at. TIGERS, 9/11

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Game 3 (1:10)

<IMG SRC="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kRA0kohlwpI/TIQSBQQ2KRI/AAAAAAAADmY/_KuXbW6jxfg/s1600/Orioles+-+baby+bird+2009.gif" HEIGHT="80" WIDTH="80" BORDER="0"> |=======| <IMG SRC="https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/Fathead/lgo_mlb_detroit_tigers?layer=comp&fit=constrain&hei=300&wid=300&fmt=png-alpha&qlt=95,0&op_sharpen=1&resMode=bicub&op_usm=0.0,0.0,0,0&iccEmbed=0" HEIGHT="80" WIDTH="80" BORDER="0">

* games back of wild card

Team Records

77-64 |=======| 76-65

3rd, -2.0 |=======| 2nd, -1.0*

Streaks / L10

+1, Won 3 of 5 / 6-4 |=======| -1, Lost 3 of 4 / 6-4

Team Offensive Rankings (AL)

BA: .261 (7th) |=======| BA: .267 (2nd)

OPS: .772 (2nd) |=======| OPS: .765 (4th)

Runs: 660 (5th) |=======| Runs: 641 (8th)

HR: 219 (1st) |=======| HR: 183 (6th)

Last 7 Days

BA: .265 (11th) |=======| BA: .282 (7th)

OPS: .801 (7th) |=======| OPS: .776 (11th)

Runs: 39 (7th) |=======| Runs: 27 (12th)

HR: 11 (4th) |=======| HR: 9 (11th)

Team Pitching Rankings (AL)

ERA: 4.40 (11th) |=======| ERA: 4.19 (9th)

WHIP: 1.39 (13th) |=======| WHIP: 1.32 (8th)

BAA: .261 (10th) |=======| BAA: .262 (11th)

TB: 2020 (10th) |=======| TB: 1990 (7th)

Last 7 Days

ERA: 2.90 (2nd) |=======| ERA: 3.92 (5th)

WHIP: 1.08 (2nd) |=======| WHIP: 1.29 (3rd)

BAA: .205 (1st) |=======| BAA: .256 (6th)

TB: 70 (2nd) |=======| TB: 90 (3rd)

Starters

ERA: 4.86 (12th) |=======| ERA: 4.18 (3rd)

WHIP: 1.43 (13th) |=======| WHIP: 1.30 (5th)

BAA: .268 (11th) |=======| BAA: .260 (6th)

TB: 1325 (8th) |=======| TB: 1318 (5th)

Relievers

ERA: 3.64 (5th) |=======| ERA: 4.24 (13th)

WHIP: 1.33 (10th) |=======| WHIP: 1.35 (11th)

BAA: .248 (8th) |=======| BAA: .265 (13th)

TB: 695 (11th) |=======| TB: 672 (8th)

NEW: Quality Start minimum requirements

* - Game ERA must be 4.00 or less with at least six innings pitched

Chris Tillman

(15-5)

3.76 (1.27/.242)

126K / 58BB, 18HR

QS: 13

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Tillman hasn't pitched since August 20th against the Astros, so some rust may be present for this start and all we can hope for is that it doesn't flare up again. He threw seven scoreless against the Tigers back in May. Tillman has never lost against Detroit at 5-0 in eight starts.

Splits & Sits

299 vs. left: .233/.314/.361, 8HR

331 vs. right: .249/.319/.372, 10HR

Bases Empty: .249

RISP: .241

RISP w/2 outs: .261

Men on w/2 outs: .202

Man on 3rd, < 2 outs: .429

2016 Away (12 starts)

(7-3) 3.18 (1.11/.215), 9HR

Career vs. DET (8 starts)

(5-0) 2.56 (1.04/.186), 4HR

Career @ Comerica Park (5 starts)

(3-0) 2.65 (1.03/.174), 2HR

vs. Batter

Ian Kinsler (22 AB) .273, 2B, HR, 2RBI

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (21 AB) .143, 2 2B

Victor Martinez (15 AB) .333, 2B, 2RBI

Miguel Cabrera (15 AB) .333, 2B, HR, 4RBI

Jose Iglesias (14 AB) .143, 2B

Erick Aybar (12 AB) .083

J.D. Martinez 1/9, 3K

James McCann 0/5, BB

Cameron Maybin 1/4, 2B

Andrew Romine 0/3

Justin Upton 0/3, 3K

VS

Justin Verlander

(14-7)

3.28 (1.01/.209)

209K / 47BB, 26HR

QS: 20

Since July 2nd, Verlander has made 13 starts and 12 of them have been sub-4/6+ starts and the other one missed qualifying by one out. Verlander had a 1.69 in July, a 2.43 in August and allowed two runs in seven innings against Chicago in his only September start and struck out 11. The veteran is pitching like he is capable of and what made him one of the best pitchers in baseball for so long. He had a rough April (5.46) and June (4.73), but has been hot since then. He has allowed four homers over the last three starts and nine homers since August 5th, so there's that. Verlander allowed one run on four hits and two walks in eight innings against the Orioles back in May. He struck out eight.

Splits & Sits

376 vs. left: .203/.259/.346, 13HR

400 vs. right: .215/.266/.340, 13HR

Bases Empty: .207

RISP: .204

RISP w/2 outs: .060

Men on w/2 outs: .150

Man on 3rd, < 2 outs: .318

2016 Home (17 starts)

(9-4) 3.17 (0.91/.191), 18HR

Career vs. Baltimore (17 starts)

(9-4) 3.70 (1.17/.227), 14HR

vs. Batter

Adam Jones (38 AB) .263, 2B, 3HR, 7RBI

J.J. Hardy (36 AB) .250, 2 2B, 3HR, 9RBI

Michael Bourn (35 AB) .371, 2 2B, 4RBI

Matt Wieters (27 AB) .148, 2B, 3B, HR, 2RBI

Chris Davis (27 AB) .259, 2RBI, 12K

Manny Machado (18 AB) .167, 2B, RBI, 7K

Pedro Alvarez (14 AB) .143, 2B, 7K

Mark Trumbo (12 AB) .167, RBI

Jonathan Schoop (11 AB) .091, HR, 3RBI

Drew Stubbs 3/8

Nolan Reimold 2/7, RBI

With Daniel Norris having not pitched since the 4th, it is completely puzzling why Ausmus would start Zimmermann when he was in the condition we saw him in during this game. Even more puzzling is the fact that Zimmermann refused another rehab assignment and was actually allowed to do that AND make the start in such an important game. This game was lost before it began for Detroit and Ubaldo Jimenez held it together to turn in the uncharacteristically solid performance against this team in a big game. Granted, it was a blowout, but the Tigers put the pressure on several times and couldn't get the big hit. Even worse for them is they had to ask for eight innings out of their bullpen. If I was a Tigers fan, I imagine I'd be pretty upset with all of this. This loss is all on Ausmus. Zimmermann should have never been out there. To add more context to this, Norris made three career appearances against the Orioles. In 9.1 innings, Norris allowed two runs on six hits and three walks.

I think Verlander gets the edge here on paper both because he has been very good for much longer and couldn't be hotter right now. Of course, the big one is that Tillman hasn't pitched in three weeks. Verlander is as good as it gets for a couple months now, so we'll see.

Houston, New York, Toronto and Seattle all won today to keep pace with the Orioles. The KC game is still going on, but they are up by two runs in the ninth.

Wild Card Standings

*Boston +2.0

*Toronto +1.0

*Baltimore --

Detroit -1.0

NY Yankees -1.0

Houston -2.5

Seattle -3.5

KC Royals -4.0

Birthday Post

https://www.pressboxonline.com/2016/09/10/tracking-the-orioles-chase-for-home-run-history-140-game-checkpoint

It's getting down to crunch time for the 2016 Orioles.

Not only are they in the midst of a season-defining six-game stretch in the postseason chase, but they're also closing in on the franchise record for home runs in a season. With 22 games remaining, the Orioles have already tallied the second-most homers in club history (220). They need 38 more to break the team record of 257, set by the 1996 Birds.

Time for the ace to return to form and pitch like an ace.

Go O's...

Time for the ace to return to form and pitch like an ace.

Go O's...

Should be playoff-esque atmosphere.

The good news is Verlander is a fastball pitcher and we are a fastball hitting team. He has given up 26 homeruns. The bad news is he is also a strike out pitcher and we are a strike out team.

Should be playoff-esque atmosphere.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="de" dir="ltr">Most swings & misses:<br>Scherzer 524 <br>Archer 418<br>Jose Fernandez 416<br>Syndergaard 413<br>Pineda 409<br>Verlander 407<a href="https://t.co/F9zxk6CIrO">https://t.co/F9zxk6CIrO</a></p>— Daren Willman (@darenw) <a href="

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Saw him a couple of weeks ago.

Saw him a couple of weeks ago.

It's always good to see Paul.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TODAY'S LINEUP: Chris Tillman returns as the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Orioles?src=hash">#Orioles</a> look for a big series win in Detroit! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IBackTheBirds?src=hash">#IBackTheBirds</a> <a href="https://t.co/gUAn1w8d4f">pic.twitter.com/gUAn1w8d4f</a></p>— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) <a href="

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2 up and 2 down

stand up triple for manny

Surprised Maybin didn't catch that.

It figures

Davis K's and we strand Manny at 3rd

Didnt know Verlander can still throw 97.