The Baltimore Orioles (52-55) and the Detroit Tigers (50-57) meet Tuesday for the second installment of a three-game set at Comerica Park in Detroit. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. ET, and it can be viewed or streamed on MLB.TV.
The Orioles opened the series with an 8-5 victory on Monday night, although RHP Kyle Bradish wasn’t particularly impressive (4.2 IP, 5 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 4 K). It was a strong offensive showing for Baltimore, however, as the O’s swatted three home runs. 3B Coby Mayo had an impressive night at the dish, going 2 for 4 with his 14th home run, two runs scored and three RBI. SS Jackson Holliday collected for hits, including a double, while coming in to score twice.
The O’s were able to collect a total of 12 hits and four walks while striking out just three times against Tigers pitching enroute to the victory.
The Tigers bats were decent on Monday, posting 11 total hits, while All-Star SS Kevin McGonigle ended up 2 for 5 at the top of the order. RF Zach McKinstry and 1B Spencer Torkelson each were 2 for 3 with a run scored and an RBI, and McKinstry collected his third triple of the 2026 season. Torkelson’s RBI came in the form of a sacrifice fly.
On Tuesday night, the Orioles roll out RHP Dean Kremer (1-3. 5.08 ERA, 1.19 WHIP), while the Tigers counter with the red-hot RHP Troy Melton (5-1, 1.95 ERA, 0.95 WHIP).
Kremer’s numbers aren’t impressive, and on the road, he is even worse, going 0-2 with a 6.19 ERA in three starts across 16 IP, allowing 11 earned runs and 14 hits, although he does have 17 strikeouts, which is always a concern. Detroit likely will have a lot more whiffs Tuesday, but it should also be able to get to him early, and often.
Melton, on the other hand, has been a tremendous bump for the Tigers’ rotation. The former San Diego State Aztecs pitcher has lit it up in his first 10 starts of the season, posting a sub-2.00 ERA, while recording 55 strikeouts in his 60 frames. He has been slightly more hittable at Comerica Park than on the road, allowing seven of his eight homers in the Motor City. However, he has limited the damage on those shots, and he has a still impressive .196 opponent batting average and 1.02 WHIP across 27.1 IP in five outings in the D.
The Tigers are on a three-game skid, after it looked like they might be ready to climb back into the postseason chase in the American League. The offense has been a bit moribund lately, compiling just 22 runs in the past six games, or 3.7 runs per game (RPG).
For the Orioles, they’ve struggled to stack wins, alternating wins and losses in each of the past six games, going 3-4 in the past seven since a rare seven-game winning streak from July 9-19 on both sides of the All-Star break.
We’ll back the TIGERS (-144) as moderate favorite in Tuesday’s game, as they look to bounce back from the series-opening loss. The pitching scales are tipped in Detroit’s favor with Melton against Kremer.
And, while we had an Over result in the series opener, let’s go UNDER 9.5 (-120) in Game 2. That’s a big number with Melton on the bump, and the Under is 4-2 in the past six games for the O’s, while going 14-6 in the past 20 outings. The total has gone low at a 4-1-1 clip in the past six for Detroit, and 12-4-1 in the past 17 games, while cashing Under in each of the past six starts by Melton.
