BALTIMORE — Right-hander Kenta Maeda, a former starter whom the Detroit Tigers demoted to the bullpen in mid-July, nearly threw an immaculate inning in the eighth inning of Friday's 7-1 loss to the Baltimore Orioles.

He struck out three batters in a row, needing only 10 pitches — nine strikes — to do so.

"Maybe he found something that clicked to where his next outing, which could be as early as tomorrow, it locks him in," manager A.J. Hinch said before Saturday's game. "The swings that he was getting were a good sign, and him being able to repeat it multiple innings was a good sign."

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There have been 115 immaculate innings by 105 pitchers in MLB history, including two this season, from Michael Kopech (Chicago White Sox) in July and Ryan Pepiot (Tampa Bay Rays) in September.

Maeda remains in search of his first immaculate inning, but he showed a positive sign in Friday's loss at Oriole Park at Camden Yards by retiring all seven batters he faced across 2½ innings while generating five strikeouts, despite pitching in mop-up duty.

His fastball averaged 93.4 mph.

"That's probably the best fastballs we've seen in a while," Hinch said, "which will then bring his other stuff with it, and his command was really good. That was an important outing that nobody will really talk about because it was in the type of game it was, but it saved literally every other pitcher in the bullpen from having to pitch."

Maeda, by the way, has more postseason experience than anyone on the roster that's pushing for the third and final spot in the American League wild-card race.

The 36-year-old, an eight-year MLB veteran, has pitched in 27 games across six postseasons, with a 3.24 ERA in 41⅔ innings. That's more games than right-handed reliever Shelby Miller (six games in four postseasons) and outfielder Matt Vierling (12 games in one postseason) combined.

Those are the only three Tigers with playoff experience.

"It's more important than ever to continue to win games," Maeda said in Japanese in mid-September, interpreted by Daichi Sekizaki. "In order for us to go to the next spot, we have to wish for the other teams to lose games, but what we can do is control our part, and that's to win our games."

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For a few weeks, Maeda has been locked in on games played by the Minnesota Twins.

Not only did Maeda pitch for the Twins for three seasons before signing a two-year, $24 million contract with the Tigers, but he also knows the Tigers need to pass the Twins in the AL wild-card race.

"I actually do watch the Twins games very closely," Maeda said.

But Maeda can only worry about his performance. Home runs have hurt him in a few relief appearances, but generally, he has performed much better since moving to the bullpen.

He registered a 7.26 ERA with a 17.1% strikeout rate in 16 games as a starter, followed by a 3.86 ERA with a 23.8% strikeout rate in 12 games as a reliever.

Maeda has logged zero earned runs in four of his last five games.

"As far as the role, whatever the team has for me to do, I just go out there and give my 100%," said Maeda, who has a 5.93 ERA with 30 walks and 91 strikeouts across 107⅔ innings. "That goes with everybody on this team. This late in the season, this is when guys are starting to get tired and fatigued, and not everyone might be 100% physically and mentally, but this is the very important part of the season where we all have to push through."

Why didn't Colt Keith start Saturday?

Colt Keith, a left-handed hitter, wasn't in the starting lineup for Saturday's game against left-hander Cade Povich, even though he was in the lineup against Povich in Detroit exactly six days ago.

"It's not a day off," Hinch said. "It's just a start off."

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The 23-year-old didn't start in Baltimore because he hasn't been cleared to play second base in his return to full health from a right shoulder injury.

He remains available off the bench, limited to designated hitter.

"I didn't feel comfortable putting at him at second yet," Hinch said. "We are hoping that (Sunday) would be the day he can play second. Given that, we're going to take (Justyn-Henry) Malloy against the lefty, and then I can get Colt in at any point during the game for a big at-bat."

Who starts Sunday?

Right-hander Casey Mize — whom Hinch said before Friday's game was "listed in the starter column" — could start Sunday in the series finale against the Orioles.

He also might not.

"We'll see what happens," Hinch said before Saturday's game. "We haven't named a starter for tomorrow. That would be his first day eligible to pitch on full rest. He may or may not make that start. We might do something completely different. I don't know how today's game is going to go. We'll talk about it after the game."

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If Mize doesn't start Sunday, he wouldn't start until Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Rays if the Tigers plan to keep him in the "starter column," as Hinch previously mentioned.

Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Tigers Kenta Maeda nearly immaculate vs. Baltimore Orioles