DETROIT -- Hall of Famer Hal Newhouser won a Triple Crown pitching for the Tigers in 1945, capturing American League MVP honors in the process while leading Detroit to a World Series title. But one of his subtly impressive feats came late in that season in back-to-back doubleheaders against the Washington Senators, who were just a game and a half behind the Tigers in the AL race.

Newhouser, reportedly battling back trouble down the stretch, threw one inning in the series opener before leaving. The Tigers swept the doubleheader, but Newhouser came back the next day and started the first game of another doubleheader, tossing eight innings in defeat.

Until Saturday, that was the last time a Tigers pitcher had started on consecutive days. Then came Beau Brieske in Saturday¡¯s 4-2 loss to the Orioles.

Technically, Brieske¡¯s back-to-back was more historic. No Tiger had started consecutive games over consecutive days since George Uhle pitched Aug. 4 and 5 against the Senators in 1929, giving up seven runs in each.

In fairness, it¡¯s difficult to compare Brieske¡¯s task. He¡¯s really an opener, setting up a bulk pitcher by facing the top of a lineup until there¡¯s an ideal pocket to hand the ball off. Still, there¡¯s a unique challenge in facing the top of one of the most dangerous lineups in baseball, then doing it again the next night.

¡°We talk a lot about watching guys go two and three times through [the order], and I¡¯m not sure it really counts the same,¡± manager A.J. Hinch said. ¡°But facing the same group of hitters on back-to-back days, not sure who has the advantage, but it¡¯s not really easy on the pitcher, I know that.¡±

It¡¯s tougher when that pitcher isn¡¯t always sure whether he has his best stuff from one game to the next.

Brieske missed the first half of 2023 with right ulnar nerve entrapment. He returned last midseason and has pitched ever since, but getting the nerve back to full health and feeling is a longer process, sometimes two years or more.

¡°Trying to get myself to feel the same on back-to-back [days] has been the biggest obstacle in coming back fully,¡± Brieske said. ¡°But the way that I¡¯ve recovered with one day of rest, two days of rest, has been tremendous. I couldn¡¯t be happier with that. There¡¯s a few things we¡¯re still working the kinks out.

¡°The way that I¡¯ve approached it, you have to take the good with the bad, you have to try to battle through what you have to battle through, but you have to understand that if you feel healthy enough to go out and pitch, that¡¯s a win.¡±

Brieske has tackled it by repeating his daily routine. If something works, stick with it. Still, there are some days when he¡¯ll have his best stuff from his first pitch, and some days when he has to find it.

Brieske overpowered the Orioles in Friday¡¯s 1-0 win, retiring all four batters. His first pitch to leadoff batter Gunnar Henderson came in at 97 miles per hour, and he fanned Anthony Santander on a fastball at 97.8. After retiring Adley Rutschman to start the second inning, Brieske gave way to Brant Hurter, who took a perfect game into the eighth.

Brieske approached that outing like a reliever, not warming up in the bullpen until shortly before first pitch. Once he was told after that game he¡¯d be opening again for Ty Madden on Saturday, he planned everything the same.

¡°Trying to make it feel as consistent as possible,¡± Brieske said.

Brieske¡¯s first three pitches to Henderson were balls. His 3-2 pitch was a 94 mph fastball well off the plate. He put Cedric Mullins in a 1-2 count, but his next three pitches were misses.

With two on and nobody out, Brieske put Santander in an 0-2 hole, then challenged him with consecutive 98 mph fastballs before getting him to ground into a double play. With a runner on third and two outs, Brieske used three consecutive changeups to set up Rutschman for a 97 mph fastball for a called third strike.

¡°Some days, it¡¯s immediate,¡± Brieske said. ¡°Some days it¡¯s like, ¡®Where is it?¡¯ I¡¯m not trying to go slow, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

That was Brieske¡¯s lone inning, but it was effective. It also marked his fourth consecutive hitless start; he gave up three hits in two traditional relief outings in between. Brieske has the longest streak of hitless ¡°starts¡± in Major League history, breaking a tie with five others -- most recently Giants left-hander Erik Miller in June of this year.

And on a night where the Tigers remained just 2 1/2 games back of the Twins for the final AL Wild Card spot, Brieske appreciated the note, but shook his head.

¡°Too many walks,¡± he said.