Series Preview: Orioles vs. Tigers
The Baltimore Orioles continue their seven game road trip as they head to the Motor City to face the Detroit Tigers. The Orioles are coming off a dissapointing series against the Boston Red Sox, dropping all three games and five of their last six contests. The Tigers are coming off a sweep of the Chicago White Sox and losing four straight to the Cleveland Indians before a loss to the New York Yankees on Friday. The Tigers and have dropped their last five games. Let’s check out the pitching matchups:
Game One: Andrew Cashner (1-1, 2.50 ERA) vs. Francisco Liriano (1-1, 2.13 ERA)
Andrew Cashner will get the ball in the series opener Tuesday night. Cashner had an outstanding start against the Toronto Blue Jays in his last outing, throwing seven scoreless innings. Cashner has not faced the Tigers since 2014, when he threw a complete game one-hitter.
Francisco Liriano will take the mound for the Tigers on Tuesday. Liriano is coming off a solid outing against the Indians, going six innings allowing two runs while striking out four. In his only start against the Orioles in 2017, Liriano went 6.2 innings while allowing two runs and striking out 10. Chris Davis has a home run and two RBI in nine at-bats against Liriano.
Game Two: Kevin Gausman (1-1, 6.60 ERA) vs. Matthew Boyd (0-1, 1.38 ERA)
Kevin Gausman will get the start in the middle game of the series on Wednesday. Gausman went six innings while allowing three runs in a winning effort against the Toronto Blue Jays in his last start. In his only start of 2017 against the Tigers, Gausman went seven innings while allowing one run and recorded eight strike outs. Nicholas Castellanos has one home run and two RBI against Gausman.
Matthew Boyd will take the mound against the Orioles on Wednesday. Boyd went seven innings while allowing one run in a no-decision against the Indians in his last start. In two starts against the Orioles in 2017, Boyd went a total of 6.2 innings while allowing 10 runs. Danny Valencia has a home run off of Boyd in his career.
Game Three: TBD (—, -.– ERA) vs. Jordan Zimmermann (0-0, 8.18 ERA)
The Orioles have not announced a starter for the series finale on Thursday. Alex Cobb is expected to get the ball for his second start of the season.
Jordan Zimmermann will get the ball for the Tigers in the series finale. Zimmermann lasted only two outs in his last start after taking a liner off the jaw from Cleveland’s Jason Kipnis. In his only start against the Orioles in 2017, Zimmermann went six innings allowing four runs while picking up a win. Chris Davis has three home runs in six at-bats against Zimmermann.
Both teams enter the series on losing skids and in fourth place in their respective divisions. The Orioles lost the season series 4-3 in 2017.
