A look back at Tigers' last visit to Baltimore

The Orioles were swept three straight at home just one time during the 2014 season. The Detroit Tigers were the team that did it and that Tigers team will be at Camden Yards again on Thursday for Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Before they came to Baltimore, Detroit hosted the Orioles in the season's second series and won the first two games 10-4 and 7-6 before Chris Tillman pitched the Orioles to a 3-1 win to avoid the sweep. When Detroit came to Baltimore on May 12 for a three-game series, the Tigers were 21-12 and held the best record in baseball at that time. Emotions ran high in the series opener that Detroit won 4-1. The dugouts and bullpens emptied onto the field in the top of the eighth. Bud Norris hit Torii Hunter after Ian Kinsler hit a two-run homer to put Detroit ahead 4-1. Home plate umpire James Hoye ejected Norris as players from both dugouts ran onto the field. The incident did not escalate from there. In the clubhouse that night, Norris said that was his first career ejection and he didn't feel it was justified. "I threw a first-pitch slider," Norris said that night. "He took a really aggressive hack at it, so I felt he was on my slider. Tried to throw a four-seam fastball in and it kind of got going in on me. Late in the game eighth inning, 115 pitches or whatever it may be. "I'm sorry he didn't appreciate it but I'm trying to throw a ball over the plate to get an out. This is a tough loss for us and I'm obviously a little wound up about it. Trying to pitch deep in the game and help my team win. "He didn't like it and he's entitled to his opinion, but I think he did overreact a bit." The next night the Orioles suffered a crushing defeat. Trying to protect a 1-0 lead with two outs and two on in the ninth, Tommy Hunter gave up a three-run homer to Miguel Cabrera. Victor Martinez followed with a solo shot and Detroit stunned the Orioles 4-1. The blown save ruined a very strong outing from Ubaldo Jimenez, who pitched seven scoreless innings and, at that point, had an ERA of 0.46 in May. This game was the final straw that cost Hunter the closer's role. Over his previous four games in 3 1/3 innings, Hunter allowed 10 hits and eight runs. This was his third blown save as his ERA increased to 6.60. A win would have made that a very uplifting night for catcher Caleb Joseph. He threw out three runners on the bases and came up with his first big league hit, a single to center in the fourth. The next day, May 14, the Orioles would host the Tigers at 12:35 p.m. trying to avoid the sweep with Kevin Gausman facing Justin Verlander. It would be Gausman's first big league start of the season. Detroit would take an early 6-0 lead and hold off the Orioles 7-5 to complete the sweep. Gausman gave up six hits and five runs over four innings. Verlander gave up six hits and a then season-high five runs over six innings. In the last of the fourth, Verlander threw a pitch behind Nelson Cruz. It made you wonder if that was his response to Norris hitting Hunter in the series opener. That seemed to wake up the dormant O's bats, as they scored five runs in the fifth to pull within 6-5. Adam Jones and Chris Davis produced RBI singles and Cruz hit a three-run homer. Down 7-5 in the eighth, the O's loaded the bases with two outs but Joba Chamberlin got Nick Markakis on a fly out to center to end that threat. Markakis went 0-for-13 in the series. So the Tigers got the sweep and on Thursday they return to Baltimore for the first time since that series. They will face a much different Orioles team this time. One that saw its starting pitching come together beginning in June. One that now has Zach Britton closing and Andrew Miller in the bullpen. Steve Pearce wasn't starting then. Tillman was about to make two starts over the next few weeks where he wouldn't survive the second inning. Yes, a lot has changed since mid-May. The Tigers looked like World Series favorites then while the Orioles best days were yet to come. The online casino, Bovada, has posted some odds for the postseason. Odds to win the 2014 AL championship: Los Angeles Angels - 2/1 Detroit Tigers - 11/4 Baltimore Orioles - 3/1 Oakland Athletics - 6/1 Kansas City Royals - 7/1 Odds to win the 2014 World Series: Los Angeles Angels - 5/1 Los Angeles Dodgers - 5/1 Washington Nationals - 11/2 Detroit Tigers - 6/1 Baltimore Orioles - 13/2 St. Louis Cardinals - 8/1 Oakland Athletics - 11/1 San Francisco Giants - 12/1 Pittsburgh Pirates - 14/1 Kansas City Royals - 16/1 Congrats to Single-A Frederick third baseman Jason Esposito. Esposito has been named a Rawlings Gold Glove Award recipient. He is the first Keys player to win a Gold Glove. An award given annually to Major Leaguers, the Gold Glove was reintroduced in the minors in 2011 after an almost 50-year hiatus. Esposito, who is headed to play in the Arizona Fall League, led all Carolina League third baseman in fielding percentage (.960), putouts (83) and assists (257) while he finished tied for the lead in double plays (19). Esposito did not make an error through his first 38 games.