It’s been pouring all day in the greater Baltimore area, but it appears we’re going to attempt to play baseball tonight, because the public won’t rest until they get to see two teams that are a combined 20 games under .500 do battle. People all around the country are hosting their Orioles/Tigers watch parties, and we wouldn’t want to disappoint them.
Tonight’s game is airing exclusively on Apple TV+, with no local MASN broadcast. So if you don’t have Apple TV+, you have a convenient excuse to not
watch the Orioles play. And even if you do have Apple TV+, you should probably just check out some of their original programming instead of watching this awful team. May I recommend Loot? Maya Rudolph is a delight.
But if you’re a glutton for punishment who insists on tuning in tonight, you’ll see the O’s take on a team that’s doing even worse than them. The Tigers, who have been in the playoffs the past two seasons, have collapsed to a 20-31 record and are currently sitting in last place in the AL Central. Their offense has disappointed and their pitching staff has been beset by injuries. Sound familiar? Check out Mark Brown’s series preview to learn more about this weekend’s Orioles opponent.
This is a series that the O’s absolutely need to win if they’re going to start climbing out of the massive hole they’ve dug themselves. Of course, no Orioles fan should feel at all confident that they’ll actually do so. The O’s are facing former Orioles bust Jack Flaherty, who is currently 0-5 with a 5.77 ERA. So of course he’s going to deliver a quality start against the O’s. You can pretty much etch it in stone.
The Birds will use Keegan Akin as an opener for the second time this year, letting him face the Tigers’ top lefty hitters — Kevin McGonigle and Riley Greene — before Chris Bassitt comes in as the bulk reliever. That combination worked excellently on Mother’s Day, when Akin tossed a perfect first inning against the Athletics before Bassitt went six strong frames and allowed just one run. It’s worth doing again, and hopefully the results will be much the same.
Orioles lineup:
LF Taylor Ward
SS Gunnar Henderson
C Adley Rutschman
1B Pete Alonso
DH Samuel Basallo
CF Leody Taveras
RF Colton Cowser
3B Coby Mayo
2B Jackson Holliday
LHP Keegan Akin
Tigers lineup:
SS Kevin McGonigle
C Dillon Dingler
DH Jahmai Jones
LF Riley Greene
1B Spencer Torkelson
CF Wenceel Pérez
RF Zach McKinstry
3B Gage Workman
2B Hao-Yu Lee
RHP Jack Flaherty
