On Friday night, the Detroit Tigers will kick off the unofficial second half of the 2015 MLB season by welcoming Buck Showalter and the Baltimore Orioles to Comerica Park for a three-game set. Excluding preseason games, this will mark the first time the two teams have met since the 2014 ALDS, when the O’s swept the Tigers in three games.

Interestingly enough, the Tigers and Orioles are currently in the exact same position. They are both 44-44 and sit 3.5 games out of the second AL Wild Card spot. With the Tigers now sitting nine games back of the Kansas City Royals in the AL Central, this could be a crucial series for them as making up ground in the Wild Card race could be their best chance of getting into the postseason for the fifth straight year.

Furthermore, with only two weeks to go until the non-waiver trade deadline, the Tigers do not have an abundance of time to decide whether they will be buyers or sellers. If they start the second half off on the wrong foot, it would hardly be shocking to see them wave the white flag by the time July 31 rolls around.

Fortunately for the Tigers, they will have their three best pitchers going this weekend. In Game 1, Anibal Sanchez will go toe-to-toe with Ubaldo Jimenez. Sanchez isn’t necessarily having his best year and his struggles with the long ball have certainly been perplexing, but he has gone 5-1 with a 3.16 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP since June 3. He will, however, have a tough customer to face in the resurgent Jimenez, who has gone 7-4 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.27 WHIP thus far in his second season with the O’s.

On Saturday, the matchup clearly favors the Tigers at first glance as their ace, David Price, will be going up against Chris Tillman. Price has been sensational this year, going 9-2 with a 2.38 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP, whereas Tillman has struggled to the tune of a 6-7 record with a 5.40 ERA and a 1.56 WHIP.

The final game of the series should be a winnable contest for the Tigers as well, with Justin Verlander taking on Miguel Gonzalez. Verlander struggled out of the gate in his first four starts after returning from a triceps injury that kept him on the sidelines until June 13, but his last outing against the Minnesota Twins was very encouraging. Gonzalez has been having a decent year, going 7-6 with a 4.24 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP, but the Tigers’ offense, which currently ranks first in MLB with a .281 BA, should certainly be able to score a few runs off of him.

With the hourglass now running out of sand, the Tigers must look to take at least two out of these three games. Making a statement against the Orioles could go a long way as far as building momentum is concerned.

Brad Faber is a Senior Writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber or “Like” him on Facebook.