Nobody thought the Detroit Tigers would be where they are right now, this late in the season. But here they are, mathematically tied for the final wild card spot with just nine games remaining while sitting seven games over the .500 mark entering the weekend.
AJ Hinch’s squad really needed a sweep of the Kansas City Royals this week and did their part, while the Minnesota Twins continue to struggle. Maybe that rancid sausage has finally run out of mojo… or maybe these Tigers are for real.
Next up is a rematch from last weekend’s series against the Baltimore Orioles, this time inside Camden Yards. The O’s hold a comfortable five-game lead for the first wild card spot while sitting four games behind the American League East-leading New York Yankees, but they have also sputtered down the stretch much like Minny.
So it is do-or-die time for the Olde English D as every single win counts at this point. Below is a look at the pitching matchups for the next three days, with our old friend TBD showing up for a pair — they have done us well so far, so why argue with the results?
The bad news is that Friday night’s game is broadcast on the hated Apple TV+.
Detroit Tigers (80-73) at Baltimore Orioles (85-68)
Times (ET): Fri: 7:05 p.m.; Sat: 4:05 p.m.; Sun: 1:35 p.m.
Place: Camden Yards, Baltimore, Maryland
SB Nation Site: Camden Chat
Media: Bally Sports Detroit, MLB.TV, Tigers Radio Network, Apple TV+
Game 154 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| TBD | – | – | – | – | – |
| Burnes | 182.1 | 22.1 | 5.9 | 3.63 | 3.4 |
Game 154: TBD vs. RHP Corbin Burnes (14-8, 3.06 ERA)
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Baseball Savant
Game 155 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| Olson | 105.1 | 21.7 | 7.3 | 3.23 | 2.2 |
| Povich | 69.0 | 19.2 | 9.6 | 5.13 | 0.2 |
Game 155: RHP Reese Olson (4-8, 3.50 ERA) vs. LHP Cade Povich (2-9, 5.74 ERA)
Olson
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Baseball Savant
Povich
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Baseball Savant
Game 156 Pitching Matchup
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | IP | K% | BB% | FIP | fWAR |
| TBD | – | – | – | – | – |
| Suárez | 122.2 | 18.8 | 7.9 | 3.92 | 1.7 |
Game 156: TBD vs. RHP Albert Suárez (8-6, 3.60 ERA)
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Baseball Savant
Series Outlook: Another must-win series
This run the Tigers have been on the past couple of months has been simply amazing, but the finish line has yet to be crossed. Just one win will guarantee this year’s edition of the Motor City Kitties a .500 record or better for the first time since 2016.
Baltimore enters the weekend fifth in the majors when it comes to OPS (.747) and seventh in runs scored (735) against Detroit’s 22nd (.686) and 18th (649) rankings, respectively. On the pitching side, the O’s are 15th in ERA (3.95), 11th in WHIP (1.24) and tied for 10th in batting average against (.239), while the Tigers are third (3.62), second (1.17) and sixth (.235) respectively.
Hinch and Co. are 2-1 this season against the home team, taking two of three last weekend from them at Comerica Park. There is no reason they cannot at least replicate those results one more time this summer.