Baltimore @ Detroit preview
Comerica Park
Last Meeting ( Mar 30, 2010 ) Detroit 10, Baltimore 9
Tied for the lead in the AL Central, the Detroit Tigers now have a few games to pad their record against the worst team in the league.
The Tigers will be looking to take advantage of the Baltimore Orioles when the teams open up a three-game series on Monday.
After taking two of three from the Seattle Mariners over the weekend, Detroit climbed into a deadlock with the Minnesota Twins at the top of the division. The two teams will meet in a three-game showdown next weekend that will likely determine who will have control of the division heading into the All-Star break.
Against the Orioles, the Tigers will get a chance to flex their offensive muscle against the worst pitching staff in the league. Baltimore ranks last in the AL in team ERA, batting average allowed and OPS against.
Miguel Cabrera, who was named to the AL All-Star team on Sunday and ranks among the league leaders with a .339 batting average, 20 homers and 69 RBIs, has been doing damage against every pitching staff this season. He has been joined rookie Brennan Boesch, who has surprised everyone by batting .345. Boesch went 7-for-12 in the three-game series against the Mariners over the weekend.
Cabrera and Boesch are two of four regulars in the Detroit lineup batting well over .300.
Kevin Millwood will be looking to stay out of the loss column for the fourth straight start when he takes the mound for the Orioles on Monday. The veteran right-hander began the season 0-8 in his first 12 starts, including four straight losses from May 28-June 13. He finally broke through on June 19 at San Diego, allowing three runs in six innings to earn his first win.
Millwood won his next start despite allowing four runs and eight hits in just five innings and did not factor in the decision against the Oakland Athletics last Wednesday, allowing six runs in five innings. The 35-year-old has had some trouble keeping the ball in the ballpark this season, yielding a major league-high 20 homers.
He has made 13 starts against the Tigers in his career, going 4-5 with a 3.65 ERA while surrendering six homers in 86 1/3 total innings. Cabrera has two of those blasts and has knocked Millwood around with a .323 average (10-for-31).
Detroit will counter with rookie Andy Oliver. The 2009 second-round draft pick rocketed through the minor leagues and has held his own in two major league starts, going six innings and allowing two earned runs in each.
The Tigers offense hasn’t shown much support for their young left-hander, however, managing only a single run in each of the games to saddle Oliver with the losses.
The 22-year-old Oliver can reach the mid-90s with his fastball and has struck out 10 batters in 112 major league innings. He punched out 70 batters in 77 1/3 innings in Double-A this season.