Justin Verlander

For the first time since joining the Orioles, starting pitcher Jaret Wright finally looked comfortable on the mound. He located his fastball and threw his other three pitches for strikes. However, when Wright started warming up for the fifth inning last night, he was alarmed by a familiar feeling in the back of his right shoulder. Wright made it through one more inning before getting removed with shoulder stiffness in the Orioles' 3-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers. Tigers@Orioles Tonight, 7:05, MASN, 105.7 FM Starters: Tigers' Justin Verlander (0-0, 0.00)

Lefty Brian Matusz again excelled on the mound and Endy Chavez homered against reigning American League Cy Young/Most Valuable Player Award winner Justin Verlander, but the Orioles still fell to the Detroit Tigers, 4-2, on Thursday. Matusz continued to do his part, limiting a stacked Tigers lineup to just two hits and a hit batsman while striking out six in four scoreless innings. Matusz has pitched eight scoreless in his past two games - he threw four against the Philadelphia Phillies in his previous outing - providing hope that the 25-year-old can return to the 2010 form that made him one of the better young pitchers in the American League.

Today Tigers, 7:05 p.m., MASN * Starters: Tigers' Kenny Rogers (6-6, 4.55) vs. Orioles' Garrett Olson (6-4, 5.65) Tomorrow Tigers, 7:05 p.m., MASN2 * Starters: Tigers' Armando Galarraga (7-3, 3.27) vs. Orioles' Jeremy Guthrie (5-7, 3.49) Saturday Tigers, 7:05 p.m., MASN * Starters: Tigers' Nate Robertson (6-8, 5.26) vs. Orioles' Daniel Cabrera (6-5, 4.33) Sunday Tigers, 1:35 p.m., Ch. 13, MASN * Starters: Tigers' Justin Verlander (7-9, 4.15) vs. Orioles' Brian Burres (7-5, 5.02)

Before Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz took the mound at Joker Marchant Stadium on Thursday, his catcher, Ronny Paulino , had a piece of advice: "Let's have fun. " "So, OK, I went out there and had fun with it," said Matusz, who turned in his second consecutive scoreless spring outing, this time limiting the Detroit Tigers to two hits and a hit batsman in four innings. He struck out six and walked none in the Orioles' 4-2 loss. "Oh, absolutely, had a great time out there today," Matusz said.

Detroit Tigers@Orioles Day ........................... Time ......... TV .......................................... Starters Tonight ..................... 7:05 ....... CSN ............. Nate Robertson (3-2, 3.25) ........................................................................ vs. Daniel Cabrera (2-2, 4.73) Tomorrow ............... 7:05 ........ CSN ............ Justin Verlander (3-3, 3.68) ......................................................................... vs. Rodrigo Lopez (1-4, 6.75)

The Tiger killer Designated hitter Luke Scott homered twice, including a grand slam in the Orioles' five-run third inning, for his second consecutive multi-homer game and seventh overall of his career. His past three multi-homer games have come against Detroit, dating to last season. It also was the third consecutive game in which Scott has homered. Since coming off the disabled list Wednesday, Scott is 7-for-11 with five homers, 12 RBIs and three walks. D-Train derailed Tigers left-hander Dontrelle Willis entered his fourth start of the season having allowed seven runs in three games spanning 17 2/3 innings.

To make room for Luis Ayala on the Orioles' 40-man roster, the club designated outfielder Matt Angle for assignment. The speedy 26-year-old outfielder, a seventh-round pick in 2007 out of Ohio State, hit .177 for the Orioles in 31 games. His lone big league homer came against AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander to lead off the Sept. 24 game in Detroit. He hit .271 in 108 games for Triple-A Norfolk last season before joining the Orioles. Angle becomes another recent Orioles draftee to be jettisoned this offseason, joining outfielder Kyle Hudson and Brandon Snyder -- all picks under former amateur scouting director Joe Jordan.

Lefty Brian Matusz again excelled on the mound and Endy Chavez homered against reigning American League Cy Young/Most Valuable Player Award winner Justin Verlander, but the Orioles still fell to the Detroit Tigers, 4-2, on Thursday. Matusz continued to do his part, limiting a stacked Tigers lineup to just two hits and a hit batsman while striking out six in four scoreless innings. Matusz has pitched eight scoreless in his past two games - he threw four against the Philadelphia Phillies in his previous outing - providing hope that the 25-year-old can return to the 2010 form that made him one of the better young pitchers in the American League.

A scout's take On Justin Verlander, Detroit Tigers 23-year-old right-hander Pitching -- "He's probably the hardest-throwing starting pitcher in the big leagues right now. His fastball is 94 to 100 mph with ride-life up in the strike zone. He does throw a fair amount of straight ones. He has a hard curveball 79 to 81 mph and a changeup 80 to 82 mph. His stuff is electric." Comparison -- "If you want to make a comparison, Daniel Cabrera [of the Orioles] on Cabrera's best day with his velocity.

Justin Verlander seemingly has been mediocre, with the Tigers winning only two of his six April starts, but his 3.64 ERA is actually a good sign. This is the first time since 2007 that he has finished the first month with an ERA below 5.50. … Manny Ramirez's retirement allowed the Rays to slide Sam Fuld onto the All-Star ballot, and manager Joe Maddon expects him to get a lot of support. Maddon said Fuld has been just as good in left field as Carl Crawford . … The Giants are playing Brandon Belt in the outfield at Triple A. He will go to an outfield corner when he returns rather than unseating Aubrey Huff at first base.

To make room for Luis Ayala on the Orioles' 40-man roster, the club designated outfielder Matt Angle for assignment. The speedy 26-year-old outfielder, a seventh-round pick in 2007 out of Ohio State, hit .177 for the Orioles in 31 games. His lone big league homer came against AL Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander to lead off the Sept. 24 game in Detroit. He hit .271 in 108 games for Triple-A Norfolk last season before joining the Orioles. Angle becomes another recent Orioles draftee to be jettisoned this offseason, joining outfielder Kyle Hudson and Brandon Snyder -- all picks under former amateur scouting director Joe Jordan.

Like Rudolf Nureyev , the Tigers have turned on a dime. They appeared to be downsizing less than two years ago when they traded Curtis Granderson and Edwin Jackson in moves that seemed to show owner Mike Ilitch's concern over a bloated payroll. But that viewpoint passed before the 2010 season started, with free agent Johnny Damon added from the flexibility created by that provocative three-team trade. General manager Dave Dombrowski said the Tigers were only regrouping.

On a night when the league's most dominant hurler was trying to put an exclamation point on the best season for a pitcher in two decades and on a night when a likely Hall of Famer made international baseball history, the Orioles' 6-5 victory over the Detroit Tigers came down to two unheralded rookies who combine to weigh about as much as one NFL lineman. Matt Angle and Kyle Hudson couldn't have come up much bigger, however, Saturday night before a sellout crowd at Comerica Park that was hoping to witness Justin Verlander become the first pitcher since the Oakland Athletics' Bob Welch in 1990 to win 25 or more games.

As much fun as it would be to see the Brewers and Tigers create havoc in October, this is shaping up as a postseason that will be low on surprises. The three best teams entering the playoffs are likely to be the Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox, in that order. The forecast here is we're looking at a Yankees-Phillies World Series, after the Yankees have a relatively easy time against the Red Sox in the American League Championship Series. The Yankees' edge against the Red Sox is that they have better pitching, and their bullpen figures to be the best in the playoffs — a strong statement considering the perfect season the Tigers' Jose Valverde is having and the Braves' All-Star combination of Craig Kimbrel and Jonny Venters . The Yankees' 2.99 bullpen ERA entering the weekend was the best among the nine teams in playoff contention, a tick ahead of the Braves.

The psychoanalyst Helene Deutsch once said "the ultimate goal of all research is not objectivity, but truth. " It's in that spirit that we conclude Curtis Granderson should be the American League's first-half Most Valuable Player. A crowd of players deserves consideration. The Blue Jays' Jose Bautista is once again putting up the biggest numbers with a majors-leading 29 home runs (all numbers are entering the weekend), and Adrian Gonzalez has carried the Red Sox with league-leading totals in average (.351)

Shortly before the 2004 draft, an American League scouting director was singing the praises of Old Dominion's Justin Verlander. He said he had "the best combination" of velocity and a power breaking ball in the draft, but there was an issue. Verlander reportedly had a hard time repeating his delivery, which was why he was walking five guys every nine innings. He was projectable, if everything clicked, but Baseball America ranked four pitchers higher in its draft preview: Long Beach State's Jered Weaver, Rice University's Jeff Niemann and Philip Humber and Texas high-schooler Homer Bailey.

Justin Verlander seemingly has been mediocre, with the Tigers winning only two of his six April starts, but his 3.64 ERA is actually a good sign. This is the first time since 2007 that he has finished the first month with an ERA below 5.50. … Manny Ramirez's retirement allowed the Rays to slide Sam Fuld onto the All-Star ballot, and manager Joe Maddon expects him to get a lot of support. Maddon said Fuld has been just as good in left field as Carl Crawford . … The Giants are playing Brandon Belt in the outfield at Triple A. He will go to an outfield corner when he returns rather than unseating Aubrey Huff at first base.

The Orioles were jolted back to reality Wednesday night when a defensive miscue led to two early runs, their pitching couldn't keep the ball in the yard and their offense was handled by Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander. The sight of legions of empty seats at Camden Yards added to the home opener hangover. Alex Avila had three hits and drove in five runs, Miguel Cabrera and Victor Martinez hit back-to-back homers off Josh Rupe in the fifth and Verlander was in control throughout as the Orioles were beaten, 7-3, by the Tigers before an announced 12,451.