Spring Training GameThread: Tigers vs. Orioles

Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles

Time/Place: 1:05 p.m., Ed Smith Stadium

SB Nation blog: Camden Chat

Media: Gameday Audio, Orioles Radio Network

Pitching Matchup: RHP Anibal Sanchez (8-5, 3.43 ERA in 2014) vs. RHP Kevin Gausman (7-7, 3.57 ERA in 2014)

Originally the less-heralded of the two-headed pitching monster moving through the Orioles' farm system, Gausman's health has afforded him far more innings at the major league level than Dylan Bundy in their respective careers. Gausman spent most of 2014 in the major leagues, where he put up some impressive totals for a 23 year old. This included a 2.87 ERA and 3.22 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 31 1/3 September innings when the Orioles finally started to take the training wheels off. Gausman worked seven innings in three of his five starts, eclipsing the 100-pitch mark all three times.

Armed with a fastball that lives at 95-96 miles per hour and a nasty splitter, Gausman is capable of racking up strikeouts in bunches. However, he lived at the bottom of the strike zone in 2014 and only induced an 8.8 percent swinging strike rate. By comparison, Justin Verlander was at 8.7 percent last season after sitting above 10 percent in four of the previous five years. That is where Gausman should be, but it seems his strengths are clashing with the Orioles' organizational philosophy. A quick fix would be to let Gausman work upstairs, where mid-90s gas is both highly tempting to hitters and highly effective for pitchers. Jeff Sullivan's piece at Fangraphs -- here, I'll link it again -- is an absolute must-read on that topic.

Also scheduled to pitch: TBD

Tigers lineup:

1. Anthony Gose, DH
2. Jose Iglesias, SS
3. J.D. Martinez, RF
4. Nick Castellanos, 3B
5. Aaron Westlake, 1B
6. Bryan Holaday, C
7. Daniel Fields, CF
8. Hernan Perez, 2B
9. Andrew Romine, LF

Spring training!

Cabrera, Kinsler, Cespedes, Davis, Avila among regulars not making the trip Wednesday to Sarasota.

— Chris Iott (@Chris_Iott) March 3, 2015

Orioles lineup:

1. Alejandro De Aza, RF
2. J.J. Hardy, SS
3. Adam Jones, CF
4. Matt Wieters, DH
5. Chris Davis, 1B
6. Delmon Young, LF
7. Manny Machado, 3B
8. Ryan Flaherty, 2B
9. Caleb Joseph, C