September 20 – The Baltimore Orioles are expected to be contenders for the American League East title at season’s end.
Instead, they’re caught up in a different kind of struggle to qualify for the playoffs, and the Detroit Tigers are a big part of it.
The Tigers have entered the AFC playoff transition, beginning a three-game series at Baltimore on Friday night.
For the rapidly declining Orioles (85-68), getting some wins this week is crucial to at least guaranteeing a three-game trip to the Yankees next week while the AL East schedule is still in jeopardy.
Although they enter Friday as a wild card, they trail the Yankees by four points in the Eastern Conference race. Anthony Santander hit a two-run homer and the Orioles beat San Francisco 5-3 on Thursday afternoon, giving them the momentum they hoped for.
Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday said, “It was a good win and it sets the stage for some very important series.”
For Detroit (80-73), it’s a question of moving from one crucial series to the next in the search for a wild-card berth.
“First of all, we believe in it,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “We come in every day trying to win games, and we win a lot.”
The Tigers are competing for a wild-card spot after winning three games against the playoff contender Royals in Kansas City. That puts them on a four-game winning streak and five of their last six games.
The recent strong performance started with wins in two of three games against the Orioles last weekend.
“We have a good team, a resilient team,” Detroit pitcher Tarik Skubal said. “I think if you look at our last season.”
The Tigers are tied with the Minnesota Twins for the third and final AL wild card spot and are looking for their third consecutive win of five or more this year.
“I think our team does a good job day-by-day, game-by-game,” Skubal said. “We need to keep winning and hopefully we can control our own destiny in the key moments.”
Baltimore has won just three of its last 11 games, but Thursday’s result was exciting.
“We need this win,” said Santander. “We need this momentum for next week.”
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said most of the wins have been close because of the team’s low scoring streaks of late.
On Friday night, both teams will have pitchers who were dominant when the teams met last weekend.
Right-hander Corbin Burnes (14-8, 3.06 ERA) will be Baltimore’s starting pitcher. He limited the Tigers to two hits and one run in seven scoreless innings in the Orioles’ win at Detroit on Saturday. It was the team’s only win in six games before Thursday’s drama.
Burnes gave up only three earned runs in 18 innings this month, a big change from August when he gave up three or more runs in five starts.
The Tigers will open the series with right-hander Keyder Montero (6-6, 4.60) on the mound. The rookie will make his 16th start and 17th appearance. The 24-year-old has won five of his last six calls.
Montero has something to look forward to after beating the Orioles in five innings in Detroit on Sunday. His scoreless streak extended to 14 innings, following a three-hit shutout against Colorado on Sept. 10.
Detroit is 6-1 ATS in its last seven road games. The Tigers’ last two road losses have come in overtime.
–Visual-level media
