Baltimore Orioles vs. Detroit Tigers: Keys for Each Team to Win ALDS Game 1

Playoff season is here at last, and after nearly two weeks of waiting, the Baltimore Orioles have finally drawn an opponent for the American League Division Series: the Detroit Tigers.

The Tigers are certainly not among the most ideal matchups for the Orioles in the opening playoff series, so it's going to be a tough road ahead if the Orioles hope to take three against a club that is loaded with star talent.

Without core players such as Matt Wieters, Manny Machado and Chris Davis, the club as a whole needs to play not only up to its ability but also beyond it in order to have success against other playoff-caliber teams.

For the most part, the Birds have done exactly that over the past few months, getting surprise production at the plate from the likes of Steve Pearce and Alejandro De Aza, to name a few.

Let's take a look at what each club needs to do in order to take the first game of the series and start out on a high note.

Detroit Tigers: Get a Commanding Lead for a Shaky Bullpen

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

Boasting the second-best offense in all of the majors this season, the Tigers ended up just 16 runs short of the Los Angeles Angels for most runs scored in the 2014 season.

While the Tigers ended this season tied for seventh in homers, their offense has been incredible in the on-base department with a percentage of .331, just .002 short of the major league-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Tigers are hoping their potent offense can mask the starting rotation, which finished in the bottom third of the majors in ERA (3.89) but has shown a small improvement in September, pitching for a combined sub-4.00 ERA for the first time since May.

Getting out to an early lead may be the most crucial key to the game for Detroit, as the team is finding it hard to rely on its bullpen to shut the door on opposing offenses.

The Tigers find themselves in the cellar among both leagues in reliever ERA (4.29), and much of their woes in the bullpen stem directly from their closer, Joe Nathan.

Nathan has been vastly underperforming all year given his talent and his track record in the closer role, as he has pitched to a dreadful 4.81 ERA and a strikeout-per-walk ratio of just 1.86 in the regular season.

The biggest red flag for Nathan and the Tigers, however, is his road split ERA of 5.67, and that could spell trouble at Camden Yards.

Detroit Tigers: Scherzer Needs to Dominate a Diminished O's Lineup

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The Tigers have announced their starting rotation for the American League Division Series, with staff ace Max Scherzer squaring off against Chris Tillman in Game 1.

Scherzer has followed up his 2013 breakout year with superb results, winning 18 games and striking out over 250 batters in just 220.1 innings pitched in the regular season. He is the Tigers' clear-cut ace.

With so many injuries affecting Baltimore's lineup, the bottom third is full of unaccomplished hitters who have been effective only in small bursts over the season.

It's not clear who manager Buck Showalter will play at third base given his option to play either utility man Ryan Flaherty or Kelly Johnson at the hot corner, but neither player strikes fear into an opposing pitcher, especially one of Scherzer's caliber.

Showalter's affinity for a strong defense seems to suggest that Flaherty will be his man for most of the playoffs.

That gives us a projected bottom third of Ryan Flaherty, Nick Hundley and Jonathan Schoop, in no particular order.

All three possess batting averages of less than .235 and on-base percentages of less than .290.

In particular, Schoop has been one of the worst regular hitters in baseball. Given Schoop's batting average of just .209 and his on-base percentage of just .244, it's clear that his power and the lack of depth at second base are what's keeping him in the lineup.

Baltimore Orioles: Get Past the First Inning Unscathed

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Orioles ace Chris Tillman has been named the starter for Game 1, and he has earned the nod given his extraordinary performance in the second half, pitching for an ERA of 2.33 in that time.

For much of the year, Tillman has struggled early in games and has had difficulty settling in.

In the regular season, Tillman had a combined first- and second-inning ERA of 5.17. That is alarming, especially when you take into account that his first-inning split alone is a whopping 5.56 ERA.

Despite his early-inning struggles, Tillman has shown an ability to ease into games and find his groove, as evidenced by his sub-3.00 ERA splits from the fourth inning on.

If Tillman can escape the first inning untouched, he should manage to hand it off to a Baltimore bullpen that has been one of the best in the majors all season.

Baltimore Orioles: Bullpen Does Its Job

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

The bullpen is clearly one of Baltimore's greatest strengths, and it will be a key factor in the Orioles' success if they do indeed make a deep playoff run.

After trading for lefty Andrew Miller at the trade deadline, the Orioles established their own one-two-three punch of Miller, setup man Darren O'Day and closer Zach Britton.

All three hurlers possess ERAs of 1.70 or less on the regular season and have been big parts of a Baltimore bullpen that ended up ranked sixth in the majors in the category.

Britton, in particular, has been a revelation for the Orioles and has stepped in and embraced the closer's role.

After failing to live up to his hype as a starting pitcher early in his career, Britton was converted to a full-time reliever this year, and his value to the club has never been higher.

Britton has saved an incredible 37 games since the middle of May, and it's quite possible he could have reached the 45-save mark if he had started the season in his new role.

If Tillman can successfully bridge over to the bullpen, the Orioles will most certainly start with a crucial one-game lead on the Tigers.

Baltimore Orioles: The Long Ball

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

It's no mystery that the Orioles rely heavily on the long ball and are loaded with several sluggers throughout their lineup.

Baltimore finished in the top spot in homers on the season with 211 and was the only club to surpass the 200-homer milestone.

In fact, the next-best club was Colorado, and the Rockies were a whole 25 homers back of Baltimore.

Even though the O's smacked a ton of long balls, their offense ended up just eighth in the majors in runs scored with 705 and finished with nearly 70 fewer runs than the major league-leading Los Angeles Angels.

With a team on-base percentage less than the major league average, the O's rely far too heavily on the long ball to get their offense going.

Fortunately for the Orioles, Nelson Cruz—who finished the season as the major league home run king with 40 home runs—has heated up at just the right time, hitting for an average of .353 over the past 28 days.

Add Steve Pearce—who has rejuvenated his career to the tune of a .293 batting average and 21 round-trippers in just 102 games played this year—and you've got a recipe for success.

All statistics courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs unless otherwise noted.