Tigers, Orioles eager to ignite struggling offenses in opener

Tigers, Orioles eager to ignite struggling offenses in opener

The Detroit Tigers and Baltimore Orioles will look to get their seasons untracked when they meet Friday night in Baltimore.

It's the beginning of a 10-game homestand for the Orioles, who just finished a 1-5 road trip.

"We've shown that we can play with anyone," Baltimore manager Craig Albernaz said. "We just have to allow ourselves to play with anyone. Whether it be on the pitching side, defensively, offensively. We just have to get everything clicking at once."

The Orioles were swept in three games vs. Tampa Bay in St. Petersburg, Fla., on Monday through Wednesday. They failed to protect a two-run lead in the eighth inning of their most recent game, a 5-3 setback to the Rays.

Albernaz called that situation "a big-time gut punch."

Detroit, meanwhile, is in the midst of a six-game losing streak and has gone seven games in a row without scoring more than three runs.

The Tigers are coming off a 1-6 homestand that included two defeats in 10-inning games. They fell 3-1 to the Cleveland Guardians on Thursday afternoon.

"We're wearing it," Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said.

The Tigers are 11 games below .500 for the first time since 2023. Detroit players insist they're united despite the on-field woes.

"We all got to stick together, you know," Casey Mize said. "And we are, in my opinion."

But it's not necessarily a happy clubhouse.

"We're just frustrated. We're trying. We're doing everything we can," outfielder Matt Vierling told The Detroit News. "We expected to be better than this, and we're just overall frustrated. All we can do is show up tomorrow and try to win a ballgame."

Baltimore has been held to three or fewer runs in 10 of its last 13 games. Albernaz said the Orioles have looked passive on the base paths at times.

"That's when we lose some opportunities out there," he said. "(We need to be) aggressive on the bases. When we're pushing the envelope on the bases, that's when good things happen for us."

Orioles first baseman Pete Alonso has begun to show a power stroke, raising his home run total to nine. Five homers have been opposite-field shots.

Baltimore infielder Jackson Holliday played third base for the first time in the major leagues for one inning Wednesday. But he could bounce around the infield based on his workload in the minor leagues while on injury rehabilitation assignments.

Right-hander Chris Bassitt (3-3, 5.44 ERA) will head to the mound on Friday for Baltimore, coming off a five-inning stint in which he gave up four runs and took the loss Saturday at Washington in a 13-3 outcome. He has won in his last two starts at home.

Bassitt is 4-4 with a 3.88 ERA in 10 career starts vs. the Tigers.

Detroit right-hander Jack Flaherty (0-5, 5.77 ERA), who'll start the series opener, has lost three consecutive starts, including Sunday vs. Toronto when he allowed four runs in six innings in a 4-1 setback. Flaherty has averaged more than one strikeout per inning this season (48 in 43 2/3 innings).

Flaherty, who pitched part of the 2023 season for the Orioles, has faced Baltimore only once. He lost in that 2024 game, giving up three runs in six innings.

--Field Level Media