RMINGHAM, Ala. -- Undefeated heavyweight Deontay Wilder defends his WBC title against Chris Arreola.

The Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers are neck and neck in the American League playoff chase. With the teams facing off this weekend, beat writers Eddie Matz (Os) and Katie Strang (Tigers) debate which one has the edge.Read their conversation -- then vote below.Matz: The Orioles are like the evil villain in a B horror movie. Just when you think theyre toast, they rise from the ashes to wreak havoc on a group of unsuspecting teenagers with a habit of hanging out in abnormally dark places where cellphone range is oddly limited.Substitute the Tigers for the stupid teens, and voila -- youve got your 2016 Os. They limped out of August having lost 10 of 16, not to mention their grip on the second AL wild-card spot. But since the calendar flipped to September, theyve won four of six and suddenly have the look of a dangerous squad. Heck, the way their rotation is rounding into form (better late than never!), a division title isnt out of the question.Thats more than Los Tigres can say.Strang: Funny you should employ such imagery, Eddie. Normally, I think any team would be quick to take offense to any surly teen comparisons, but the Tigers influx of youth has actually been a big reason Detroit remains in the thick of the playoff race.Michael Fulmer has been a revelation for the Tigers -- at this point, the 23-year-old righty is the front-runner for the AL Rookie of the Year award -- but young lefties such as?Matt Boyd and Daniel Norris have also stepped up to stabilize what has at times been an erratic and injury-ravaged rotation. Combine that youthful exuberance with the steady presence of resident ace Justin Verlander?--?who could pitch himself into the AL Cy Young conversation with a strong September -- and the heavy lumber of proven veterans such as?Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and a suddenly resurgent Justin Upton, and you have a well-rounded, experienced team in Detroit still smarting from the sting of missing out on last seasons playoffs.This is a club playing with confidence and swagger, and it is not even close to full strength. Once they get third baseman Nick Castellanos, who was hitting .286 with 18 homers when he went down with a hand injury last month, and No. 2 starter Jordan Zimmermann, who had a phenomenal first half of the season, back, we might see a Tigers team reminiscent of the ones that dominated the AL Central from 2011 to 14.Matz: No matter how filthy Verlander is in September, theres no way he wins the Cy Young because (exaggeration alert) Ubaldo Jimenez already has it locked up.After being baseballs worst starter in the first half, he was banished to the bullpen. But when ace Chris Tillman hit the shelf with a bum shoulder, skipper Buck Showalter broke the in-case-of-emergency glass and summoned Jimenez to take Tillmans spot. Since then, the 32-year-old righty is partying like its 2010: He has a 2.91 ERA in three starts and, in his last outing, tossed the Os first complete game in two years. Combine that with Dylan Bundys arrival, Kevin Gausmans maturity, and Tillmans return this Sunday (versus Verlander in a huge game thats not the ESPN Sunday Nighter because ... why exactly?), and suddenly the Birds biggest weakness is -- dare I say it -- a strength (-ish).Strang: OK, were going to have to table the whole Ubaldo Jimenez debate for another day, since that is a weird and unpredictable saga that deserves discussion in its own right -- consider me skeptical he can sustain his recent success -- but I feel I should at least point this out about youngster Dylan Bundy. Like Tigers rookie (and fellow Oklahoma native) Michael Fulmer, it has been great for the Orioles to get such contributions from the former fourth overall draft pick.However, workload has to be an area of concern for the organization; the 23-year-old is already at 94.1 innings -- more than any of his previous three seasons combined. For a promising young arm just three years removed from Tommy John surgery, Bundys long-term health would trump the teams short-term needs, one would think. It will be interesting to see how the Orioles manage his innings while trying to make a playoff push, but I digress ...Lets get down to brass tacks here and state an obvious advantage for the Tigers: strength of schedule (or lack thereof). The Tigers, with 23 games remaining in the season, have the easiest path of any of the top five teams in the American League wild-card race, with an average opponents winning percentage of .479. The toughest test will be the final two series of the season against the division-leading Cleveland Indians, against whom they are a putrid 1-11 in 2016. But you have to figure that, eventually, the law of averages might win out and the Tigers could make up some critical ground against the Tribe.Beyond that, Detroit has a few cupcakes on the remaining schedule, including a pair of sets against the Minnesota Twins and a season-ending three-game series against the bottom-dwelling Braves.Hows that for a favorable few weeks?Matz: I see what you did there, Katie. Kicked it off with an astute observation about how Fulmer and Bundy are practically twins, then bookended it with more Twins talk. You cant teach that.But you can teach hitting. And the way the Birds are starting to swing the bats, it doesnt matter who they play. Well, it kinda does. But the truth is, the speed bumps in Detroits road to the postseason (seven games versus Cleveland, three versus K.C.) arent all that different from the bumps in Baltimores (seven versus Boston, three versus Toronto).But back to those bats: After a deep midsummer slumber, the Os artillery, led by MVP candidate Manny Machado and a recently resurgent Chris Davis, is heating up at just the right time. Since the beginning of August, the Birds have bashed 65 bombs, which is 10 more than the next closest American League squad. Hows that for a favorable few weeks?Strang: Touché, Eddie, touché. But while the Orioles bats are admittedly crushing the ball, leading the league with a whopping 219 home runs, Im more comfortable with Detroits total offensive production over the course of the entire season.Entering Fridays game, the Tigers rank third overall in the majors and second in the American League (second only to the high-octane Boston Red Sox) with an impressive .267 batting average. And while their bullpen has regressed from the first half of the season, their rotation is still holding its own and being stingy when it counts. Since Aug. 20, Detroits starting pitchers have allowed three earned runs or fewer in 16 of 17 games, tops in the American League.Combine the returns of Castellanos and Zimmermann with the fact that the teams big boppers Cabrera, Upton and J.D. Martinez?are swinging their bats well, and I like this teams chances.Matz: I also like the Tigers chances ... of watching the postseason from the comfort of their respective homes. Patrick Mahomes Youth Jersey . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Harrison Butker Womens Jersey . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/Youth-Tyrann-Mathieu-Elite-Jersey/ . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Khalen Saunders Chiefs Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Tyreek Hill Youth Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Saturday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EDT:- TROON, Scotland -- Phil Mickelson enters the windy third round of the British Open one shot ahead of Henrik Stenson. Jordan Spieth, who just made the cut, is 15 strokes behind.- VILLARS-LES-DOMBES, France -- Chris Froome and the other race leaders observe a moment of silence before the 14th stage of the Tour de France in tribute to the victims of the Nice attack.- LOUDON, N.H. -- Dale Earnhardt Jrs latest battle with concussions puts the issue at the forefront again in NASCAR. He will miss Sundays race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.- NASCAR Xfinity race in New Hampshire; IndyCar qualifying in Toronto.- BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Undefeated heavyweight Deontay Wilder defends his WBC title against Chris Arreola. Arreola got the bout on short notice after Russias Alexander Povetkin failed a drug test.- PORTLAND, Ore. -- The U.S. can win its Davis Cup qquarterfinal by taking its doubles match against Croatia.ddddddddddddTwins Bob and Mike Bryan face Ivan Dodig and Marin Draganja. Match starts 4:30 p.m.- CHICAGO -- Yu Darvish of Texas makes his second comeback from injury this season, facing the Cubs in a game between slumping teams. He has been out since June 8 because of shoulder pain. Game starts 2:20 p.m.- Laurie Hernandez, all of 16 years old, is the youngest -- and maybe most charismatic -- member of the powerhouse U.S. womens gymnastics team going to the Rio Olympics.- LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- The sprint canoe teams from Romania and Belarus are banned from the Olympics for widespread doping.- MIAMI -- Pat Riley knows the Miami Heat will be a far different team next season. The Heat president discusses free agency, the loss of Dwyane Wade and the remaking of a team that once ruled the league. ' ' '