Tigers vs Orioles Preview: Valdez Battles Young Orioles

Framber Valdez is your Tigers starter on Saturday. This Dominican ace brings major credentials to Camden Yards. Valdez spent eight seasons with the Houston Astros and knows playoff baseball inside and out. His numbers look sharp this season. A 1.5 ERA is elite stuff. He's striking out batters and keeping hitters off balance. The Orioles will need to be patient at the plate. One mistake pitch could cost them early. Valdez is exactly the kind of pitcher Detroit leans on when the team needs a win.

Detroit is dealing with some serious health problems right now. Tarik Skubal, a two-time Cy Young winner, is recovering from elbow surgery. He threw a 35-pitch bullpen session and is making rapid progress. Kerry Carpenter got hurt diving for a ball. He's still working his way back to swinging full speed. Gleyber Torres can't swing at full effort yet. Parker Meadows had surgery on his left arm. Javier Baez is rehabbing an ankle injury in Florida. The Tigers are missing big pieces. Getting these players back would give them a real boost.

Friday night was a wild game at Camden Yards. The Orioles won 7-4 in a back-and-forth battle. Baltimore's hitters came alive. Alonso smashed a home run 391 feet into right field. Holliday added another blast to left, going 337 feet. McGonigle's two-out double helped Detroit stay close early. The Tigers' bats were active too. But Baltimore's bats proved stronger down the stretch. Now Saturday brings a fresh matchup. Both teams want to seize the momentum. The pitching will matter more this time around.