3 things you need to know - ALDS: Tigers at Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers will open up the American League Division Series on Thursday, and despite having not faced each other since May, there's likely going to be no shortage of bad blood hanging over from their last series. 

In their second-last meeting, Orioles right-hander Bud Norris drilled Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter in the ribs with a fastball that cleared the benches. Let's hope that animosity hasn't died down over the course of a long summer. 

Here are three things you need to know about the ALDS:

The Orioles' rotation is better than you think 

The knock on the Orioles heading into the season was that they didn't have a solid rotation and they responded to their critics by capturing the AL East with relative ease. 

It's true, Baltimore doesn't possess a starter that strikes fear into opposing hitters – such as the likes of Tigers' starters David Price or Max Scherzer – but they provide enough support for a potent offense. 

Chris Tillman, who gets the ball for Game 1, Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez and Norris all boast a sub-3.70 ERA while throwing at least 155 innings this season. Nothing spectacular, but consistent. 

Baltimore will hope its steady rotation silences one of the top offenses in baseball, before handing over the reigns to one of the best bullpens in the majors. Orioles' relievers finished the regular season with a 3.10 ERA – the league's sixth best mark – while holding the opposition to a .226 average. 

The Tigers' bullpen could cost them another shot at the World Series

Detroit looked to be in cruise control in the 2013 ALCS against the Boston Red Sox until closer Joaquin Benoit served up a game-tying grand slam in the eighth inning to David Ortiz. That pitch would turn the series around and would see the Tigers ousted in six games. 

Despite an attempt to build up the bullpen this season with veterans - adding Joe Nathan, Jim Johnson and Joakim Soria – rookie manager Brad Ausmus appears set to deal with the same problems his predecessor, Jim Leyland, faced a season ago. 

The Tigers' bullpen ranked 21st in walks (192), 27th in ERA (4.29), and 29th in both WHIP (1.48) and opponent batting average (.266) during the regular season. 

The bullpen should receive a boost, as Anibal Sanchez will be converted to a reliever for the postseason, however, the right-hander has only thrown one inning since Aug. 8 as the result of a pectoral strain. 

The Orioles are a resilient bunch

Baltimore has battled adversity all season long and continues to persevere. 

Matt Wieters suffered a season-ending elbow injury in June and the Orioles kept winning. Manny Machado suffered a season-ending knee injury in August and the Orioles kept winning. Chris Davis received a 25-game suspension on Sept. 12 and the Orioles went 10-7. 

Main pieces of the original puzzle have been replaced. Steve Pearce (21 home runs, 49 RBIs), Nelson Cruz (40 home runs and 108 RBIs) and Alejandro De Aza (.537 slugging in 20 games since joining the O's) have all filled the void offensively for their injured teammates. 

Baltimore opens the series against Detroit as the underdog – facing three former Cy Young winners and the top offense in baseball will do that – but as the Orioles have proven all year, they're ready for the challenge.