Detroit Tigers vs Baltimore Orioles Series Preview

A tale of two different clubs

What a difference a week makes in baseball. The Tigers are sitting at 7-10 after an impressive 4-1 homestand with series victories over San Francisco and Cleveland. A mix of good starting pitching and timely hitting were the keys to victory, as Detroit got the best start in a Tigers uniform from Eduardo Rodriguez.

Rodriguez got Tigers killer Jose Ramirez to strike out three times and thanks to some defense behind him, kept the Guardians off the scoreboard.

Kerry Carpenter made his case to stay in the everyday lineup, going 6-for-18 with two home runs and 3 RBIs (.333/.333/.722). The bullpen, which was beat around quite a bit in the first three series of the year, has not allowed a run over their last 15 innings of work.

Opposition Breakdown: Baltimore

Pitching matchups: Friday: RHP Michael Lorenzen vs RHP Tyler Wells. Saturday: LHP Joey Wentz vs RHP Kyle Gibson. Sunday: TBA vs RHP Grayson Rodriguez. For Sunday's start, it will be either Matthew Boyd or Eduardo Rodriguez.

Detroit, for the second straight series, will have a team who is aggressive on stealing bases. The Orioles are second in MLB with 25 stolen bases. They are also pretty good on getting on base, with a wRC+ of 120, just second to Tampa, who has a staggering 157 to lead the league.

Jorge Mateo, who has been off to a hot start, left the game early on Wednesday with hip discomfort, but said he will be ready to play in the series. Baltimore has not won a season series against the Tigers since 2016. Detroit is 7-2 over their last nine games at Camden Yards.