The Baltimore Orioles will be eager to build momentum and the Detroit Tigers are anxious to snap out of their funk.

There could be ample opportunities for those scenarios when the teams meet in Sunday’s day-night doubleheader in Baltimore.

With Saturday’s game rained out and a shaky forecast for Sunday, it might not be a smooth day of action.

Yet there’s a big push to get the games played Sunday as this series marks the only scheduled visit of the season for the Tigers in Baltimore.

Detroit manager A.J. Hinch said it’s crucial that the team focus on what they can control and not become consumed with the possibilities regarding the schedule.

“There’s always the thought of coming back here (to make up a game or two), but we can’t get our heads too far down that path,” Hinch said.

The teams played through wet conditions when the Orioles won 7-4 in Friday night’s series opener.

Once again, Baltimore first baseman Pete Alonso has been leading the rallying cry that the Orioles are on the verge of a sustained breakthrough, delivering his 10th homer and four total RBIs in the win.

“I still believe in these guys,” Alonso said. “This team, this organization, I think we’re right there, and I just think collectively, once we kind of get the ball rolling, so to speak, and starting to connect the dots on all sides of the ball … it’s going to be a lovely snowball effect when we get it going.”

The result from the series opener left Detroit with a seven-game losing streak and losses in 15 of its past 17 games. Much of the shortcomings are connected to the offense, as the Tigers are batting a combined .199 since May 3.

The teams combined to use 11 pitchers Friday night, so the rainout allowed them to replenish their bullpens.

The Orioles are expected to use right-hander Brandon Young (3-1, 4.25 ERA) and left-hander Trevor Rogers (2-5, 6.87) as Sunday’s starting pitchers in Game 1 and 2, respectively.

Young has allowed two runs in each of his last two outings, but those covered only a total of nine innings. He has faced Detroit only once, picking up his first big-league decision on April 26, 2025 with a loss when he worked 4 2/3 innings and gave up three runs in a road assignment.

Rogers posted victories in his first two outings, but he hasn’t reached the six-inning mark in his last five starts, taking the loss in all of them. In his last three games, he’s surrendered 17 runs (16 earned) in a combined 9 1/3 innings.

The Tigers also might have a left-hander and right-hander in starting roles on the mound.

Right-hander Troy Melton appears ready for his season debut in the big leagues after rehabilitation assignments that included throwing Tuesday in a Class-A game for Lakeland. Prior to the start of the series, Hinch called the possibility of having Melton in a game this weekend likely. Bringing Melton on board would have to involve player moves that would include the 40-man roster.

The Tigers will use lefty Framber Valdez (2-3, 4.58), who’s 0-2 with a 6.12 ERA across his last five outings, in the first game of the day. Valdez has faced the Orioles seven times in his career — all while with the Houston Astros — and holds a 1-2 mark with a 4.17 ERA across 41 innings.

–Field Level Media

The Philadelphia Phillies are holding a pair of aces, and they hope a win is in the cards on Sunday afternoon when they conclude their three-game series with the visiting Cleveland Guardians.

The Phillies’ starting pitching has been on full display in the first two games of the weekend series. Cristopher Sanchez logged eight scoreless innings Friday in his team’s 1-0 defeat, and Zack Wheeler blanked the Guardians over six frames in a 3-0 triumph Saturday.

“I think everybody feeds off each other, you know?” Wheeler said. “You always try to beat the guy the day before you. He’s pretty hard to beat right now, but you’ve got to go out there and try. … Whatever run he’s been on, it’s pretty special. It’s almost unmatchable.”

Wheeler has a 1.67 ERA this season, while Sanchez’s mark is even better at 1.62. Sanchez also is riding a scoreless streak of 37 2/3 innings.

The Guardians managed only three hits against Wheeler and a trio of relievers in Saturday’s setback. One hit was by impressive rookie Travis Bazzana, who doubled against hard-throwing closer Jhoan Duran in the ninth inning.

“Just felt like it was a good time for Travis to get an opportunity tonight,” Cleveland manager Stephen Vogt said Saturday regarding Bazzana batting in the leadoff position. “Don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow. We’re trying to look to see how this group fits together the best.”

Saturday’s outcome snapped the Guardians’ seven-game winning streak. It also halted the Phillies’ three-game skid.

Philadelphia hopes to begin a new winning streak with rookie Andrew Painter (1-4, 5.77 ERA) on the mound on Sunday.

The 23-year-old right-hander is coming off back-to-back productive outings. Most recently, he yielded two runs in a career-high six innings Monday in a no-decision against the Cincinnati Reds. Philadelphia won 5-4.

“He looks really good,” Phillies second baseman Bryson Stott said. “He’s got elite stuff, and I think once he knows that, I think you’ll see a lot more outings like this.”

Stott has 20 RBIs in 21 games this month, including a two-run single to spark Philadelphia in Saturday’s victory. He’ll hope to continue that run as he faces Cleveland left-hander Parker Messick (5-1, 2.45 ERA) in the series finale.

Messick has walked three batters in each of his last two starts, although he limited the damage in each outing. He gave up three runs — two earned — in five innings Tuesday against the Detroit Tigers in a game the Guardians won 4-3.

“Probably some of the worst command we’ve seen Parker have, but for him to be able to keep getting outs and keep them off the board the way he did, I thought he and (catcher Austin Hedges) worked excellent together,” Vogt said after the game. “Just the command we saw from Parker tonight wasn’t what we’re used to.”

Messick and Painter both will face the opponent for the first time in their careers.

Bryce Harper had three hits and scored twice for the Phillies on Saturday. But Kyle Schwarber struck out three times, giving him 11 punchouts in his last three games.

For Cleveland, Kyle Manzardo will look to bounce back after going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Saturday. On Friday night, Manzardo hit a pinch-hit homer off Duran in the ninth to score the game’s only run.

–Field Level Media

A strong pitching matchup is on tap as the visiting Minnesota Twins look to complete a three-game series sweep of the Boston Red Sox on Sunday afternoon.

Standing in the way of Bailey Ober (5-2, 3.63 ERA) and the Twins is fellow right-hander Sonny Gray (5-1, 2.93), who has allowed just two runs and struck out 17 batters in 17 innings across a three-game win streak.

Gray pitched six innings of one-run ball with a season-high nine strikeouts last Monday against the Kansas City Royals. It was his second straight outing of that length.

“The same as we’ve seen (in) the last two outings,” Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said of Gray’s recent stretch. “Just in complete control, in and out, up, down, changing speeds. Had a nice front-door sinker, running it back on lefties, catching the inside corner. He was sensational.”

Gray, who is 3-6 with a 5.63 ERA in 11 career starts against Minnesota, again will look to play the role of stopper for his team after the Twins started the series with 8-6 and 4-2 victories.

On Saturday, the Red Sox were limited to five hits, but a ninth-inning rally after loading the bases was cut short. It was the 22nd game this season in which they were held to two or fewer runs (2-20).

“We gave ourselves chances and had a big, big shot there,” Tracy said.

Ceddanne Rafaela had Boston’s lone RBI hit on a double in the fourth inning.

Willson Contreras was 2-for-3 and scored a run, but he also was at the center of a minor benches-clearing altercation after he slowed up before running into Twins catcher and former Chicago Cubs teammate Victor Caratini covering the plate.

“It wasn’t anything malicious or anything at all, it was not bad intention,” Contreras said. “For him to get that mad at that was kind of surprising. For the benches to empty, that was surprising as well.”

The Twins claimed the series and won their third straight on Saturday. Trevor Larnach’s 4-for-5 day with a double and two runs helped make a winner out of Taj Bradley, who returned from the injured list to pitch five innings of one-run ball.

The victories have come in different ways for Minnesota. It scored five unanswered runs to finish Friday’s series opener before a two-run first inning started things off on Saturday. The latter game featured a 12-hit performance, with four players posting multiple hits.

“We took (the Fenway Park crowd) out until the end and then they got a little rowdy like they do here, but overall, our guys continued to battle in another really good team victory,” Twins manager Derek Shelton said.

Like Gray, Ober is in the midst of a solid run of his own. He has won back-to-back and three of his last four starts.

After holding the Miami Marlins to two hits in a complete-game shutout on May 12, Ober grinded through five innings of three-run ball to beat the Milwaukee Brewers in his most recent outing last Sunday.

“I’m not always going to have my stuff like I did last game, where I’m able to locate everything, and I know that,” Ober said of his last outing. “I feel like I did enough for the team to stay in it.”

Ober is 2-2 with a 2.48 ERA in five career starts against the Red Sox. He earned his second straight win in the series back on April 13, striking out seven through a six-inning start.

–Field Level Media