The Baltimore Orioles will be eager to build momentum and the Detroit Tigers are anxious to snap out of their funk.
There could be ample opportunities for those scenarios when the teams meet in Sunday’s day-night doubleheader in Baltimore.
With Saturday’s game rained out and a shaky forecast for Sunday, it might not be a smooth day of action.
Yet there’s a big push to get the games played Sunday as this series marks the only scheduled visit of the season for the Tigers in Baltimore.
Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said it’s crucial that the team focus on what they can control and not become consumed with the possibilities regarding the schedule.
“There’s always the thought of coming back here (to make up a game or two), but we can’t get our heads too far down that path,” Hinch said.
The teams played through wet conditions when the Orioles won 7-4 in Friday night’s series opener.
Once again, Baltimore first baseman Pete Alonso has been leading the rallying cry that the Orioles are on the verge of a sustained breakthrough, delivering his 10th homer and four total RBIs in the win.
“I still believe in these guys,” Alonso said. “This team, this organization, I think we’re right there, and I just think collectively, once we kind of get the ball rolling, so to speak, and starting to connect the dots on all sides of the ball … it’s going to be a lovely snowball effect when we get it going.”
The result from the series opener left Detroit with a seven-game losing streak and losses in 15 of its past 17 games. Much of the shortcomings are connected to the offense, as the Tigers are batting a combined .199 since May 3.
The teams combined to use 11 pitchers Friday night, so the rainout allowed them to replenish their bullpens.
The Orioles are expected to use right-hander Brandon Young (3-1, 4.25 ERA) and left-hander Trevor Rogers (2-5, 6.87) as Sunday’s starting pitchers in Game 1 and 2, respectively.
Young has allowed two runs in each of his last two outings, but those covered only a total of nine innings. He has faced Detroit only once, picking up his first big-league decision on April 26, 2025 with a loss when he worked 4 2/3 innings and gave up three runs in a road assignment.
Rogers posted victories in his first two outings, but he hasn’t reached the six-inning mark in his last five starts, taking the loss in all of them. In his last three games, he’s surrendered 17 runs (16 earned) in a combined 9 1/3 innings.
The Tigers also might have a left-hander and right-hander in starting roles on the mound.
Right-hander Troy Melton appears ready for his season debut in the big leagues after rehabilitation assignments that included throwing Tuesday in a Class-A game for Lakeland. Prior to the start of the series, Hinch called the possibility of having Melton in a game this weekend likely. Bringing Melton on board would have to involve player moves that would include the 40-man roster.
The Tigers will use lefty Framber Valdez (2-3, 4.58), who’s 0-2 with a 6.12 ERA across his last five outings, in the first game of the day. Valdez has faced the Orioles seven times in his career — all while with the Houston Astros — and holds a 1-2 mark with a 4.17 ERA across 41 innings.
–Field Level Media
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