MLB

Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles

· Major League Baseball
Detroit Tigers
81-74, 42-38 Away
Final
6 - 4
Baltimore Orioles
86-69, 44-36 Home

Tigers beat the Orioles 6-4 to inch closer in the AL wild-card race

Detroit moved within a half-game of the Twins for the final American League playoff spot. Minnesota’s game at Boston was rained out and rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Sunday.

The surging Tigers have won 10 of 13 to put themselves in surprise postseason contention after being under .500 a month ago.

“We’ve been battling for a long time now,” said shortstop Trey Sweeney, who made an acrobatic, game-saving catch in shallow left field in the ninth, tumbling over Greene and getting the wind knocked out of him. “I think everybody’s just confident in our lineup, in our staff and defense. Everybody’s confident in each other, and that’s what makes a good team.”

This one almost slipped away when closer Jason Foley allowed consecutive singles, a walk and a double to Gunnar Henderson that tied the score at 4 in the ninth. Detroit manager A.J. Hinch pulled Foley for Brieske (3-4), who induced a groundout, got big help from Sweeney and then ended the threat with a flyout to center.

Brieske called it “almost an out-of-body experience.”

“There wasn’t really a fear of blowing it because I couldn’t go in there with that mindset,” he said. “There was just a tunnel directly to the plate. I didn’t care. Honestly, I just didn’t care about the negative outcome.”

That clutch performance, followed by singles from Greene and Jace Jung and a sacrifice fly from Zach McKinstry off reliever Yennier Cano (4-3), quieted the Camden Yards crowd of nearly 40,000 that was ready to celebrate minutes earlier. Brieske got out of another jam in the 10th to seal it.

“It felt like the stakes were high and two teams really fighting to get into the postseason,” Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said. “A lot of benches emptied and a lot of bullpen guys used. It was a heck of a game. Unfortunately, we just didn’t finish it.”

Baltimore could have clinched a second consecutive trip to the postseason with a win and a Seattle loss later Saturday. Instead, that will have to wait until at least Sunday, and time is running out to catch the New York Yankees atop the AL East.

Detroit (81-74) is one victory from clinching a winning record this season, but the Tigers can legitimately think about the playoffs because of games like this.

“We had every range of emotion you can imagine given how the swings in that game from the very beginning were back and forth,” Hinch said. "If you believe in character wins, this is going to be at the top.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Tigers: Rookie INF Colt Keith, who had a sacrifice fly in the eighth, did not start because of a banged-up right shoulder but could play the entire game in the field Sunday, Hinch said.

Orioles: CF Cedric Mullins was in the lineup after being out Friday because of neck tightness from a collision with Austin Slater in the outfield on Thursday. ... Hyde said 1B Ryan Mountcastle (wrist) and 3Bs Jordan Westburg (hand) and Ramon Urias (ankle) are “getting close” to returning.

UP NEXT

RHP Albert Suárez (8-6, 3.60 ERA) is set to pitch for the Orioles in the series finale. The Tigers had not announced a starter, though RHP Casey Mize (2-6, 4.36) would be on full rest.

How can I watch Detroit Tigers vs. Baltimore Orioles?
  • TV Channel: Tigers at Orioles 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Orioles: 51.0%
Tigers: 49.0%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

10th Inning Johnson grounded out to second.
10th Inning Kjerstad struck out swinging.
10th Inning L. Soto walked.
10th Inning Rutschman grounded out to second, Cowser to third.
10th Inning Jung as designated hitter.
10th Inning Dingler struck out swinging.

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/det.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originDET https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/mlb/500/bal.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBAL
1 Games Played 1
1 Team Games Played 1
0 Hit By Pitch 1
9 Ground Balls 17
11 Strikeouts 5
6 Runs Batted In 4
0 Sacrifice Hit 0
11 Hits 10
0 Stolen Bases 0
4 Walks 4
0 Catcher Interference 0
6 Runs 4
1 Ground Into Double Play 0
2 Sacrifice Flies 1
38 At Bats 38
0 Home Runs 0
0 Grand Slam Home Runs 0
20 Runners Left On Base 20
1 Triples 0
1 Game Winning RBIs 0
0 Intentional Walks 0
2 Doubles 1
20 Fly Balls 17
0 Caught Stealing 0
180 Pitches 178
0 Games Started 0
3 Pinch At Bats 1
3 Pinch Hits 0
0.0 Player Rating 0.0
1 Is Qualified 1
0 Is Qualified In Steals 0
15 Total Bases 11
44 Plate Appearances 44
0.0 Projected Home Runs 0.0
3 Extra Base Hits 1
5.3 Runs Created 4.5
.289 Batting Average .263
1.000 Pinch Hit Average .000
.395 Slugging Percentage .289
.211 Secondary Average .132
.341 On Base Percentage .341
.736 OBP Pct + SLG Pct .630
0.5 Ground To Fly Ball Ratio 1.0
4.8 Runs Created Per 27 Outs 4.2
41.5 Batter Rating 28.0
0.0 At Bats Per Home Run 0.0
0.00 Stolen Base Percentage 0.00
4.09 Pitches Per Plate Appearance 4.05
.105 Isolated Power .026
0.36 Walk To Strikeout Ratio 0.80
.091 Walks Per Plate Appearance .091
-.079 Secondary Average Minus Batting Average -.132
12.0 Runs Produced 8.0
1.0 Runs Ratio 1.0
0.4 Patience Ratio 0.4
0.4 Balls In Play Average 0.3
89.0 MLB Rating 81.3
0.0 Offensive Wins Above Replacement 0.0
0.0 Wins Above Replacement 0.0

Game Information

Oriole Park at Camden Yards

Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance: 39,647 | Capacity:

2024 American League Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 92 69 .571 - L2
Kansas City 86 76 .531 6.5 W1
Detroit 86 76 .531 6.5 L2
Minnesota 82 80 .506 10.5 L4
Chicago 41 121 .253 51.5 W2

2024 American League East Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
New York 94 68 .580 - W1
Baltimore 91 71 .562 3 W3
Boston 81 81 .500 13 W1
Tampa Bay 80 82 .494 14 L1
Toronto 74 88 .457 20 L3
Full Standings