outs, but Orioles closer Zach Britton escaped the jam to lift Showalter into his first LCS in 16 seasons as a big league manager.

"This is fun to watch. Believe me, I'm happier than you can imagine," Showalter said. "But most of it comes from getting to see the players get what they've put into it."

Baltimore opens the ALCS on Friday at home against Kansas City or at the Los Angeles Angels.

"We've got a lot to go and we're grinding," outfielder Adam Jones said. "If we play as a team, we can do anything."

So often an afterthought in the rugged AL East, the Orioles won their first division title since 1997 this year, dispatching the second-place New York Yankees by 12 games -- and last-place Boston by more than double that margin. That put Baltimore up against another of the game's most star-laden rosters, and Miguel Cabrera, Justin Verlander and the Tigers couldn't manage a single win.

Cruz's homer Sunday was his 16th in postseason play, including eight against the Tigers. He was the MVP of the 2011 ALCS for Texas in a six-game victory over Detroit.

Cruz spent much of this past offseason without a team after serving a 50-game suspension last year for violating baseball's drug agreement.