Tonight at 5:37 p.m. ET the American League Divisional Series kicks off on TBS with the Detroit Tigers heading to Camden Yards to face the Baltimore Orioles, in a matchup that can be live streamed online by clicking this link. Tigers fans can listen to the action on 97.1 The Ticket, while Orioles fans may do likewise on 1090 WBAL. The Tigers will send 2013 Cy Young winner Max Scherzer to the hill for Game 1 to face Chris Tillman for the O's.
The pitching matchup in this series is lopsided on paper, with Detroit sending the last three Cy Young winners at the Orioles' lineup.
"I think we all know what it looks like on paper," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Wednesday. "But there's a lot of things that look a certain way on paper for us that we were able to overcome."
The Orioles staff, however, might be getting shortchanged. They are low on marquee names, but posted the American League's third best team ERA and finished with the second-best record in the AL. Tillman served as their ace, going 13-6 with a 3.34 ERA in 207.1 innings. His FIP (4.04) and low BABIP (.267) indicate he may have been lucky to post such a good ERA this season, but he has a stellar defense backing him up.
Both sides have comparable offenses. The Orioles boast the American League home run leader in Nelson Cruz, a breakout thumper in Steve Pearce, and All-Star center fielder Adam Jones. That trio combined for 90 home runs, and yet may not top the Tigers' heart of the order.
The Tigers are of course led by former Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera, and 1B/DH Victor Martinez who had arguable the greatest season of his career at the dish.
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