DETROIT – The first month of the 2025 season couldn’t have gone much better for the Detroit Tigers.
One month ago Sunday, the Tigers opened their season with a hard-fought loss to the defending World Series champion Dodgers. Fast forward to this weekend, and Detroit swept the Baltimore Orioles to build upon the best record in the American League.
It’s amazing how fast the tables can turn in baseball.
This weekend was a jarring reminder of how far the Tigers have come in just nine short months.
Last year at the trade deadline, the Tigers had just lost their third game in a row to fall to 52-57. They sure looked like they were heading for a ninth-straight season without a playoff appearance.
We all know what happened from there. Detroit ripped off 31 wins in the span of 42 games, got into the playoffs, and upset the Houston Astros in the first round.
And despite nationwide skepticism, that success has carried over into 2025, with the Tigers off to a torrid 18-10 start.
What does that have to do with this weekend? Well, the Orioles were a hot topic in Detroit last July because many expected the Tigers to trade their ace, Tarik Skubal, to Baltimore because of the gap between the two organizations.
The Orioles were a young, talented World Series contender and the Tigers were in the middle of a rebuild. It felt like a perfect match, but ultimately, no deal came together.
Now they’re heading in opposite directions.
Baltimore, which failed to address its pitching needs last season, settled for a wildcard spot and got swept out of the first round by Kansas City.
This year, the Orioles are in last place with the second-worst record in the AL. They’ve allowed the most runs in the AL despite playing fewer games than most teams, and only the White Sox and Rockies have worse records.
A core of Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, Jackson Holliday, Jordan Westburg, Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, and others were supposed to make the Orioles a perennial contender. That’s not to say it can’t still happen, but right now the pitching problems are overpowering the loaded lineup.
Meanwhile, Detroit owns a 2.5-game lead in the AL Central and boasts one of the league’s top farm systems. The Tigers are built in a way that makes them contenders right now and also feels sustainable for the future.
Nine months ago, that’s what everyone thought about the Orioles.
These diverting paths were glaring on Saturday and Sunday, as the Tigers took three in a row from the Orioles by a combined score of 17-5.
It had to be especially painful for Orioles fans to watch Skubal mow through their lineup for six shutout innings and 11 strikeouts on Sunday afternoon.
One month isn’t enough time to make definitive statements about these teams, but it’s pretty clear that the Tigers weren’t just a flash in the pan last summer.
That was especially clear over the weekend. And it came at the expense of a team that would suddenly love to switch places with the Old English D.
