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Tigers look to continue second half on hot streak

Jul 18, 2008 - 10:12 AM Detroit (48-47) at Baltimore (45-49), 7:05 pm EDT

BALTIMORE (Ticker) -- The Detroit Tigers are starting to look like the dominating team they were expected to be. After an awful start , they finished the first half at .500. Dig deeper and the numbers show a 24-11 run over the last 35 games.

The Tigers will look to build on the run as they take on the Baltimore Orioles on Friday.

Brandon Inge, Gary Sheffield and Marcus Thames all homered on Thursday, leading the Tigers to a 6-5 win over the Orioles. Outfielder Magglio Ordonez returned from the disabled list and went 1-for-5 in his first action since June 28.

Armando Galarraga (7-3, 3.27 ERA), who led Detroit's starters in ERA in the first half, is looking for his first win since June 18 as he takes the mound against the Orioles.

He will also try to build on lefthander Kenny Rogers' outing on Thursday that saw the lefty allow four runs and 11 hits in six gritty innings.

Baltimore will counter with Jeremy Guthrie (5-7, 3.49) in hopes the 29-year-old will pick up where he left off in the first half. In his first year as a full-time starter, the Stanford product is third among American League hurlers in innings pitched. He has thrown at least five innings in all but one of his 20 starts.

Melvin Mora broke out of a modest 1-for-10 slump with a 2-for-4 effort that included a home run and his 49th and 50th RBI.

Aubrey Huff has also been hot for Baltimore, collecting at least two hits in five of his last eight games.