GDT: 8/17/08 - DET (60-63) VS BAL (59-63) - 1:05 p.m. ET

DETROIT -- One of the Tigers' surprise starters, Armando Galarraga, is all but set for next year's rotation. Zach Miner, however, raises a slightly different question, one that doesn't have an answer yet.

After beginning the season as one of the Tigers' middle relievers and eventually seeing some setup work, Miner has become a second-half sensation in the Detroit rotation, reprising the role he filled admirably two summers ago during the Tigers' run into the postseason. A struggling stretch near the end of that summer knocked him out of the rotation around mid-August. That won't be happening this time around.

As for what that means for the Tigers' rotation next year -- and Miner's future in general -- it's too soon to tell.

"He's pitching better than some of the guys that we've got," manager Jim Leyland said. "It depends on what our pitching staff looks like next year."

The Tigers have plenty of decisions looming on starters this offseason -- some of them currently on the club, some of them not. Kenny Rogers, who weighed retirement against a return to Detroit last winter, will face a similar choice this offseason. Dontrelle Willis is trying to hone his command in the Minors in hopes of being ready to rejoin the big club next year. New addition Freddy Garcia is signed only for this year, with no guarantee that he'll be called up by season's end, but a strong finish could put him in line to be signed for 2009.

Then there's Miner, who's 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA in five starts this season, covering 29 1/3 innings. From the end of the 2006 season until earlier this year, club officials said his future seemed to fit best in the bullpen. That mind-set that didn't change until the Tigers gave him a shot in the rotation following solid starts at Triple-A Toledo, where he was learning to throw all of his pitches again.

"I think he's a big league pitcher," Leyland said, "and right now he's starting."

Publicly, at least, Miner isn't lobbying either way, as long as it's in the big leagues.

"Pitching's pitching," Miner said.

That said, Miner's pitching has helped determine the Tigers' momentum on the days in which he has started. Detroit is 3-2 in his starts; the only other Tigers starters behind which the team has winning records are Galarraga (15-6) and Eddie Bonine (3-2).

Even as the Tigers celebrated their win on Saturday night, Leyland pointed to Miner as the key for Sunday.

"It'll all be dictated by Zach Miner," Leyland said as he spoke of his decisions to rest Carlos Guillen and Magglio Ordonez on Sunday. "If Zach pitches good, we'll have a chance. If he doesn't, we won't."




Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Zach Miner (6-4, 3.41 ERA)
Miner had another strong outing in his last start, allowing one earned run on five hits in six innings against the Blue Jays. He earned a no-decision, though, as the bullpen couldn't hold a late lead. In his five starts, Miner has a 3-1 record and 2.15 ERA. He has not faced the Orioles at all this season but has two career relief appearances against them.


BAL: LHP Garrett Olson (8-6, 6.06 ERA)
Olson has hit the skids in a big way, allowing at least five runs in six of his last eight starts. The southpaw has a 6.95 ERA in his six starts after the All-Star break and has pitched to a 4-5 record and a 6.83 mark on the road. The Orioles are poised to stick with him, though, and Olson will get a chance to redeem himself against Detroit.


Tidbits

Leyland will rest Guillen on Sunday after his return to game action on Saturday in order to avoid aggravating the back problems that had kept him out the past three games. With a day game after a night game and a road trip to Texas awaiting, Leyland won't risk it. ...

Leyland said he plans to start Brandon Inge at third base on Sunday, giving Dane Sardinha the start at catcher. ...

The Tigers have won 10 of their past 11 Sunday games after going winless on Sundays for the first two months of the season.

On the Internet

MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes

On television
• FSN-HD

On radio
• 97.1FM/1270AM

Up next

• Mon., Aug 18: Tigers (LHP Kenny Rogers, 8-10, 4.95 ERA) at Rangers (RHP Scott Feldman, 4-5, 5.18 ERA), 8:05 p.m. ET

• Tues., Aug 19: Tigers (RHP Armando Galarraga, 11-4, 3.11 ERA) at Rangers (RHP Luis Mendoza, 3-6, 8.13 ERA), 8:05 p.m. ET

• Wed., Aug 20: Tigers (LHP Nate Robertson (7-9, 5.87 ERA)) at Rangers (RHP Kevin Millwood (6-7, 5.58 ERA)), 8:05 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

TIGERS (60-63)

1. Granderson, CF
   
2. Polanco, 2B
   
3. Sheffield, DH
   
4. Cabrera, 1B
   
5. Thames, LF
   
6. Renteria, SS
   
7. Raburn, RF
   
8. Inge, 3B
   
9. Sardinha, C
   

ORIOLES (59-63)

1. Brian Roberts, 2B
   
2. Nick Markakis, RF
   
3. Melvin Mora, 3B
   
4. Aubrey Huff, 1B
   
5. Kevin Millar, DH
   
6. Luke Scott, LF
   
7. Ramon Hernandez, C
   
8. Jay Payton, CF
   
9. Alex Cintron, SS
   

84 Degrees


Partly to Mostly Sunny


Slight Chance of a shower


Winds West 10-15mph


GO TIGERS

Magglio not playing today

thinks he's :nate:

yay! Miggy hit Polly in 1-4

still thinks he's :nate:

Tigers tied it a while back.

5-5

and we're down 9-5. That's the way

my husband is cussing downstairs so they can't be doin' great

So how we doin now?

13-5 O's.

omg. My husband says he's going to watch a movie instead.

laprimamirala wrote:

omg. My husband says he's going to watch a movie instead.

That's a smart move. I'd watch Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, but the Giants game is on and Lincecum is doing good. I'll switch as soon as that game is over.

Shit. I see this game isn't going any better.

Dammit.

catbox_9 wrote:

laprimamirala wrote:

omg. My husband says he's going to watch a movie instead.

That's a smart move. I'd watch Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, but the Giants game is on and Lincecum is doing good. I'll switch as soon as that game is over.

He's into the Harold and Kumar series just now. *sigh*

Bottom of 7th, we're dyin' 14 to 5. Hopefully an earthquake or tornado will mercifully end this game quickly.

laprimamirala wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

laprimamirala wrote:

omg. My husband says he's going to watch a movie instead.

That's a smart move. I'd watch Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, but the Giants game is on and Lincecum is doing good. I'll switch as soon as that game is over.

He's into the Harold and Kumar series just now. *sigh*

I haven't ventured into that yet. I'm trying to stick with the stuff that is highly-acclaimed for now. Of course I'm watching them faster than they come out so eventually I'll look for less "great" stuff.

C'mon guys, only down 10

You did like the Errol Flynn Robin Hood, right?

laprimamirala wrote:

You did like the Errol Flynn Robin Hood, right?

Bobrob didn't though

Giants win...Dr. Strangelove time!

We lose 16-8.

LEYLAND

August 17, 2008

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Baltimore	4	1	0	4	4	0	1	2	0		16	22	1
Detroit	1	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	2		8	15	0

Baltimore AB-- R-- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB- AVG Roberts, 2B 4 3 2 0 1 1 1 .295 - a-Castro, J, PH-SS 2 0 0 0 0 0 3 .205 Markakis, RF 5 3 3 1 1 0 1 .305 Mora, 3B 6 4 5 6 0 0 2 .286 Huff, 1B 3 3 2 2 3 0 0 .303 Millar, DH 4 1 1 2 2 0 3 .246 Scott, LF 6 2 3 4 0 3 5 .273 Hernandez, R, C 5 0 2 1 0 0 5 .258 - Quiroz, C 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .202 Payton, CF 5 0 2 0 1 0 1 .245 Cintron, SS-2B 6 0 2 0 0 0 6 .284 Totals 47 16 22 16 8 4 27 a-Grounded into a double play for Roberts in the 7th. BATTING 2B: Roberts (45, Miner), Markakis 2 (39, Miner, Miner), Huff (36, Miner), Mora 2 (27, Lopez, Lopez), Scott (22, Lopez). HR: Mora 2 (20, 4th inning off Fossum, 0 on, 1 out; 8th inning off Beltran, 1 on, 0 out), Scott 2 (21, 4th inning off Fossum, 2 on, 1 out; 7th inning off Beltran, 0 on, 0 out), Huff (26, 5th inning off Lopez, 1 on, 0 out). TB: Roberts 3; Markakis 5; Mora 13; Huff 6; Millar; Scott 10; Hernandez, R 2; Payton 2; Cintron 2. RBI: Markakis (76), Mora 6 (91), Millar 2 (65), Hernandez, R (50), Scott 4 (51), Huff 2 (84). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Cintron; Hernandez, R 2; Payton; Millar 2. GIDP: Cintron; Castro, J. Team LOB: 12. FIELDING E: Mora (12, throw).		Detroit AB- R- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB- AVG Granderson, CF 3 1 1 0 3 1 1 .300 Polanco, 2B 3 2 2 1 1 0 1 .313 - Joyce, LF 2 0 0 0 0 0 4 .265 Sheffield, DH 5 0 1 2 0 0 4 .224 Cabrera, 1B 4 0 2 2 0 1 2 .298 - Santiago, 2B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .324 Thames, LF-1B 5 0 1 0 0 1 3 .236 Renteria, SS 5 3 4 0 0 0 0 .271 Raburn, RF 5 1 2 0 0 2 3 .250 Inge, 3B 4 1 1 2 1 1 4 .213 Sardinha, C 5 0 1 0 0 1 3 .111 Totals 42 8 15 7 5 7 25 BATTING 2B: Polanco (29, Olson), Cabrera (28, Olson). 3B: Inge (3, Walker). TB: Granderson; Polanco 3; Sheffield; Cabrera 3; Thames; Renteria 4; Raburn 2; Inge 3; Sardinha. RBI: Cabrera 2 (95), Polanco (47), Sheffield 2 (39), Inge 2 (38). 2-out RBI: Cabrera 2; Polanco; Sheffield 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Thames 2; Sheffield; Inge; Cabrera; Joyce 3. Team LOB: 12. BASERUNNING SB: Granderson (9, 2nd base off Cabrera, F/Hernandez, R), Renteria (4, 2nd base off Olson/Hernandez, R). FIELDING DP: 2 (Polanco-Renteria-Cabrera, Inge-Santiago-Thames).
Baltimore IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA Olson 1.2 4 5 5 3 4 0 6.38 Castillo, A 0.1 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.81 Cabrera, F (W, 2-1) 3.0 3 0 0 0 3 0 3.13 Cormier 2.0 4 1 1 2 0 0 4.69 Walker 2.0 3 2 2 0 0 0 5.10		Detroit IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA Miner 1.1 6 5 5 4 1 0 3.94 Fossum (L, 2-1) 2.0 3 4 4 2 2 2 6.23 Lopez 2.2 7 4 4 2 0 1 3.49 Beltran 2.0 5 3 3 0 1 2 6.10 Seay 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2.76
IBB: Huff (by Miner), Huff (by Lopez). Pitches-strikes: Olson 63-33, Castillo, A 15-9, Cabrera, F 46-30, Cormier 45-26, Walker 30-24, Miner 52-27, Fossum 43-25, Lopez 56-33, Beltran 29-23, Seay 11-8. Ground outs-fly outs: Olson 1-0, Castillo, A 0-1, Cabrera, F 2-4, Cormier 2-4, Walker 1-5, Miner 1-2, Fossum 2-2, Lopez 3-5, Beltran 3-2, Seay 1-2. Batters faced: Olson 12, Castillo, A 2, Cabrera, F 12, Cormier 12, Walker 9, Miner 14, Fossum 11, Lopez 16, Beltran 10, Seay 4. Inherited runners-scored: Castillo, A 2-1, Fossum 3-0, Lopez 1-0. Umpires: HP: Dale Scott. 1B: Dan Iassogna. 2B: Bill Hohn. 3B: Ron Kulpa. Weather: 84 degrees, partly cloudy. Wind: 7 mph, R to L. T: 3:33. Att: 40,586. August 17, 2008

Wonder how many of the 40K fans left early....

We scored 8 runs!!!
We gave up 16 :puke2:

Poor Zach.

What.... um... happened?!?!