2009 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

Verlander gets the win in pitching duel
Tigers' ace cruises to his eighth win of the season

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

06/21/09 3:27 PM ET
UPDATED: 06/21/09 5:49 PM ET

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The Tigers look a lot less now like a team trying to find a direction than when they got back into town Friday. Their sweep of the National League Central leaders took care of that.

Justin Verlander couldn't duplicate the no-hitter from his last meeting with the Milwaukee Brewers two years ago, but he did provide an exclamation point to a three-game series sweep. It took a tight pitchers' duel with Yovani Gallardo, but with 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball, Verlander silenced Milwaukee's offense and allowed Brandon Inge's three-run homer to stand as the difference in a 3-2 win.
Three days ago, the Tigers came home with major issues, mainly on the offensive end, facing a Brewers club that had just run up a lot of offense in Cleveland. Now, after outscoring Milwaukee by a 22-11 margin, they're looking like a team that has a chance to reverse that stretch.

"It was a big series, there's no doubt about it," said Verlander (8-3), whose eighth win in his past 11 starts moved him into a tie for the team lead with Rick Porcello. "But at the same time, I really look at the last couple weeks as being big weeks for us. I know we didn't play well, but at the same time, we didn't play well and we managed to squeak out some wins in tough games and stay in first place.

"Every team's going to go through a slump at some point in the season. Hopefully that was our one and only. To come back and be clicking on all cylinders in the first three games of this homestand is outstanding."

Sunday was a squeaker, but one in which the Tigers played sharp to simply stay in it. On a day when Gallardo's change of speeds gave Tigers hitters fits, Inge pounced when Gallardo left a bad one over the plate.

When Casey McGehee jumped on Verlander's first-pitch fastball for a solo homer two batters into the game, it was reminiscent of the way the Cardinals attacked Verlander early in his last outing Tuesday to knock him out after four innings.

Sunday was more of a mix for Verlander, changing speeds and using his breaking ball against an aggressive Brewers lineup. The result was six strikeouts from Milwaukee's first 19 hitters, and a heavy dose of ground-ball outs.
"My changeup was outstanding," Verlander said. "Best one I've had all year."

Verlander stranded runners in the second, third and fourth innings, but it was the fifth and sixth that proved crucial. By retiring the Brewers in order on 11 pitches in the fifth and just six in the sixth, he allowed himself to work into the eighth and keep the bullpen idle until the final four outs.

In doing so, he gave the Tigers a fighting chance against Gallardo.

"He was really good against an excellent hitting team," manager Jim Leyland said. "I thought [Gallardo] was one of the best I've seen in the four years I've been here."

Gallardo didn't allow a hit until Miguel Cabrera's ground-ball single off third baseman Mat Gamel to lead off the fourth. Detroit didn't put a runner in scoring position until Gerald Laird and Adam Everett hit back-to-back singles with two outs in the fifth.

Gallardo escaped that threat with a flyout from Curtis Granderson, but Cabrera's single his next time up started the Tigers on another potential rally with one out in the sixth. Marcus Thames nearly put Detroit in front, but his drive died in Mike Cameron's glove just in front of the fence in left-center field, the deepest part of the park.

Don Kelly's ensuing ground ball through the middle extended the inning for Inge, who was ready for something offspeed. When Gallardo (7-4) hung a 1-1 breaking ball, Inge pounced, sending it into the left-field seats.

"It stinks. I made one mistake the whole game, and it cost us the game," Gallardo said. "I felt pretty good out there. Just that one pitch up in the zone. He took advantage of it."

Considering it was Inge's 16th home run of the year, it's easy to forget that it was the kind of pitch Inge wouldn't have hit well last year. Instead of fouling it off, Inge kept it fair and hit it deep.

"I was trying to stick to a plan all day, and I really didn't see very many [breaking balls]," Inge said. "The ones that start up, you kind of recognize a little earlier. He threw it where I could see it. I'm sure he didn't want to throw it there. He pitched well, he really did. I was impressed with him."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW Raburn's walk-off blast


Tigers win fifth straight on walk-off homer
Raburn comes through with pinch-hit, two-run shot in ninth

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

06/23/09 9:50 PM ET
UPDATED: 06/23/09 11:15 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Ryan Raburn had never hit a walk-off home run, not in the big leagues, Minors, college -- even high school. But then, the last time the Tigers had one like this, Alan Trammell was still playing for them.

What had been a pitchers' duel between Edwin Jackson and Carlos Zambrano on Tuesday at Comerica Park suddenly broke into a game of dueling go-ahead homers -- Brandon Inge in the seventh then Micah Hoffpauir in the eighth. And as Ryan Raburn stepped to the plate in the bottom of the ninth against Cubs closer Kevin Gregg with Don Kelly on first, he had a chance to turn the game again.

Still, not even he was thinking about a no-doubt walk-off shot, a 5-4 Tigers victory and a mass of players at home plate waiting to "beat the crap out of him," as Inge put it.

"That's the first one I've ever done," Raburn said. "I'm usually at the other end of those."

He isn't usually called on for those heroics at the end of a game against a right-handed closer, for that matter. But then, plenty of this game went against expectations.

Jackson loaded the bases three batters into the game, escaped the jam with a lone run allowed then held the Cubs to one run for his next six innings. Zambrano gave up a Placido Polanco RBI triple two batters into the game, stranded Polanco at third and went on to retire 17 of the next 20 Tigers.

"That's what good pitchers do," catcher Gerald Laird said. "They get into trouble, and they know how to get out of it."

The way Zambrano was pitching, it took a hit-by-pitch to Kelly to start a rally in the seventh, then a high fastball for Inge to hit his second go-ahead homer in as many nights. But then, on a night when Joel Zumaya hit 103 mph on MLB.com's Gameday and 104 on the television radar readings, it took an 85-mph changeup -- a pitch Zumaya shook off Laird three times to get -- for him to yield Hoffpauir's blast.

"It got to the point where I started to see the hitters get real jumpy," Zumaya said. "Gerald wanted a fastball away, and I shook him off."

With the bottom of the Tigers' order coming up and Gregg coming in on a dominant stretch, that should've been it. But once Kelly worked his way on again, this time with a nine-pitch battle that ended with a leadoff walk, the Tigers had another shot.

Inge had the first chance, but Gregg induced a popout to second base for the first out. With Josh Anderson coming up, manager Jim Leyland went with an idea and brought in Raburn, 4-for-22 in his big league career as a pinch-hitter.

"I thought right-handed hitters had a little better chance against [Gregg] than left-handed hitters," Leyland said. "The numbers show [that]. We felt like he throws the slider a little bit more to right-handers, and if he happened to hang one, he might be able to jump one. And we caught a big break."

Raburn wasn't looking for the slider specifically, but he was ready when he got it.

"I was just looking for a good pitch to hit," he said.

His 403-foot drive to left-center set off a celebration, not to mention history. The last pinch-hit, walk-off homer by a Tigers player came from Lou Whitaker, whose three-run shot off White Sox closer Roberto Hernandez sent Detroit to a 7-5 win on Aug. 23, 1995.

Trammell was the runner on third base when Whitaker delivered his dramatic homer. He was the Cubs' bench coach for the blast by Raburn, who is one of the Tigers that Trammell managed in his big league debut, back in 2004.

Like Kelly, Raburn is also one of the Tigers who began this season at Triple-A Toledo before getting his chance.

"I'm happy for those guys," Leyland said. "They're not in the limelight every day. They don't get the recognition they deserve. Very few times is the camera talking to them after a game. I like stuff like that. To me, that's great stuff."

It was certainly stuff that Raburn appreciated. So did Kelly, who had been involved in some walk-off celebrations before.

"Not like that," he said. "That was unbelievable. Just being on for that was awesome."
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers escape with sixth straight victory
Everett hits clutch decisive single; Rodney walks tightrope

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

06/24/09 10:25 PM ET
updated: 06/25/09 12:06 AM ET

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DETROIT -- The fireworks over the Detroit River burst out over the downtown skyline beyond center field at Comerica Park. The fireworks in the ballpark never quite seemed to develop, though not for lack of opportunity.

Fittingly, the grand finale was in full display as Tigers closer Fernando Rodney finished off Kosuke Fukudome on a full-count high changeup, wrapping up Wednesday's 5-3 win over the Cubs. He was the potential winning run at the plate, as was Jake Fox before him, and Milton Bradley two batters earlier.

Rodney again escaped a ninth-inning jam, saving some of his better pitches for when he absolutely needed them to go 15-for-15 in save chances. It wasn't smooth, but with 14 walks combined between the two clubs, neither were the previous eight innings.

The Tigers and Cubs combined to go 3-for-24 with runners in scoring position and stranded 24 runners on base. But Detroit not only drew two bases-loaded walks from Chicago relievers, it came up with arguably the one deciding clutch hit of the game -- fittingly, an Adam Everett infield single just far enough away that third baseman Fox couldn't recover in time for a play after his diving stop.

It wasn't always a pretty win, but with six straight wins, clutch plays are turning their way.

"We did a good job and we won the game," manager Jim Leyland said. "We made some big pitches when we had to. But we can't give them that many opportunities."

The way Rick Porcello has been rolling at times this season, it's easy to forget that he's still a 20-year-old pitcher finding his game and learning how to adjust at the Major League level, pitching every fifth game. It says something about his season, then, that his four walks Wednesday were enough for a career high.

His two double plays weren't a season high, but they both proved critical.

After a Micah Hoffpauir single and Milton Bradley walk put two on with nobody out in the second, Porcello nearly escaped the entire threat on one Fox grounder thanks to Brandon Inge.

He fielded the ball and dashed to third for the first out. Then instead of firing across the infield to first, he made a leaping turn and throw to second to force out Bradley. Only a step or two by Fox prevented a ground-ball triple play.

"It would've been one of a kind," said Inge, who admitted he's dreamed about that play. "It never really works out. I mean, you really have to have the stars aligned for that one."

For Tigers pitching, they almost seemed to be. An inning later, a fielder's choice at third and a more traditional twin-killing allowed Porcello to overcome a leadoff double.

"I think the biggest thing was just to keep us in the game, give us a chance," Porcello said.

So did some of the pitchers who followed him. After a walk and two singles off Porcello and Nate Robertson gave the Cubs a bases-loaded, no-out chance for the second straight night, the Tigers limited the damage to one run again thanks to Zach Miner, who retired the side in order. A bases-loaded, one-out chance in the seventh allowed Fox to tie the game with a sacrifice fly off Brandon Lyon, but nothing more.

Joel Zumaya, one night after giving up a go-ahead homer on a changeup, erased a two-out single in the eighth with a shrewder mix of pitches, capped with a 102-mph fastball to fan Ryan Theriot.

"There were a lot of runners that we left on and they left on," said catcher Gerald Laird, "but sheesh, we definitely made pitches we needed to keep us in the game."

Laird hit one of two Tigers solo homers off Cubs starter Rich Harden, against whom he was 0-for-7 for his career. From there on, it was all about run production.

Everett's sixth-inning single improved him to 6-for-11 with eight RBIs this season when there's a runner on third and two outs. Curtis Granderson followed by drawing a full-count pass off Aaron Heilman, which Miguel Cabrera repeated in the eighth off Sean Marshall.

The fireworks had just started at that point. They were roaring by the time Rodney took the mound in the ninth. He didn't give up anything nearly as explosive, but after leading off the ninth with a four-pitch walk of Derrek Lee, he drew a fiery mound visit from Leyland.

"I told Rodney, 'Come on, you're better than this,'" Leyland said. "'You're just throwing it and falling off the mound. You're got to drive right to the hitter.'"

Hoffpauir hit a 97-mph Rodney fastball for a single to put the tying run on base before Rodney fanned Bradley. Fox took Granderson deep to right-center to corral his fly ball, then Rodney finished off Fukudome.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

DETROIT 5, CHICAGO 3
Tigers 'relieved' to get 6th straight win

FREE PRESS STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES • June 24, 2009

Miguel Cabrera and Gerald Laird homered as the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago Cubs, 5-3, for their sixth straight win tonight at Comerica Park. Zach Miner (5-1) earned the win out of the bullpen as nearly every reliever worked for the Tigers.

Rookie Rick Porcello allowed two runs and seven hits. He walked four in five-plus innings.

“I thought I did OK, battled out of some jams early,” said the 20-year-old Porcello. “I think the biggest thing was just to keep us in the game and give us a chance.”

Rich Harden (4-4) took the loss, giving up four runs and four hits in 5 1/3 innings.

“It was an ugly game and I was unhappy with my performance,” he said. “That’s all I have to say.”

In the bottom of the sixth, the Tigers took the lead. Marcus Thames walked to lead things off, followed by a one-out walk to Brandon Inge. Aaron Heilman then relieved Rich Harden. Magglio Ordoñez then singled to right to load the bases. With two outs, Adam Everett's infield single to third base scored Thames and a walk to Curtis Granderson scored Inge.

In the Cubs' next at bat, Zach Miner walked Ryan Theriot and gave up a single to Derrek Lee. Bobby Seay came in to face the left-handed-hitting Micah Hoffpauir, who lined out to center. Brandon Lyon then entered the game and walked Milton Bradley. Jake Fox then hit a sacrifice fly to score Theriot, but got Kosuke Fukudome to ground out to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Tigers tacked on another run with a bases-loaded walk to Miguel Cabrera.

Rodney entered the game in the ninth and put the first two hitters on (Lee with a walk, Hoffpaiur with a single), but struck out Bradley, got Fox to line out to center and struck out Fukudome to get his 15th save of the season.

“Rodney was real wild to start, and that’s not good,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “He did a great job getting out of it, though.”

Cabrera homered in the fourth inning and Laird in the fifth. In between those solo shots, Soto homered for the Cubs.

“Thank god we’re going to get them out of here before their bats get going, because they will,” said Leyland. “We let them have way too many opportunities tonight.”

In the top of the sixth, Porcello walked Bradley and gave up a single to Jake Fox. Porcello was relieved by Nate Robertson, who gave up a single to Fukudome to load the bases. Miner then entered the game and struck out Geovany Soto but got Mark Fontenot to ground out to second, which scored Bradley. Alphonso Soriano then flied out to center to end the inning.

Galarraga snaps winless skid vs. Cubs
Right-hander's solid outing earns him first win since April

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

06/25/09 5:45 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Magglio Ordonez had gone almost as long without a home run as Armando Galarraga had gone without a win.

Given their recent histories, both streaks were pretty tough to fathom. Both are now over after Detroit's 6-5 victory over the Cubs Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park. The Tigers' winning streak, on the other hand, rolls on.

Detroit has won seven straight games, including a 6-0 homestand over two of the National League Central contenders. Its 23-11 record at home now ranks third-best in baseball behind just the Red Sox and Dodgers. Its once moribund offense is now showing signs of breaking out with efforts from big names such as Miguel Cabrera, less recognizable ones such as Ryan Raburn, and previously dormant bats such as Ordonez.

And after Galarraga snatched a victory out of what had the makings of another disastrous loss, the Tigers' top-heavy pitching rotation now looks ready for a more balanced run.

"I have a plan again," said Galarraga, whose previous outings often seemed to run off script quickly.

Galarraga (4-7) was 3-0 in April, but was battling his control through the opening inning. Once May rolled around, it was a losing fight and a losing stretch, leading to an 0-7 record over his next 10 outings. Opponents, meanwhile, had batted .368 over Galarraga's previous seven outings with a 1.079 OPS, including nine home runs over 32 2/3 innings in that span.

As University of Michigan product Jake Fox's drive went deep to left-center for his first Major League home run, a three-run shot in the opening inning on Thursday, confidence in Galarraga would've been hard to come by, including maybe from Galarraga himself. But as he made his way back into the dugout following a strikeout of Mike Fontenot, he got a round of support from his teammates.

"I give up a home run, and the other guys are saying, 'Let's go, let's go, keep it right there,'" Galarraga said.

It was a reminder to him to not give up. He's a perfectionist when it comes to his pitching, so early damage can quickly get him down, such as his two-inning outing in Pittsburgh two starts earlier. He had to avoid the inclination to pitch away from contact, even if some of that contact was hard.

"I'm trying to compete," Galarraga said. "Baseball's all about trying to compete, no matter what. When you struggle, you go compete. It's important."

Galarraga came out for the second inning and fell behind on a 3-0 count to Kosuke Fukudome, but retired him on a comebacker for the first out on his way to retiring the Cubs in order. An Alfonso Soriano bloop single leading off the third inning was quickly nullified when Soriano strayed too far on Derrek Lee's drive deep to left that Raburn corralled at the fence.

He nearly escaped the fourth without a run until Fukudome tripled to the gap in right-center field, but he regrouped to strike out Koyie Hill and prevent the inning from falling apart on him.

Galarraga retired seven of his final eight batters, starting with that strikeout. His slider got a little sharper, he said, and his sinker grew more effective. He threw the same pitches at different speeds, trying to disrupt hitters' timing, and got a confidence boost.

"It feels really good, because the last couple innings, I felt like I'm pitching," he said. "I have a plan again. They're swinging at pitches I want to be a ball. I've been playing with my fastball, playing with my slider, not just throwing hard, hard, hard, hard."

Galarraga finished allowing four runs on six hits over six innings, walking one and striking out five. Those last couple innings, not coincidentally, he had a lead to protect.

Cabrera nearly powered a run back on the board for Galarraga in the opening inning, but his drive to deep right field was ruled a double off the fence. Replays suggested that it had actually hit off the railing above the fence, and should've been a homer.

Manager Jim Leyland apologized to Cabrera later for not arguing the call.

"I didn't see it hit the railing," Leyland said. "I thought it hit the crease [between the railing and the fence]. But I'm 64 years old. My eyes aren't that good. One guy told me he looked at five replays before [he thought] it was definitely a home run."

The rest of Detroit's offense rendered it moot. Ramon Santiago's fifth home run of the year, a two-run shot, opened Detroit's scoring in the third inning before back-to-back doubles from Marcus Thames and Raburn propelled the go-ahead rally an inning later.

Cubs starter Ted Lilly retired Brandon Inge and put Ordonez in an 0-2 hole before trying to put him away with a curveball. Ordonez reached for it and pulled it deep to left. His third homer of the season was his first since April 27, ending the longest homerless stretch of his career.

Another Raburn RBI, this one on a two-out single in the fifth, provided what ended up being a critical insurance run once Micah Hoffpauir homered off Fernando Rodney in the ninth. His strikeout of Geovany Soto wrapped up not only his 16th save in as many tries, but Galarraga's first win since April 26.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

DETROIT 6, CHICAGO CUBS 5
Magglio Ordonez hits go-ahead homer in Tigers' victory

BY LARRY LAGE • AP Sports Writer • June 25, 2009

Maybe the slump was in his hair.

Magglio Ordonez ended a career-long drought without a homer by connecting on a go-ahead shot, leading the Detroit Tigers over the Chicago Cubs, 6-5, today for their seventh straight victory.

“It was huge for us,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said.

It had to be big for Ordonez, too, but the quiet player didn’t talk to reporters after ending his 40-game skid without a homer.

Ordonez had two hits Wednesday night in his first game since cutting his flowing locks, which are now being auctioned on eBay for charity.

“If I had hair like that, I’d still be single,” Leyland joked.

The six-time All-Star and 2007 AL batting champion was benched for almost a week before going hitless Tuesday in the series opener against the Cubs.

Ordonez, whose two-run homer was in the fourth, bounced back with three hits in two games and is batting .274 with three homers and 24 RBIs.

“I know Magglio. I know what he can do,” Miguel Cabrera said about his teammate and fellow Venezuelan. “I know how hard he works. I don’t worry about him.”

The AL Central leaders closed a road trip by beating St. Louis and swept a pair of three-game series against Chicago and Milwaukee to match their longest winning streak of the season.

The Tigers are 23-11 at Comerica Park for their best 34-game mark in Detroit since the 1984 world championship team had the same start at home.

“We’re playing pretty good, but it’s June 25th, so I’m not getting excited about that,” Leyland said.

Armando Galarraga (4-7) gave up four runs over six innings and won for the first time since April 26, ending a career-long, seven-game losing skid.

Fernando Rodney pitched the ninth to earn his 16th save in as many chances, extending the longest streak by a Detroit pitcher since Todd Jones saved 19 straight games in 2006.

Rodney, though, made it interesting by giving up a leadoff homer to Micah Hoffpauir to cut Detroit’s lead to one and allowing a two-out double to Kosuke Fukudome. Rodney struck out pinch-hitter Geovany Soto to end it.

“I feel comfortable because I’m getting a chance to be the closer,” Rodney said.

Ted Lilly (7-5) allowed six runs and 10 hits — matching a career high — in six innings and lost for the first time in a month. He gave up homers to Ordonez and Ramon Santiago.

“They hit some home runs, and when Ted isn’t pitching well, that’s usually his bugaboo,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.

Chicago’s Jake Fox (Michigan) hit his first homer in the majors, a three-run shot in the first, in his 23rd career game.

“That’s going to my dad,” Fox said of the keepsake. “It was great to get my first one out of the way. I think I was pressing a little in order to get one. That’s probably why I had a big day after I hit it.”

Fox finished with a career-high three hits.

“It was refreshing to see Fox go up there and powder the ball,” Piniella said. “We need more of that.”

Notes: Soto says he is embarrassed after testing positive for marijuana at this year’s World Baseball Classic. ... Ordonez, who hadn’t homered since April 27, went 32 games without clearing the fences last season. ... The Cubs took OF Milton Bradley out of the lineup, but Piniella said “call it a day off,” seemingly to play down the decision. ... Cubs INF Aaron Miles (elbow) was injured in a batting cage and will be evaluated Friday. ... Galarraga has given up a homer in 11 straight games, the longest streak by a Detroit starter since Bill Gullickson in 1994. ... Santiago’s first home from the right side of the plate gave him five overall this season, setting a career high.

Detroit denied eighth straight win in eighth
Tigers let early four-run lead slip through their fingers

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

06/26/09 11:30 PM ET
updated: 06/27/09 1:43 AM ET

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HOUSTON -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland hasn't had to use his sense of smell with his team in a while. Friday, however, had an odor.

It was a scent when the Tigers couldn't put away Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez early beyond their four runs in the first two innings. It grew stronger when Justin Verlander labored through his first three innings and struggled to find a comfortable rhythm all evening.

By the time Joel Zumaya's three straight eighth-inning walks helped complete the turnaround from what had been a four-run lead into a 5-4 Tigers loss at Minute Maid Park, it was impossible to ignore. Even with a seven-game winning streak, the ingredients of defeat were simmering in the Texas heat.

"This one had disaster written all over it," Leyland said. "That's one of those ones that you hate to say it, but you kind of smell it. We had a chance to add on, and we didn't do that. And we didn't throw the ball over the plate."

It's a bizarre feeling for a game in which the Tigers staff ace gets a four-run lead. Yet it has to be familiar feeling, even with the recent winning ways.

For the second time in three days, both the Tigers and their opponents walked seven batters in the same game. The Tigers beat the Cubs on Wednesday by turning two of their walks into runs and drawing two bases-loaded passes, while allowing one run out of the walks they gave up.

Only one of Detroit's walks Friday came around to score. It was Curtis Granderson's two-out pass with Adam Everett on second that extended the second inning for Placido Polanco to power a three-run homer for a 4-0 lead. Zumaya's walks Friday drove in the tying run with one out and set up the sacrifice fly off Freddy Dolsi to plate the go-ahead tally. The lone hit in Houston's rally was the one-out single from Kazuo Matsui that started it.

"He got Pudge [Ivan Rodriguez] out, he gave up a base hit, and then he got wild," Leyland said.

Somehow, everything turned against Zumaya after that. He needed just seven pitches, all of them strikes, to retire his first two hitters. The right-hander entered with back-to-back curveballs to get a ground ball from Hunter Pence and strand the potential tying run on base in the seventh, then used five straight fastballs to eventually wear down ex-teammate Rodriguez, who fouled off the first four -- two of them barely foul in the right-field corner -- before flying out to right.

Zumaya spent his next 23 pitches trying to get his second out, running the count full on three straight hitters once Matsui connected with a 101 mph fastball for a liner to left. Pinch-hitter Darin Erstad fouled off four triple-digit fastballs and shrugged off three curveballs before Zumaya finally missed with the heater. Back-to-back 101 mph fastballs sailed high on Michael Bourn after a 2-2 count, loading the bases for Jeff Keppinger.

Zumaya (3-2) fell behind on a 3-0 count before spotting two triple-digit fastballs on the corners -- the first low and outside, the second high and in. Looking for the payoff pitch, he fired a fastball below the knees to force in Matsui with the tying run -- Detroit's Major League-leading 15th bases-loaded walk this season -- and bring out Leyland for a pitching change.

"You've got to throw strikes up here," Leyland said. "It's that simple."

Dolsi entered and got a first-pitch out from Miguel Tejada, but the fly ball to left was well deep enough to send Erstad home.

Zumaya's control woes have been building, even as his velocity has been climbing well past 100 mph. It's part of a month in which Zumaya can't seem to get everything right at once, no matter what he tries. He has 14 walks for the month compared with 10 strikeouts over nine innings, and he has a trio of three-walk performances.

Still, he would've had more breathing room had the Tigers capitalized on one more scoring chance after their outburst. All four Detroit runs came off Astros starter Wandy Rodriguez, who survived a bases-loaded jam in the fifth by inducing an inning-ending double play from Magglio Ordonez on a curveball, a similar pitch that he hit out Thursday off Cubs left-hander Ted Lilly.

Ordonez had another chance in the seventh with two outs and runners at first and second, but Alberto Arias got another grounder to short to end that threat.

"You can usually tell on those games when you don't add on," Leyland said.

While Rodriguez was surviving, so was Verlander, who needed 76 pitches to get through his first three innings. He stranded the bases loaded in the first with a strikeout of Pence and sent down the Astros in order in the second, but Tejada's RBI double and Pence's run-scoring single halved Detroit's lead in the third.

"It was a heavy effort for him tonight for some reason," Leyland said.

Two sixth-inning hits chased Verlander in the sixth before Bourn's single off Nate Robertson brought in Ivan Rodriguez. Zach Miner prevented anything worse with an inning-ending double play, then Zumaya retired Pence for the final out of the seventh.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Figaro's encore not met with applause
Rookie hit around early; Tigers offense unresponsive

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

06/27/09 9:33 PM ET
updated: 06/27/09 11:12 PM ET

HOUSTON -- When the most running the Tigers did on the basepaths was a rundown play they were trying to execute between first and second base, it was that kind of night.

Five Tigers were involved in trying to retire Astros speedster Michael Bourn for the final out of Saturday's second inning, a putout that went 9-3-6-4-3-6-5. As it turned out, there were more Tigers running between first and second on that play alone than there were on first base offensively all night. But Detroit's downfall in Saturday's 8-1 loss at Minute Maid Park came down more on the seven Astros who crossed the plate in the first three innings.

"We let him get into a relaxed mode," manager Jim Leyland said of Houston starter Felipe Paulino, who allowed just three hits over seven innings. "We were hoping to keep it a little closer, obviously, but we weren't able to do that."

A week after Tigers starter Alfredo Figaro impressed the team with his poise in tight situations, he settled down to retire 11 of the final 14 batters he faced, turning what could've been an early exit and a long night for Detroit's bullpen into a six-inning performance. The bad news was that the Astros had already hit him around by then.

Unlike Friday, Leyland didn't need his sense of smell to detect defeat.

"When the horse was out of the barn, he threw the ball a little bit better," Leyland said of Figaro, "but it was too late."

The fastball that ranged 93-97 mph in his big league debut wasn't the problem this time around. It was the breaking ball, which he seemed to throw a lot in his second turn through the Astros order after giving up a run in each of the first two innings.

Bourn's bunt single in front of third baseman Brandon Inge started the opening-inning rally before his liner to right drove in Kazuo Matsui in the second. Once Figaro lost Jeff Keppinger to a walk leading off the third, he seemed to get away from the fastball.

His next pitch was a changeup to Miguel Tejada, who grounded it through the left side for a single. After Carlos Lee flew out to right, Lance Berkman hit another first-pitch changeup to the center-field fence, where it rested on Tal's Hill for Curtis Granderson to run down as Keppinger and Tejada scored and Berkman rolled into second.

By then, Figaro appeared rattled. Berkman stole third without a throw, then Hunter Pence doubled him in on a curveball he lined into the left-field corner for another double. Figaro recovered to put Matsui in a 1-2 count, then tried to finish him off with a curveball, which hung long enough for Matsui to drive into the right-field seats for his second home run on the season.

It was too cautious of an approach for Leyland's liking.

"I was very disappointed," Leyland said, "because I thought the one thing [Figaro] would be was aggressive. He was totally unaggressive. And I'm not talking about trying to throw 97 [mph], but he didn't throw the ball. It looked like he was trying to throw his breaking ball for a strike just to get it over. I was very disappointed."

Figaro didn't dispute it. He made the adjustment from there, going more with fastballs, but it was too late.

"I think I threw too many breaking balls," he said.

By contrast, the combination of an upper-90s fastball and a nasty 12-to-6 curveball with good velocity kept Paulino flustering Tigers hitters for most of the night. Detroit's lone extra-base hit was the third-inning fastball Ramon Santiago drove to right for his sixth home run of the season.

He was one of just four Tigers to get the ball out of the infield against Paulino in the first five innings. Paulino struck out nine of Detroit's 18 hitters in that span.

"I haven't swung at a curveball in front of the plate in -- I don't know how long," said Inge, who fanned twice and grounded out the other time. "It was baffling. Give him credit."

It has not been a consistent attack for Paulino, who hadn't won since May 2 in a relief appearance and had just two quality starts in nine outings all season. At one point, Inge said, he turned back to Houston catcher Humberto Quintero and asked if anyone had beaten this guy.

Pitching can turn like that from one outing to the next. Figaro might agree.

"Yeah, I learned about the game today," Figaro said. "That was my second time."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Ailing Inge looks fine on go-ahead jack
Third baseman's late homer sends Detroit past Houston

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

06/28/09 4:38 PM ET
updated: 06/28/09 6:57 PM ET

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HOUSTON -- Brandon Inge can feel his left patella tendon in his left knee aching when he walks, let alone when he runs around the bases. But that's nothing compared to the bruise he put on the Astros Sunday as he made his go-ahead-homer trot in the ninth inning.

It ended up being a pretty good Band-Aid for a Tigers club that would've been hurting heading into Oakland had it not pulled out Sunday's 4-3 win at Minute Maid Park.

"It's a long road trip we're on right now -- three cities, ending up in Minnesota, where it's hard for us to beat them in their place," Inge said after his two-run homer helped the Tigers salvage a win in this three-game series. "To start off a road trip with a sweep, it's not how you want to do it. It's big just to get us started back in the right direction."

It doesn't heal all of the Tigers' ills from the weekend, including an offense that has struggled to put up big innings. But it sure helps.

Kazuo Matsui's seventh-inning double seemed set to give Houston the sweep and Edwin Jackson a hard-luck loss. Astros starter Russ Ortiz and two relievers had set down 10 straight Tigers since Curtis Granderson's game-tying home run in the sixth inning -- his 18th homer of the season -- and Placido Polanco's hit by pitch. Astros closer Jose Valverde had a 1-2 count on Marcus Thames, one strike away from sealing Detroit's defeat.

While Thames has a well-deserved reputation for big home runs, he's less known for his walks. A little more than half of his 115 career walks have come with two strikes, and 31 have been after 1-2 counts. He has 21 in the late innings of close games, where the Tigers are either tied, ahead by a run or have the potential tying run at least on deck.

Given Valverde's power arsenal, it would be obviously tempting for Thames to look for the long ball. Thames, however, was looking to stay alive.

"I know what he's got," Thames said. "He's going to go to his bread and butter, and his bread and butter is his split-finger. I was just trying to make sure I saw it up. He kept trying to get me to chase it, and I wouldn't chase it."

Three straight Valverde pitches went low and outside. Thames laid off all of them to put the tying run on base and extend the game for Inge.

"It looked like they were starting in a good spot and kind of running off," Inge said. "That was the big at-bat, in the grand scheme of things. He took a lot of good pitches. I give him a lot of credit."

Like Thames, Inge isn't known for his patience, either, though he annually runs up some of the highest pitch counts per at-bat of anyone in the league. That wasn't the issue at hand this time, hitting a mistake pitch was.

While Inge credits his adjusted position at the plate for his hitting resurgence this season, being able to drive more pitches with authority and make better contact, he also believes it allows him to take advantage of mistakes better. Once Valverde left his 1-0 fastball over the plate at 95 mph, Inge pounced.

"I was just trying to stay on the fastball," Inge said. "I had noticed he walked Marcus on the split-finger, and he threw me a first-pitch split-finger, so I thought he probably wasn't going to fall behind really bad. Stay on the fastball and be aggressive with it.

"I think that's one of the things I'd thought of here recently. The mistake pitches, you're still going to miss them from time to time, but I feel I don't miss them as much. And I think my hands have something to do with getting myself into a better body posture so that I don't miss them."

Valverde knew it as soon as Inge swung, pounding the mound in disgust. Inge knew it, too, refraining to look up at the flight of the ball as he limped around first base. The only question was where it would land, eventually hitting high off the left-field facade above the Crawford Boxes.

The estimated distance on the shot was 386 feet. The difference in the standings, and potentially the road trip, was far bigger.

Inge nearly left the game in the fifth inning after stepping on first base awkwardly to leg out a single. Head athletic trainer Kevin Rand and manager Jim Leyland came out to attend to him, but he stayed in. It figured that he'd have to run all the way from first to score on Gerald Laird's double two batters later.

"I was trying not to limp," Inge said. "I looked like an idiot."

His slight limp as he rounded the bases in the ninth, however, looked pretty good to the Tigers.

"Tremendous win," Leyland said. "Tremendous."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

The Twins beat the Cards today too.

Tigers go quietly in opener vs. A's
Porcello struggles in duel with fellow rookie Anderson

By Adam Loberstein / MLB.com

06/30/09 1:34 AM ET

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OAKLAND -- Rick Porcello and Brett Anderson entered the year as two of the best pitching prospects in the game.

Porcello had lived up to the billing. Anderson had not.

On Monday, their roles were reversed.

Porcello surrendered five runs on nine hits in 4 1/3 innings, while Anderson struck out seven in 5 1/3, as the Tigers fell to the A's, 7-1, in Monday's series opener.

"They found some holes and he made some bad pitches," manager Jim Leyland said. "He's fine. Early on, he looked pretty good. I'm not concerned. You're not going to pitch well every time."

Porcello pitched his way into trouble in the fourth, but was able to limit the damage to two runs, inducing a double-play ball to strand a runner at third.

He didn't have the same luck in the fifth. Mark Ellis hit a two-run shot to left and Matt Holliday pushed the lead to 5-0 with a RBI groundout to knock Porcello out of the game.

"He's got good stuff," Ellis said. "He's gonna be a good pitcher in this league for a long time."

Like Porcello, Anderson put runners on base. He left most of them out there, though.

The 21-year-old lefty allowed eight to reach base (four hits, season-high four walks), but held the Tigers to one run to earn the win. Anderson entered the game at 3-7 with a 5.74 ERA.

"Anderson's got a really good arm," Leyland said. "He's got a power arm. He was effectively wild. You don't see many left-handers like that. He was very good."

While Leyland was impressed by Anderson, he also said he was left uninspired by his hitters' performance.

"It's puzzling, to be honest with you," Leyland said. "Our right-handers need to do better against these lefties. We did a very poor job."

The A's will put two more lefties on the mound this series, starting Gio Gonzalez (0-1, 8.03) and Dallas Braden (5-7, 3.26) Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.

"When I made that lineup last night," Leyland said, "I felt great about it. You need better concentration that that. That's the fact of the matter. ... If it doesn't get any better, I'll play my lefties."

Making his Major League debut, Fu-Te Ni struck out Jason Giambi and got Kurt Suzuki to fly out to center in relief of Porcello in the fourth inning.

Ni struck out three in 1 1/3 frames, the only blemish on his scorecard being a Ryan Sweeney leadoff home run in the sixth.

"He did fine. He looked pretty impressive, actually," Leyland said. "I think he'll do well. I'm happy for the kid."

Leyland lifted Brandon Inge, who has been coping with a patella tendon injury in his left knee, for Don Kelly as a defensive replacement in the seventh.

"The thing has been acting up. I have to watch that," Leyland said. "It looked like it could be one of those games, so I took him out."

Adam Loberstein is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Galarraga helps Tigers even series
Polanco's homer, three-RBI night prove to be difference

By Adam Loberstein / MLB.com

07/01/09 2:17 AM ET

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OAKLAND -- Armando Galarraga got away with it.

The 27-year-old right-hander walked a season-high six hitters and lived to tell the tale, pitching his way out of danger to help the Tigers to a 5-3 win over the Oakland A's.

"You can't walk that many. You can't," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "That's just the way it is. It's not part of the Major League game."

It was Tuesday. Galarraga limited Oakland to one run on two hits in 6 1/3 innings.

"We got to him early last time," A's manager Bob Geren said, referring to his team chasing Galarraga with five runs in the first May 17. "We had our chances early this time. After the first inning, he was pretty good. He had a little cutter and that fastball-slider going, so he had three pretty good pitches working."

A pair of walks and a fielding error by Adam Everett loaded the bases with one away in the first. Galarraga made the right pitch when he needed it, getting Kurt Suzuki to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to end the threat.

"When he made them put it in play, he got outs," Leyland said. "He was too wild and walked too many. His stuff was good. You've just got to get strike one."

While Galarraga was being wildly effective, the Detroit offense was doing its part to keep him in the game.

The Tigers managed just six hits in Monday's series-opening 7-1 loss, leaving Leyland unimpressed.

"It's puzzling, to be honest with you," Leyland said following the loss. "Our right-handers need to do better against these lefties. ... If it doesn't get any better, I'll play my lefties."

Leyland doesn't need to play his lefties. Detroit took a more aggressive approach into Tuesday night's game, putting 12 hits on the board -- including seven against A's starter Gio Gonzalez, who was removed after five innings.

"We had better at-bats," said Miguel Cabrera, who went 2-for-5 with a double and scored a run. "You have to make adjustments, get your pitch and hit it. We did that."

Placido Polanco handed Detroit an early 2-0 lead with a two-run home run to left in the first. He gave the Tigers an insurance run in the ninth, singling home Everett with one away.

"He got two big hits," Leyland said. "He's going to grind it out every time. He's not going to give any at-bats away."

Fernando Rodney made things interesting in the ninth, surrendering a two-run home run to Mark Ellis to bring Oakland within two.

He then gave up a hard single up the middle to Adam Kennedy before getting Orlando Cabrera to ground into a double play to end the game.

"It's got to get better," Leyland said of Rodney, who has a 6.75 ERA in 13 appearances this month. "We can't be on pins and needlss. He's been a good pitcher for us, but we can't have that every night."

Adam Loberstein is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers' offense slumps in series finale
Lack of run support sinks Verlander's efficient outing

By Adam Loberstein / MLB.com

07/01/09 7:19 PM ET

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OAKLAND -- Justin Verlander saw the A's get two good swings against him Wednesday afternoon.

Unfortunately, that's all it would take.

Verlander surrendered a pair of two-run home runs, the Tigers' lineup couldn't solve Dallas Braden and the A's took the rubber match of the series, 5-1.

"I went back and watched some of the tape," Verlander said, "and the two pitches that hurt me weren't that bad of pitches. I can't be too disappointed. The way I threw the ball, I'm all right with it."

Jack Cust got to Verlander first, depositing a 1-0 fastball into the left-field bleachers for an opposite-field shot in the fourth.

Jason Giambi then homered on a line drive to right in the sixth to bring home Matt Holliday and push the Oakland advantage to 4-1.

It was the 407th home run of Giambi's career, tying him with Hall of Famer Duke Snider for 43rd all-time.

"He was OK," manager Jim Leyland said of Verlander. "He got the pitch count up again. It's rough when you have to throw 100 pitches in five, six innings. He's got to get some guys out at 92, 93 [mph]. Going 96 every time -- that takes more effort."

Verlander threw 102 pitches in six innings, giving up six hits, walking one and striking out six. The loss slides his record to 8-4.

The Tigers had their share of chances against Braden, but couldn't cash in.

Adam Everett led off the third with a double, and Curtis Granderson bunted him over to third. Placido Polanco grounded out to second and Miguel Cabrera lined one to center to strand Everett.

"Polanco had a great at-bat," Leyland said. "Braden just won the challenge. ... He went in and out, changed speeds. He pitched very well."

Braden allowed five hits -- four doubles -- in seven innings to earn his sixth win.

"It feels good," Braden said, "especially knowing we beat one of the best pitchers in the game."

Don Kelly and Cabrera delivered one-out doubles in the fifth and sixth, respectively, but Detroit wasn't able to score either of them.

The Tigers scored their lone run in the second on a two-out RBI double by Gerald Laird.

Leyland elected to rest Brandon Inge and his ailing left knee and go with Kelly at third base. The manager said he's been pleased with Kelly's play.

"He did fine," Leyland said. "He can play first, second, third, outfield. He's a nice, useable player for us."

Adam Loberstein is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers pull out 16-inning win over Twins
Polanco's RBI single sparks three-run frame for Detroit

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/04/09 1:20 AM ET
updated: 07/04/09 3:04 AM ET

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MINNEAPOLIS -- What had been a blown six-run lead for the Tigers eventually became a victory -- it just took a while.

Actually, it took quite a while, long enough for Placido Polanco to have two go-ahead singles, for the Tigers to empty the bullpen and for the calendar to turn to the Fourth of July by the time Polanco's RBI single spurred a three-run 16th inning.

It was a tough 11-9 win for the Tigers to pull out over the the Twins, and it probably shouldn't have gotten to that point. But they also know it could have been worse: They could have lost a game that they twice led by six runs, 6-0 in the third and 7-1 in the fourth, and that's a good part of what kept them going from Friday night into Saturday morning.

"We were here for so long that we really wanted to win the game," Polanco said of the Tigers' longest game inningswise since 2003 and their longest ever at the Metrodome. "You don't really think how tired you are or whatever."

Or as manager Jim Leyland put it, "That was a really good win, because it could've been a really bad loss."

The longer the game goes on, third baseman Brandon Inge said, the tougher it is mentally. By the time he came up with two outs in the 16th inning, he was just thinking about how crazy this night had been.

"It's funny, I went up to [Joe] Mauer in my last at-bat and I said, 'This is a messed-up game, isn't it,'" Inge said. "Not tonight, but just baseball. And he just started laughing. Because we throw up seven runs like that, like nothing, then all of a sudden we've got how many innings where we can't even sniff a run? And then they bang back runs and then they can't score. It's a messed-up game."

This particular game was messed up enough that a near miscue on the Twins' game-tying hit probably kept the Tigers alive to win it. And a bullpen effort that began with a five-run sixth inning from Zach Miner concluded with 10 2/3 innings of two-run ball from everybody else.

It took a long at-bat from Polanco to move the Tigers ahead in the 14th, but most of that time was spent with Polanco crouched behind home plate trying to recover from a foul tip.

"It takes a little time for you to, um, get it out of your system," Polanco said.

Stuck in an 0-2 count, Polanco finally stepped back to the plate and slapped the next pitch back through the middle to score Gerald Laird for an 8-7 lead. Freddy Dolsi entered in the bottom of the inning for the save attempt, but three straight Twins singles -- including Michael Cuddyer's RBI grounder off the glove of a diving Inge -- tied the score again.

The ball was sitting behind third base as Mauer trotted home. Inge and shortstop Ramon Santiago looked at each other, waiting a split second for the other to go after it as Justin Morneau decided to try for third.

"I saw Brandon go first," Santiago said, "and then he kind of saw me going to the ball. He went to the bag, because somebody has to be on the base. He was a safer choice to go to the base."

Said Inge: "It might've deked Morneau a little bit. If he sees me going, obviously there's going to be nobody [covering] third. It got to the point where I got out there a little bit, but I came back."

If Morneau had gotten to third, he would've scored the winning run on Dolsi's two-out pitch that skirted past catcher Laird for a passed ball. Instead, that merely allowed Cuddyer to move to third before Delmon Young grounded out to end the threat.

"He thought he could get there and he got thrown out," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "You know what, it's a situation where the ball is rolling down the left-field line and he's trying to get there and doesn't make it."

Dolsi (1-0) retired six straight batters after Cuddyer's game-tying single. By the time his error covering first base allowed Mauer to get on, the Tigers were up three, and he could survive putting Mauer and Morneau on base again.

"That's a lot to ask of the kid," Leyland said. "I'm seeing Mauer and Morneau in my sleep. Every time I turn around, they're coming up."

The Twins could say the same of Polanco, who came back up with one out in the 16th after Santiago singled and Curtis Granderson doubled. With the infield in, Polanco laced a line drive past a diving attempt from Twins shortstop Brendan Harris to send Santiago home. Ryan Raburn and Magglio Ordonez added two-out RBI singles for huge insurance runs.

Once Dolsi finally retired the side in the bottom half, he didn't have enough energy for so much as a fist pump. Nobody could really do their usual celebrations. The guy with the most energy seemed to be Laird, who hugged his winning pitcher.

"To go that long, it feels a lot better when you win," Laird said. "Long game. Important game."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers fall despite Ordonez's late tater
Three-run shot puts Detroit ahead before Minnesota rallies

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/04/09 8:51 PM ET

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MINNEAPOLIS -- One big swing from Magglio Ordonez abruptly changed the momentum for the Tigers on Saturday. A few smaller swings from Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Nick Punto changed it back.

Instant offense has not been Ordonez's best skill this year, but when he connected on a Francisco Liriano fastball for a three-run homer in the seventh inning, he not only put Detroit on the scoreboard for the first time all day, he put them ahead. RBI singles from Morneau and Punto changed that, tempering the force of Ordonez's outburst and sending the Tigers to a 4-3 loss to the Twins at the Metrodome.

Whether or not it's a game off which Ordonez can build, it's a loss that halted Detroit's momentum after Friday night's 16-inning victory. With the Tigers' lead in the American League Central back to 2 1/2 games over the White Sox and three games over the Twins, Sunday now becomes the rubber match in this division clash.

How Detroit has gotten to this point over the past two days has been anything but ordinary.

"You can't really say what the outcome's going to be until the last out," said Detroit starter Edwin Jackson, who went from a slim lead in his pitchers' duel with Liriano to his fifth straight start without a win.

It wasn't Jackson's best stuff, he said, but another day to battle. Though the nasty slider Jackson had displayed recently seemed hard to control, solo homers from Michael Cuddyer in the fourth inning and Morneau in the fifth were all that separated him and Liriano through six innings.

Jackson tied a career high with nine strikeouts, two more than in any other start this season, but Liriano sent down 13 Tigers in order from the final out of the second inning until Marcus Thames slapped the first pitch of the seventh inning through the middle for a single. Ryan Raburn sent Liriano's next pitch through the left side, putting the potential tying run on base.

After Brandon Inge struck out, up stepped Ordonez. He worked Liriano to a full count in the second inning before lining a double into the left-field corner. He also struck out on a slider in the fifth.

Both times, Liriano started him off with a fastball. This time, Ordonez sat on the fastball and pounced, driving it an estimated 414 feet to left-center field.

What had been a 2-0 Twins lead was suddenly a 3-2 Tigers lead, and a Metrodome crowd of 27,238 seemingly fell silent as soon as Ordonez hit it. It was just his second home run since April 27 and his 14th extra-base hit of the season.

"Honestly, when he squared it up, I thought it had a good chance," Raburn said. "I was just happy for him. He needs something like that. He's really wanted to help this team out. That was really big for him and for the team also."

Ordonez did not talk with reporters following his first multi-hit game since June 8. Combined with his RBI single Friday night, he has three hits this series after entering town mired in a 2-for-20 slump. He was kept out of Friday's starting lineup, but he came out for early batting practice with hitting coach Lloyd McClendon. Ordonez has been pulling the ball early and often this series.

"He had a good day," manager Jim Leyland said. "He had a very nice day."

Though the Tigers had won Jackson's previous two starts, both were on comebacks after Jackson left. Ordonez's shot finally gave him a lead to protect. Jackson took the mound for the bottom of the seventh and promptly put Denard Span on base.

"It was the walk to Span that killed us more than anything," Leyland said. "We took the lead and walked the first guy."

Once Jackson struck out Brendan Harris with his 122nd and final pitch, Bobby Seay entered to face Mauer and Morneau, who had already reached base 10 times in the series. Neither of their next two hits went for extra bases, but they went for damage.

Mauer lined a 3-1 pitch back up the middle, then Morneau grounded a ball through the right side to bring Span in and tie the game.

"They're very tough," Seay said. "There's no secret to that. But they're pitchable. If I can get ahead in the count to Mauer, it's a different situation. He takes, takes, takes until he gets a good pitch that he can hit. That's why he's hitting around .400.

"But I second-guessed myself against Morneau. I didn't really throw a good pitch to him. Got a ground ball, but a hop on the turf, anything's a hit for the most part. That's the way it goes."

The deciding blow, by contrast, came in the air, albeit meekly. Brian Buscher's leadoff single in the eighth off Brandon Lyon (3-4) put the go-ahead run on base. Lyon seemingly jammed Punto into a soft liner, but it was deep enough to fall between shortstop Adam Everett and left fielder Raburn, whose throw home was just barely late for a play.

"I thought I had a chance at it, but it just kept carrying," Everett said.

Said Punto: "A little cutter; it was a pretty good pitch. I got enough barrel on it and barely got it over Adam Everett's head."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Jackson is alway getting screwed over by no runn support!

Porcello undone by fateful fourth
Tigers, righty drop finale to Twins after six-run frame

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/05/09 9:20 PM ET

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Rick Porcello looked like he was on his way to holding down the Twins' big hitters again. Then he suddenly couldn't hold anybody.

For all of Porcello's success, the reminders are inevitable that the 20-year-old still has plenty to learn. Sunday was a teaching experience for Porcello but another loss at the Metrodome for his team, this one by a 6-2 margin.

In both cases, the lessons came fast. How he reacted to Justin Morneau's two-run homer might've been one, but how he reacted to a 10-pitch walk to Michael Cuddyer was arguably bigger.

"They're as much teaching experiences," pitching coach Rick Knapp said, "as they are hopefully learning experiences that he's going to take into his next starts."

Two months ago, Porcello held Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Denard Span hitless in his first meeting with the Twins, part of the reason why he blanked Minnesota for seven innings on that May 5 evening at Comerica Park. For a good while, he seemed on his way towards doing it again, or at least coming close.

Porcello, who struggled in his past outing Monday at Oakland, retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced. The only balls he allowed out of the infield in that stretch was a Mauer fly ball to left field and a Jason Kubel second-inning double that one-hopped the right-field wall.

"He actually looked better to me this time than last time," Morneau said. "The ball had a little more life and was getting on us a little more."

Added Mauer: "I thought the ball was coming out of his hand a lot better today than it was in Detroit. He's got great stuff. He's going to be a tough pitcher to face here in our division and in the league."

For 3 1/3 innings Sunday, Porcello was tough. Then came a sinker to Mauer that he grounded to left-center for a single. Three pitches later, Porcello left a fastball over the plate to Morneau, who promptly drilled it over the fence in center field for a two-run homer and a two-run Twins lead.

Porcello's frustration was evident in his face as soon as he saw the path of Morneau's ball.

"I wanted to get it out there and missed in," Porcello said. "Anytime you miss your spots, he's going to hurt you."

That was the only extra-base hit of the inning. Four singles, two walks and an ill-placed throw from shortstop Adam Everett followed. The total damage left Porcello with his second-shortest outing of the season and the Tigers with innings to fill on a day when they were left with just three relievers who weren't being rested.

"Porcello, for the first time, I thought, lost his composure," manager Jim Leyland said.

Porcello didn't argue.

"That's a big reason I'm having problems in certain innings like that," Porcello said. "I have to do a better job of coming back strong after giving up a big hit and putting that behind me and keeping us in the game. The biggest thing for me is go out there and keep us in the game. The past two starts, I haven't been able to do that."

Yet Sunday's eventual difference didn't come from the home run, but from what followed.

All 10 pitches to Cuddyer were either fastballs or sinkers. He fouled off four straight full-count sinkers down and in to stay alive until Porcello left a fastball up and out of the zone that Cuddyer didn't chase.

Knapp said he thought Porcello tired a bit after that. For Porcello, it was more frustration.

"You never want to do that," Porcello said. "You don't want to give him a free pass, and after you throw that many pitches to a guy, you darn sure want to put him away. You don't want to let him on. I was a little disappointed in myself with that."

Porcello threw another fastball over the plate to Joe Crede, who lined it into left field for a single. A first-pitch slider to Delmon Young turned into another liner and an RBI single. Another full-count walk, this one to Nick Punto, loaded the bases for Span.

"I think the game sped up on him," Knapp said. "He started thinking fast instead of taking his time. The routine of it, I think he got outside himself."

Span went at the first pitch and hit a sharp grounder that Everett ran down deep in the hole, but Everett's jump-throw to second sailed over Placido Polanco and into foul territory in right field. Young and Punto followed Crede home, busting open the game.

Porcello (8-6) was charged with four earned runs on seven hits over four innings with two walks and three strikeouts. He has allowed 11 earned runs on 23 hits over 13 1/3 innings in his last three outings.

The support was plentiful for Twins starter Nick Blackburn, who avenged a rough outing earlier this season at Comerica Park by retiring 15 of the first 17 Tigers he faced. Only Brandon Inge's 19th home run of the year, a two-run shot with two out in the ninth, kept Blackburn (7-4) from a complete-game shutout.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Galarraga shines in Tigers loss
Detroit's offense unable to support right-hander's solid effort

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/06/09 11:26 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Armando Galarraga could leave Comerica Park Monday night with a sense of confidence he arguably hasn't had since April. There weren't many other Tigers who could do the same.

After Royals starter Gil Meche left with two runs despite five walks over 5 2/3 innings, it felt quite the opposite. Once Mike Jacobs' ninth-inning homer off Fernando Rodney sent the Tigers to their seventh loss in their last 10 games with a 4-3 defeat, it felt like a game that got away on both ends.

Had Adam Everett's hard-hit grounder gotten past Kansas City shortstop Willie Bloomquist with the bases loaded and one out in the second inning, the Tigers would've had a potential runaway instead of an inning-ending double play. Had Gerald Laird's liner gotten a little more air to clear Mark Teahen, Rodney and Joel Zumaya might've had more comfortable leads with which to work the final couple innings.

"All you can do is hit the ball hard somewhere," manager Jim Leyland said, "and we did."

Of course, the fact that the key near-hits came from the bottom two hitters in the lineup instead of the top third of the order is another matter. Regardless, the frustration Monday was evident.

"We let him off the hook, pretty much," Everett said. "We let him off the hook in the second inning. That was me, basically. You've got to score some runs, especially against a guy like that."

Said Laird: "I don't think he made his pitches. I think we hit some balls hard right at guys. What can you do?"

It was an unlikely pitching duel, but at least a potential building block for Galarraga. For the first seven innings, all three runs in the game were solo homers. In Galarraga's case, it was the only extra-base hit he allowed all night.

Bloomquist was the lone runner to reach scoring position against him, and both times were in passing. He overslid second base trying to stretch out a fourth-inning single, and he rounded the bases on his sixth-inning solo shot that briefly tied the game.

Two Jose Guillen ground-ball singles and a Mark Teahen liner to center was all the other damage against Galarraga. Just as important, he rebounded from six walks last Tuesday at Oakland to only one free pass this time out. He used his slider early and often on his way to seven strikeouts.

For someone who was beating himself up mentally over early runs for the better part of a month, this should be a boost. He had a couple quality starts last month, but nothing like this.

"I thought he had good action on his ball," Leyland said, "and I thought most of his sliders were better tonight. He threw a couple effective changeups, I thought. He attacked the strike zone, pretty much down, better than he has been. I thought he was really, really good."

Ironically, the Royals felt a little similar against Galarraga to what the Tigers felt versus Meche.

"Both clubs looked like they were having a tough time, with the brightness of the day, seeing the first four frames," Kansas City manager Trey Hillman said. "After that, there's no reason we shouldn't get to him better than we did."

The Tigers, however, had more chances to get to Meche. They hit into ground-ball double plays to end three of the first five innings, including Miguel Cabrera in the first and Placido Polanco in the fifth. In addition, there was Everett's shot to Bloomquist in the second after two walks and a wild pitch on a strikeout loaded the bases without the Tigers putting a ball in play.

Meche's near-meltdown came after Marcus Thames led off the second with his seventh homer of the year to open the scoring. Likewise, once Ryan Raburn homered to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead in the sixth, Meche walked All-Star Final Vote candidate Brandon Inge and Magglio Ordonez back-to-back. Laird greeted Juan Cruz with his near-shot, right at Teahen.

"If it's up a little higher, we get a couple runs," Laird said. "Yeah, it gets frustrating, because it could lead to a big inning. But it didn't."

Their 37th game this season with three runs or less still led to a slim lead in the late innings for the Tigers bullpen. But while Zumaya threw hard in his first appearance since throwing 53 pitches in Friday's 16-inning win at Minnesota, he didn't throw particularly sharp. A two-strike single to Miguel Olivo and a one-out walk to David DeJesus set up Bloomquist, who sat on a 98-mph fastball and tripled to the fence in right-center.

"On Zumaya, I was just saying, 'Tell my wife and kids I love 'em if he hits me.' That guy throws gas," Bloomquist said. "I was just able to get the fat part of the bat on the ball against him and he supplied all the power."

Raburn's double in the bottom of the eighth inning tied the game and sent Rodney out for the ninth. His changeup sent down Guillen swinging to lead off the inning, but he left one up for Jacobs, who lofted it deep to right for his 11th homer of the year.

"Those things happen," Leyland said. "They're going to give up a run now and then. Basically, we just haven't knocked the ball around very well, for whatever reason. It's kind of puzzling, really."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Tigers 8, Royals 5
Justin Verlander, three homers carry Tigers to victory
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Detroit -- Justin Verlander is capable of pitching an occasional weird game.

He pitched one Tuesday night in the Tigers' 8-5 victory over the Kansas City Royals.

It was weird, good, mind you. But weird.

For instance, he had a 35-pitch inning -- and he allowed just the second home run on an 0-2 count he's ever allowed. That happened in the sixth when Billy Butler took him deep to left in the sixth.

But he also struck out 11, including six of eight at one dominating point in the game.

So he was Verlander as you've come to expect Verlander to be, All-Star pitcher that he is. However, he was also a vulnerable Verlander at times, which explains why he had to leave after six innings with a pitch count of 114.

When he was good, he was very good.

When he was bad, he overcame it.

In any case, Verlander (9-5) hung around long enough, and pitched bottom-line well enough, to get the victory because the Tigers didn't struggle to score this time.

In fact, with three home runs -- including a three-run shot from Marcus Thames in the fifth after an intentional walk to Miguel Cabrera, who hit a solo shot in the first -- they made Bruce Chen pay for every mistake.

There were two tide-turning moments in the game. The first was David DeJesus' three-run double in the second that gave the Royals a 3-1 lead

The second inning was Verlander's 35-pitch inning -- one in which he ended up with a pair of strikeouts, but one also in which the Royals made him work by fouling off nine two-strike pitches

Coupled with a 20-pitch first, Verlander was on a pace for an early exit.

The DeJesus double jolted him back into a groove, however. Verlander retired 10 Royals in a row after that before Butler's home run leading off the sixth.

That was the ultra-rare 0-2 home run, the first off Verlander since Tadahito Iguchi of the White Sox connected off him on April 13, 2006 at Comerica Park, the first home run Verlander ever allowed as a full-time starter in the Tigers rotation.

The other turning point was Ryan Freel not catching Placido Polanco's two-out fly ball in the fifth. Polanco had a fine four-RBI game at the plate -- a two-run home run and a pair of run-scoring singles.

But when he lofted a fly ball to shallow center on a 3-2 pitch from Chen, it looked like it was going to be the final out of the inning.

Freel didn't get to the ball, though. It fell in for a single, and because Adam Everett was running on the pitch, he scored the tie-breaking run from first.

That wasn't the entire extent of the turning point, however.

Polanco took second on the throw from the outfield, so with first base open, the Royals walked Cabrera intentionally, only to have Thames' first-pitch blast to left put the Tigers back in front for good.

The Royals had the tying run at the plate three times after that, but Butler hit into a double-play with two runner on the seventh, Miguel Olivo struck out with two on in the eighth and Fernando Rodney worked out of trouble in the ninth for his 18th save.

Tigers unleash on Royals to even series
Polanco delivers two-run homer and totals four RBIs

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/08/09 12:28 AM ET

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DETROIT -- The Tigers took out their offensive frustrations from the past few days on Royals starter Bruce Chen with three home runs in their first five innings. Yet arguably the big hit from Tuesday's 8-5 win over the Royals, the crucial two-out RBI that they lacked Monday, barely got into the outfield.

If Detroit is going to ignite its offense for the season's second half, those kinds of hits will be about as huge as the home runs. In Tuesday's case, it set up the home run that proved to be the crushing blow.

"Three-run homers are backbreakers sometimes," said manager Jim Leyland, whose offense scored as many runs Tuesday as it had in its previous three games combined.

The Tigers are normally a team that punishes left-handed starting pitchers, but they had lost three of their previous four matchups against southpaws. Moreover, they didn't hit any of those four particularly well. For a lineup based around right-handed power hitters, with Curtis Granderson the one left-handed power source, that was a concern.

Chen seemingly was on his way to making it tough on them again by retiring seven of Detroit's first eight batters. Miguel Cabrera's first-inning solo homer was Detroit's lone hit out of its first 10 batters until Placido Polanco took Chen deep in the third inning to score Adam Everett following his one-out walk.

Once again, though, Chen seemingly settled down. It wasn't until another Everett walk, this one in the fifth, that the Tigers could really put up a big inning.

Chen (0-3) had retired five straight before that walk, and he got a foulout from Granderson after that. He was effectively wild at that point, even as he fell behind on a 3-1 count to Polanco. He spotted a fastball on the inside corner that Polanco watched to run the count full.

It was a huge pitch for Polanco, but it also guaranteed that Everett would be in motion. Once Polanco chased a fastball on the outside corner and lofted it into short center field, that motion became big.

Ryan Freel, who just joined the Royals this afternoon following a trade from the Cubs a day earlier, was playing relatively deep. He ran in on the ball almost immediately and made a diving attempt at a catch, but it fell just in front of him as Everett rounded third. Moreover, it rolled just far enough away from him that third-base coach Gene Lamont sent Everett home.

Leyland said after the game he had no problem with aggressive plays, even if they don't work out. In this case, their ability to take the game to the Royals proved crucial.

"If you're busting your tail, good things happen," Leyland said. "Everett was busting his tail, and Gene made a great read."

Not only did Everett score without a play at a plate, but Polanco slid into second when the Royals didn't have anyone covering. That freed up first base for Chen to intentionally walk Cabrera and bring up Marcus Thames, who sent Chen's first-pitch fastball into the left-field seats for his third homer in his past four games and a 7-3 lead.

"We need that. That's what Marcus does," Leyland said. "You give Marcus Thames four or five at-bats, and he's bound to run into one. You just hope, like tonight, there's a couple guys on."

Polanco drove in four runs on the night, his season high. It continues his trend of RBIs in bunches; he had driven in runs in just three of his previous 10 games, but all three were three-RBI efforts. This one happened to come on a day when Leyland talked to his players casually about getting the most out of their final games before the All-Star break.

"Everybody's here physically, but you have to make sure you're here mentally," Leyland said. "You have to grind it out, and Polanco grinds it out every single day. He gives you everything he's got, every day he plays. Good things happen when you're into it and fighting your fanny off."

The run support came in handy for Tigers starter Justin Verlander (9-4), who salvaged what was nearly a disastrous outing by settling down after the third inning for his first win in his past three starts.

"I really feel like in the third inning, I settled myself down, tried to get some quick outs and tried to find that rhythm that I had for a long time," Verlander said. "I've been working hard the past couple weeks, trying to get that feel back."

After David DeJesus' bases-clearing triple in the second made the Tigers pay for a catcher's interference call, Verlander retired Willie Bloomquist for the third out on his 55th pitch of the night. He went on to retire 10 straight batters, including six strikeouts on an eight-batter stretch, before Billy Butler's leadoff homer started a two-run sixth.

"The first two innings I thought we did a real good job because he didn't command the ball very well and we got his pitch count up there," Royals manager Trey Hillman said. "Third, fourth and fifth he started commanding the ball really good with all three pitches."

Two of the five runs Verlander allowed were unearned, but he racked up his first double-digit strikeout game since May 14 by fanning 11 Royals.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

French, Tigers solve Greinke in finale
Detroit starter gets first big league win to take series

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/08/09 9:30 PM ET
updated: 07/08/09 10:53 PM ET

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DETROIT -- The Tigers don't need a supernatural act to beat Zack Greinke after all.

After two matchups this season, it sure seemed like they did. What they actually needed for Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Royals, it turned out, was what manager Jim Leyland has talked about often heading into pitching duels. Their starting pitcher had to pitch well, and they had to scrap together a few runs.

"I'm glad we got to him early," starter Luke French said.

It took a gem of an outing from French for his first Major League win, a Placido Polanco chopper over Mark Teahen, and a Gerald Laird sacrifice bunt that turned into an infield single when Greinke slipped and fell. All of them were unusual, but none paranormal.

The resulting win in the rubber match of their three-game series -- their first series win in two weeks -- stood out mainly for the pitcher they beat.

"It was a nice, clean game. It was a nice, clean win against a great pitcher," said Leyland, whose team stayed two games ahead of the second-place White Sox in the American League Central. "You have to feel pretty good about that."

While Greinke had walked just three batters all season after an 0-2 count, Granderson had the same total of walks on the year when falling into an 0-2 hole. Yet by fouling off a couple breaking balls inside and laying off the other pitches down and away, Granderson worked his way out of the 0-2 hole and reached base to lead off Detroit's opening inning for the first time since June 30.

"He battled me a little bit, but I shouldn't have walked him. That should cost you, walking the leadoff guy like that," Greinke said.

It did, once Leyland sent Granderson on a hit-and-run play. Third baseman Teahen played in to guard against a bunt, then had to watch as Polanco's chopper sailed over his head and into left field. Not only did Granderson take third easily, but Polanco's big turn around first and his hesitation drew a bad throw from left fielder David DeJesus, allowing Polanco to take second.

"That kind of set the tone a little bit," Leyland said.

It didn't matter when Miguel Cabrera's fly to right easily scored Granderson, but it proved huge after Marcus Thames hit what would've otherwise been a double-play grounder to short. Instead, Polanco was still at second with two outs before just-recalled Clete Thomas lined an RBI single to right-center.

Josh Anderson's double in the next inning set up Gerald Laird's sacrifice bunt attempt, which became a single when Greinke slipped and fell trying to field the ball in front of the mound.

"Anytime you can get a hit out of it," Laird shrugged.

Ramon Santiago's fly ball to shallow center sent Anderson home while center fielder Ryan Freel's throw went up the third-base line.

"The whole first two innings was whatever could go wrong, did," said Greinke (10-5), who retired nine of the last 10 Tigers he faced.

It certainly wasn't what French was expecting when he first learned he was matching up against Greinke. He chuckled, but he didn't worry about it. He doesn't really get nervous on the mound, he said, and any nerves can't compare to those he had when he married his wife Blythe in January. His poise has made an impression on the Tigers.

By game's end, he couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Three of the six hits he allowed over 6 1/3 innings went to Billy Butler, all of them doubles. But all three came with either one or two outs, and French held the two batters ahead of Butler -- DeJesus and Willie Bloomquist -- and the two behind him -- Jose Guillen and Teahen -- to a combined 0-for-12.

"He benefited from coming after [Justin] Verlander," Teahen said, "because everybody's coming at the ball, and he's all offspeed stuff."

French (1-0) retired 11 of 12 batters after the third inning until Alberto Callaspo's seventh-inning solo homer broke up his shutout bid.

"I thought he pitched pretty good," Leyland said. "His control probably wasn't quite as good as he expected, or we expected. I think the other thing is there [was] definitely a couple times tonight where the fact that they hadn't seen him before, he got by with a couple pitches."

That said, it was much the same stuff that French threw in his first Major League start last weekend at Minnesota. The difference, French said, was an abundance of first-pitch strikes.
"I had good command of my slider," French said. "I thought that was a pretty good pitch for me tonight, especially against the lefties."

Once Fernando Rodney wrapped up 2 2/3 hitless innings from Detroit relievers with a perfect ninth for his 19th save in as many chances, he saved the final ball for French to keep, like he did for Alfredo Figaro a few weeks earlier when he beat Milwaukee.

French, however, can say he outpitched the great Greinke for his first win. And for the first time this year, the Tigers can say they beat him.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

All-Star Jackson, Tigers stifle Indians
Righty tops Tribe's Lee with seven innings of one-run ball

By Mike Scott / Special to MLB.com

07/10/09 10:48 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Edwin Jackson proved that his inclusion on the American League All-Star roster was well deserved with another impressive performance Friday night.

Jackson (7-4) went seven innings, allowing just one run on four hits while striking out four, leading the Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the Indians at Comerica Park. Despite recording six quality starts in his past seven appearances heading into Friday's game, Jackson hadn't recorded a win since a complete-game four-hitter against the Angels on June 6.

In other words, a win felt good to the newly named All-Star.

"It's a bonus for me to get the win, but it's more important for the team to get a win," Jackson said. "As long as the team wins, I'll take a no-decision any day over a loss."

Jackson is used to getting little run support this year. Entering the game, he had received 3.53 runs per nine innings of run support this season, the second-lowest run support ratio in the AL.

The Tigers improved to 3-0 against reigning Cy Young Award winner Cliff Lee this season. They withstood a Cleveland rally in the ninth, when the Indians loaded the bases on an error and two walks before Fernando Rodney retired Grady Sizemore on a grounder to end the game.

The big hit early on for the Tigers was a one-out single by Josh Anderson in the second inning that drove home two. Anderson's hit followed an RBI double by Gerald Laird to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead. Laird's drive down the right-field line just eluded a diving Ryan Garko.

That was all the offense that Jackson needed. In his final start before his first All-Star appearance, the right-hander gave up four hits and one run in seven innings while striking out four.

"It was a great job by him because Cleveland has some tremendous left-handed hitters in their lineup," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "I think he was a little spent when [the seventh inning] ended, but what he gave us was a great chance to win the game."

The Indians threatened in the eighth after both Asdrubal Cabrera and Victor Martinez walked. They moved up a base with one out on a wild pitch from Bobby Seay, who had relived Joel Zumaya. Zumaya threw just two pitches before leaving with a cut on top of his right thumb.

But Seay then struck out Shin-Soo Choo looking and retired Cleveland designated hitter Travis Hafner on a routine fly ball to left to strand two runners.

Marcus Thames then gave the Tigers some added breathing room in the bottom of the eighth with a two-run homer to left off Joe Smith. That also plated Placido Polanco who led off the inning with a walk.

The Indians didn't record their first hit until a two-out single by Travis Hafner in the fourth moved Choo, who had walked, to second base. But Jackson got Jhonny Peralta to ground out to shortstop to end the threat.

Garko got the Indians on the board in the fifth with an estimated 391-foot blast to left-center field, his ninth home run of the year.

Lee had lost his two earlier appearances against the Tigers this season despite giving up just four earned runs in 15 combined innings. The games came within five days of each other when Justin Verlander beat Lee, 3-1, on May 3 at Comerica Park and then again by a 1-0 score May 8 at Jacobs Field.

"I felt like I made good pitches," Jackson said. "I feel like we're not scoring enough [runs]. But it's out of my control."

Jackson said he feels comfortable pitching to contact. He admitted starting out slow the first inning or two before getting into a groove.

"I just wanted to be aggressive and make them put the ball in play," Jackson said.

And the win against Lee felt extra special.

"You have to be stingy with the run when you face [Lee]," Jackson said. "That's what every player wants to do is go against the best."

Center fielder Curtis Granderson had a bird's eye view of Jackson's stuff having been in the dugout for the first four innings after getting the day off from Leyland. Granderson entered the game in the fifth after Anderson was hit by a pitch and suffered a contusion on his right tricep. Anderson is day-to-day.

"[Jackson] has great poise and velocity," Granderson said. "He has done a great job all year of giving our bullpen a breather."

Lee said he welcomed the challenge of facing a pitcher as hot as Jackson.

"I want to go up against the other team's number one guy," he said. "I'm not lacking confidence. That's not the reason why we're losing."

Mike Scott is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Galarraga's control eludes him in loss
Pair of two-out walks in third leads to two runs for Tribe

By Mike Scott / Special to MLB.com

07/11/09 11:10 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Armando Galarraga gave the Tigers a chance to win Saturday night, but trying too be fine on a few pitches in the third inning may have cost Detroit a victory.

The Tigers' six-game winning streak against the Indians came to an end with a 5-4 loss at Comerica Park before a sellout crowd in Detroit. Doubles by Shin-Soo Choo and Jhonny Peralta in the eight inning, the latter off Tigers reliever Freddy Dolsi, proved to be the difference.

Carl Pavano (8-7) picked up the win with eight strong innings, allowing two runs on seven hits. It was Pavano's second consecutive strong outing, following a win July 4 against Oakland. Pavano retired the last 10 hitters he faced and allowed just two extra-base hits, throwing 101 pitches.

Pavano was part of the story, but the other was Galarraga (5-8), who gave up a two-out triple to Grady Sizemore, then proceeded to walk both Victor Martinez and Choo in the third. That gave Travis Hafner a chance to drive in two with a single to left field just in front of a diving Ryan Raburn, giving the Indians a 3-2 lead.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland said Galarraga pitched well enough to win, but that sequence with two outs in the third was costly.

"He pitched the third inning there like a home run would win the ballgame," Leyland said. "If the guy hits a solo home run, who cares? [Galarraga] got afraid to give up a run rather than trying to get an out. When you get two quick outs, you have to go after whoever is up.

"He pitched to Sizemore like he was Babe Ruth. He pitched Martinez like Babe Ruth and Shoo like Babe Ruth. Then Hafner burned him. You can't do that," Leyland added.

With the loss, the Tigers' lead in the AL Central is 2 1/2 games over the White Sox, who beat the Twins, 8-7.

Miguel Cabrera made things interesting in the ninth with his 18th home run of the year, a two-run shot off closer Kerry Wood. But Wood retired Marcus Thames, Clete Thomas and Raburn to record his 12th save of the season.

Tigers catcher Gerald Laird said Pavano pitched extremely well, a line that included no walks.

"He's a professional. He's been around awhile and he knows that when he gets a lead it's important to throw strikes and keep us off balance," Laird said. "It was one of those nights when you have to tip your cap to him because he got some key double plays [one each in the first and third inning] and he made pitches when he had to."

Pavano "pounded the strike zone with strike one" all night, Leyland said. "He kept the ball away from us to his credit."

Pavano said the key to his win was having great command.

"I was able to locate my fastball and keep it down," he said. "I was aggressive and made my pitches. Any time you make one pitch and get two outs that's a pitchers' best friend."

Asdrubal Cabrera's seeing-eye single in the seventh gave Cleveland a 4-2 lead. The Indians also scored in the first when Cabrera and Sizemore led off with consecutive singles. Martinez then hit a sacrifice fly to center field which drove home Cabrera from third.

The Tigers answered in the second when Thomas singled and Raburn followed with a drive to deep left-center field that Sizemore couldn't come up with while running full speed into the fence. Raburn ended up on third with a triple. Brandon Inge drove Raburn in thee pitches later with a single to right to put Detroit up, 2-1.

Leyland said before the game that the move to platoon Thomas and Magglio Ordonez in right field, with Thomas starting against lefties, was a strategy that could continue depending on how successful Thomas was. He finished with two singles in the loss.

"We're hoping to catch lightning in a bottle a little bit with him," Leyland said about Thomas before the game. "He had a big hit [Wednesday] against Kansas City and can do some nice things for us."

The Tigers ran themselves out of a rally in the fourth with runners at the corners and one out. Raburn struck out with Thomas attempting to steal second. Thomas stopped a few feet from second base and Thames took off from third in an attempt to score. But the Indians tagged Thames out in a rundown to end the inning.

Mike Scott is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Heart of order backs Verlander big
Inge homers twice, Thomas finishes with five RBIs

By Mike Scott / Special to MLB.com

07/12/09 3:55 PM ET
updated: 07/12/09 5:35 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Before Sunday's game, Tigers manager Jim Leyland was reviewing his team's successful first half of the season, and the one area where he expressed some disappointment was the lineup's inconsistent offensive production.

Perhaps the walls in the Comerica Park clubhouse have ears. If the word did get out, Detroit's hitters sure responded, producing a 13-hit attack in a 10-1 victory over Cleveland.

The Tigers jumped all over Indians starter Tomo Ohka in the fourth inning and continued to pour it on thanks to the suddenly potent middle of their lineup. Marcus Thames, Clete Thomas and Brandon Inge batted fourth, fifth and sixth on Sunday, and the trio combined to go 9-for-12 with three home runs and nine RBIs. Inge hit a pair of home runs, Thames had a career-high four hits and Thomas came within a double of hitting for the cycle.

That was plenty of offense for starter Justin Verlander (10-4), who scattered five hits without allowing a run in seven innings. In fact, it was a total team effort that helped the Tigers to a series victory and their seventh win in the past eight games against the slumping Indians.

Verlander improved to 3-0 against the Tribe during a season in which he has allowed just one earned run in 23 innings against Cleveland.

"[Verlander] was tremendous," Leyland said. "He's just one of five guys, though. It'll take the total starting rotation for us to [stay in contention for the playoffs]."

Despite the offensive outburst, it was unusual that so much production came from just three hitters, Leyland said.

The majority of Detroit's runs came in the middle three innings. Thomas first drilled a three-run home run to left-center field with nobody out in the fourth inning. It was his fifth homer of the year and came after Miguel Cabrera had been hit by a pitch and Thames had singled.

Inge followed with his 20th home run of the year, to left field on a 1-1 pitch, giving Detroit a 5-0 lead.

The onslaught continued in the fifth inning, with three more runs, and the damage came from the same three hitters. Thames doubled down the third-base line and Thomas followed with an RBI single. Thomas came around to score on Inge's 21st home run, his fifth career multihomer game.

Thames added an RBI single in the sixth inning on an infield chopper. Ramon Santiago scored from second on the same play for Detroit's 10th run when Cleveland shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera muffed the bouncer just behind the pitcher's mound.

Thomas needed a double to hit for the cycle following his first three at-bats, something he did once before while playing in college for Auburn. He lined out sharply to the pitcher in the sixth and didn't come to the plate again.

Since being recalled from Triple-A Toledo last week, Thomas is 7-for-13. He finished Sunday with a career-high five RBIs.

"I'm seeing the ball pretty good," said Thomas, who admitted thinking about a possible cycle in the sixth inning. "I had to step out of the box there and go back to taking the same approach I had all game."

One of the biggest adjustments Thomas has made since being recalled is shortening his swing and staying on the ball, Leyland said.

Detroit jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second when Thames singled and Thomas drove an Ohka fastball into the right-center gap for an RBI triple.

Cleveland briefly threatened in the third inning when Ben Francisco walked with one out. He went to second on an error by Verlander when the right-hander tried to pick Francisco off at first. But Verlander struck out Cabrera and induced a routine fly ball from Grady Sizemore to end the minature threat.

The Indians loaded the bases against Verlander in the seventh inning before the Detroit right-hander struck out pinch-hitter Jamey Carroll on his 116th and final pitch. Cleveland scored its lone run on a bases-loaded walk in the ninth.

As Leyland indicated before the game, Detroit's offense at times has struggled this year. The Tigers are batting under .260 as a team, while the league's offensive superpowers in the American League East are batting a combined .270. Carols Guillen hasn't played since early May. Magglio Ordonez has struggled and is now platooning in right field. Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco are each hitting well below their respective career averages.

But Inge believes that some of the team's offensive struggles will be corrected in the second half. He is more concerned about something the players can't control: injuries -- especially to the pitching staff.

"The [offensive] production is there, it's just a matter of us getting timely hits," Inge said. "Sometimes we just need a little more focus ... those one or two times a game where we can drive in runs can make the difference."

Mike Scott is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Monday, July 13, 2009
Tigers 10, Indians 1
Tigers' Verlander rolls into break
Tim Twentyman / The Detroit News

Detroit -- The first half of Justin Verlander's season can be divided into separate parts.

Part one was the first four starts, in which he allowed 24 runs on his way to a 0-2 record.

Part two was his next 15 appearances, when he went 10-2 and allowed a total of 27 runs, including Sunday afternoon's 10-1 victory over the Indians.

Verlander has been on cruise control since those first four starts, continuing his All-Star-worthy play with his 10th victory of the season (10-4, 3.38), allowing no runs and five hits in seven innings against the Indians.

"My stuff was really good early but the numbers weren't showing it, so I just said, 'Let's change' and 'What can I change,' and my mentality was the only thing. For me personally, (an All-Star selection) is special because of what I went through last year," said Verlander, referring to last year's 11-17 record. "It's only the midway point and there's a long way to go, but it's nice to be there and say that the hard work paid off."

Verlander's turnaround from a year ago and even his own mini first-half turnaround has been a microcosm for to a much larger turnaround the Tigers have fashioned from last season. A year ago, the Tigers never spent a single day atop the American League Central standings and were a .500 club at the All-Star break. This year, they've spent 78 days in first place and are nine games over .500 at the break.

"I feel good up to this point. I feel good where we're at," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "But we're going to have to get better offensively in the second half if we want to sustain it. We have to maintain pretty solid pitching like we have the first half and the offense is going to have to be better."

The offense was a whole lot better Sunday.

Outfielder Clete Thomas had a career-high five RBIs, Brandon Inge hit home runs in the fourth and fifth innings, and Marcus Thames had a career-high four hits as the Tigers scored at least 10 runs for the sixth time in a nine-inning game this season.

Thomas was 3-for-4 with a three-run home run in the fourth, a triple and a single. He continues his hot hitting (.538) since being recalled from Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday.

Inge had his fifth career multi-homer game and finished with three RBIs.

Thames got into the fray with a 4-for-4 day, recording three singles, a double, an RBI and scoring three runs.

"We had a bunch of runs but only three guys that had hits, really," Leyland said. "That's kind of unique. Normally, when you get that many (runs) everybody is throwing in something, but that wasn't the case."

The Tigers finished with 13 hits and improved their record to 26-2 when collecting 10 or more hits.

"Those guys kind of make it easy on you when you put up 10 runs," Verlander said. "They allowed me to go out there and be aggressive, go at guys and pitch deep into the game."

Verlander is 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA and 30 strikeouts against the Indians this season. He earned 10 victories before the All-Star Game for the third time in his career (2006 and 2007).

ttwentyman@detnews.com

Friday, July 17, 2009
YANKEES 5, TIGERS 3
Yankees zoom past Tigers
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

New York -- His heat is still getting hit.

Joel Zumaya was entrusted with a one-run lead in the seventh inning Friday night at the new Yankee Stadium. Three batters later, the Yankees were on their way to a 5-3 victory -- courtesy of Mark Teixeira's three-run home run.

Zumaya is in a slump, no doubt about it. In his last nine appearances, he has four blown saves. He's also lost two of those four games. But it's deeper than that.

Pitching in 14 save situations this year, Zumaya has a 9.64 ERA. In his 15 non-save situation appearances, he has a 1.06 ERA.

The game turned around quickly with Zumaya on the mound. Derek Jeter singled, just out Placido Polanco's reach. Johnny Damon doubled off Clete Thomas' near the wall in right and Teixeira lofted a no-doubter on a 3-1 count to the seats in right.

Zumaya ran into bases-loaded trouble after Teixeira's home run, but got out of it on a grounder to second. The damage had been done, though -- and lately, since June 23 in fact, there's been a lot of damage.

The Tigers hadn't previously trailed in the game, but never were able to put it away.

Curtis Granderson's leadoff double in the first got them off to a good start -- because they turned it into a run with two groundouts.

The Yankees came right back to tie it, however, on a walk and two singles in their half of the first off starter Luke French. Trailing by two, they scored again in the fifth when the Tigers' defense got sloppy.

With one out, Damon singled and would have just taken third on Teixeira's single to left, but came all the way around when the ball went between Josh Anderson's legs for an error.

Brandon Inge followed with a throwing error at third, but the Tigers eluded additional damage by turning Hideki Matsui's soft liner to second into a double play.

Yankees starter A.J. Burnett was his own worst enemy.

For instance, he walked Anderson to start the second inning. After stealing second, Anderson took third on Burnett's throwing error and scored on Placido Polanco's two-out single up the middle.

Granderson's 19th home run increased the Tigers' lead to 3-1 in the fifth -- and they were still in front by a run when Anderson threw out Jorge Posada at the plate in the sixth.

Lead gets away from Tigers in Bronx
Zumaya struggles, will undergo MRI in Detroit on Saturday

By Kit Stier / Special to MLB.com

07/18/09 1:01 AM ET

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NEW YORK -- Joel Zumaya slowly walked off the mound after a sluggish seventh inning on Friday night looking like a man in distress. About two hours later, his right arm hanging from a painful shoulder, he was completely dejected.

The right-handed reliever, who took the loss in a 5-3 setback to New York at Yankee Stadium, will fly to Detroit on Saturday morning to undergo an MRI and have his shoulder examined by a Tigers team physician.

"It felt like I had a slice that went from the top of my shoulder down to my armpit, and usually when you feel something like that, it's not good," Zumaya said.

The Yankees had done their damage, hitting-wise, to Zumaya before the pain struck. With his team trailing by one run, New York shortstop Derek Jeter fought off a fastball and punched it into right field. Johnny Damon jumped on another fastball and drove it just out of reach of right fielder Clete Thomas for a double. Zumaya then fell behind Mark Teixeira, 3-0, threw the slugger a strike and then watched a low pitch soar deep into the stands for a three-run homer that created the final score.

But it was five batters later, when Zumaya threw ball four to Nick Swisher, that he felt a pop and then intense pain.

"I just came off an X-ray," Zumaya said. "There's a lot of pain in my shoulder. I got X-rays to try to figure out what's going on. The fourth pitch, it was a breaking ball. Then I just tried to throw the ball down the middle. I was in serious pain. I just tried not to show too much emotion."

But it wasn't hard to tell that Zumaya was troubled as he walked off the mound in the rain, in a thunderstorm that would later cause a 57-minute delay.

Manager Jim Leyland didn't let on that there was something wrong with the hard-throwing right-hander, who sustained a non-displaced fracture in his right shoulder last year and didn't pitch after Aug. 12.

"We couldn't get an extra big hit," Leyland lamented. "We thought we had it set up pretty good when you have a guy who throws like that [Zumaya]. But basically, what happened is he got the ball up to two guys who like it up, and he got the ball down to the one guy who likes the ball down. That pretty much sums it up."

Leyland acknowledged that Zumaya has been struggling lately.

"He looked a little bit different," Leyland said. "If it's confidence, I can't really answer that question. He looked a little bit different. When you have an arm like that and don't get an out before they get the lead, I'm sure that's all part of it."

Zumaya said the pain he felt on Friday night was situated below where he'd sustained the fracture.

"Disgusted, sad, I don't know what to think right now," he said when he first addressed reporters at his corner locker.

The Tigers had been hanging on for dear life before that fateful seventh. The Yankees had stranded seven runners, lined into one double play and had a runner thrown out at the plate.

Center fielder Curtis Granderson, who hadn't fared well against Yankees pitching this season and who has never solved the problem of New York right-hander A.J. Burnett, who previously pitched for Toronto, took big steps to solve both problems.

Granderson led off the game by lining a double into the right-field corner against Burnett and later scored. He then opened the fifth inning by launching a home run over the fence in right-center field to give the Tigers a two-run lead. The double and the homer, his 19th, left Granderson 3-for-13 lifetime against Burnett and 3-for-13 against Yankees pitching this season.

New York answered Detroit's run in the first by scoring on two hits and an error, then closed to within one run with an unearned run in the fifth off starter Luke French, who gave up just one run over five hard innings.

Detroit, which matched its season high by committing three errors, made two of those mistakes in the fifth, and was lucky to escape allowing just the one run after Hideki Matsui lined into a double play.

Kit Stier is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Verlander outdueled by Sabathia
Pair of runs in seventh spoils strong outing by Tigers righty

By Jared Diamond / MLB.com

07/18/09 5:35 PM ET

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NEW YORK -- Perhaps Gerald Laird has already grown spoiled by the cavernous dimensions of Comerica Park, where potential home runs routinely nestle quietly into outfielders' gloves. Playing in Detroit can sometimes lead to an unfortunate false sense of security.

So when Alex Rodriguez lifted a fly ball to right field to lead off the seventh inning on Saturday afternoon, Laird breathed a quick sigh of relief with a comfortable thought on his mind: "One out." But things at new Yankee Stadium don't quite work that way. That seemingly innocent popup plopped one row deep into the right-field stands for a home run, breaking a scoreless tie and serving as the key moment of the game.

Rodriguez's hit spoiled an otherwise fabulous outing by Tigers ace Justin Verlander and led the Yankees to a 2-1 win in front of 46,423. Verlander and New York starter CC Sabathia matched zeros for the first six innings of the game until Rodriguez broke the deadlock.

The Yankees plated an insurance run later in the frame, rendering Marcus Thames' eighth-inning homer off reliever Alfredo Aceves not enough. Detroit has now lost back-to-back games coming out of the All-Star break.

"He'll tell you the same thing -- he didn't hit that ball good at all," Laird said of Rodriguez's home run. "As soon as he hit it, I thought it was an out. At our place, that's not even at the warning track. I don't think at most parks that thing is out."

In a battle between two of the premier pitchers in the American League, Verlander appeared to have the edge. He came out dealing fastballs that consistently approached triple digits, and he looked almost unhittable at times, not allowing a baserunner past second for the first six frames.

Then came the seventh. Rodriguez homered on an inside fastball that appeared to jam him, but he used his strength to muscle it out anyway. Right fielder Magglio Ordonez stood at the wall projecting body language that suggested confusion. Afterward, he said there were "not many" stadiums that Rodriguez's ball would have left.

As Rodriguez rounded the bases, television replays showed Verlander with a baffled smile on his face, almost chuckling in disbelief. He had learned what so many other pitchers have discovered this season: at Yankee Stadium, nearly every ball in the air toward right field has a chance to go out.

"A lot of times, it probably doesn't matter -- those home runs -- but today especially, it was huge," Verlander said. "If it went out by 10 rows, all right, but it scraped the back of the wall, which was really, really frustrating. I'd rather somebody hit the ball 10 miles than that."

The ballpark had nothing to do with the Yankees' second run, though. With two outs and nobody on, Robinson Cano singled and Nick Swisher doubled. That put runners on second and third for Melky Cabrera, who hit a slow roller in the hole between third and short and beat Adam Everett's throw to first base by a step to plate the insurance run.

While running from second, Swisher appeared to stop in front of Everett and try to distract him from fielding the ball, but manager Jim Leyland said that had nothing to do with Cabrera beating the play.

Verlander exited after seven innings, allowing just the two runs on seven hits, and was ultimately the hard-luck loser.

"I was really proud of Verlander," Leyland said. "I thought he came into a real New York environment, a Yankee environment, and I thought he was tremendous. I thought he showed a lot of poise; [he was] aggressive. I thought he was tremendous today."

Though Sabathia did not have the same lights-out stuff that Verlander demonstrated, he was the star pitcher who came out on top. Sabathia struggled early with his command, and the Tigers had opportunities to break through. They had runners in scoring position in four different frames against Sabathia.

Detroit had its best opportunity in the sixth, when it had runners on second and third with one out. But Ryan Raburn flied out to shallow left and Brandon Inge popped out to second, allowing Sabathia to escape the jam. Sabathia worked seven shutout innings, scattering five hits, three walks and a hit-batsman.

Thames' homer in the eighth was similar to the one Rodriguez hit, barely getting over the left-field fence. Leyland said he knew Rodriguez's was going out, but he was unsure about Thames' shot.

It was a bit ironic, considering the circumstances. The Tigers had seemingly endless chances, but couldn't get the big hit. The Yankees benefited from the cozy confines of their new home. On Saturday, the breaks went all New York's way.

Said Leyland: "If we get one of those [homers] with a couple of those guys on base -- somebody, anybody -- it makes a big difference."

Jared Diamond is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Jackson saddled with tough loss
Tigers unable to muster enough offense vs. Bombers

By Jared Diamond / MLB.com

07/19/09 6:55 PM ET

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NEW YORK -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland has a basic formula for what it takes to drive in runs: relax and concentrate. Sounds simple enough, especially when the message comes from the cozy confines of the skipper's office. Leyland isn't the one standing in the box facing a stream of 95-mph fastballs, always knowing in the back of his mind that the Tigers simply are not hitting right now.

Detroit again demonstrated the inability to hit in clutch spots on Sunday, going 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position in a 2-1 loss to the Yankees in front of 46,937 at Yankee Stadium. They were swept in the series, losing the three games by a combined four runs.

Edwin Jackson was the hard-luck loser on Sunday, allowing just two runs on five hits in seven innings. The Tigers went a dismal 1-for-26 (.038) with runners in scoring position over the course of the series and squandered a group of strong pitching performances by their starters.

In fact, this weekend it seemed the whole lineup had plenty of chances when a bloop single would have changed the fortune of an entire game. It isn't that Clete Thomas and his teammates suddenly forget Leyland's mantra when the pressure's on -- finding a way to execute it is a whole lot easier said than done.

"Sometimes guys see runners in scoring position and start to change their swings to knock them in when a single will do," said Thomas, whose solo home run in the fourth served as the Tigers' lone offensive bright spot.

For the third consecutive day, the Tigers had the Yankees' starter on the ropes, but were unable to deliver the knockout blow. They put at least one runner in scoring position in four separate innings off Joba Chamberlain, and stranded all of them.

The best opportunity came in the fifth, when Curtis Granderson tripled with one out on ball misplayed in right by Nick Swisher and Placido Polanco was hit by a pitch. It left runners on the corners for the Tigers' two best hitters. At the time, the game was tied at 1, after Alex Rodriguez launched a solo homer in the fourth to match Thomas' blow.

Miguel Cabrera lifted a harmless popup to second, not nearly deep enough to plate the go-ahead run, and Marcus Thames struck out to end the threat. Chamberlain emphatically pumped his fist and screamed into the air before walking off the mound.

"You see [your pitchers] out there throwing up strikes and getting quick outs, and we come in and have a quick inning ourselves, I feel like I'm letting them down," Thames said.

The Tigers' starters were impressive all weekend, and Sunday was no exception. Though Jackson at times struggled with his command, allowing five walks, he managed to wiggle out of jams and keep the powerful Yankees lineup relatively quiet. Mark Teixeira hit a solo home run in the sixth to break the tie and score the eventual winning run.

"Tremendous," Leyland said of Jackson's performance. "Against that lineup in this park? Hot day? Absolutely tremendous."

Chamberlain was just as effective. The right-hander worked 6 2/3 innings, giving up just one run on three hits while striking out eight. Relievers Phil Coke and Phil Hughes breezed through four outs to bridge the gap to closer Mariano Rivera, who pitched around a two-out walk to convert his third save in three days.

"When you come in here and see Mariano Rivera three straight days, that's not good," Leyland said.

Jackson's successful outing came one day after ace Justin Verlander also stifled the Yankees' bats, matching zeroes with CC Sabathia. Verlander pitched six scoreless frames before allowing two in the seventh, ultimately succumbing, 2-1.

In the first game of the series on Friday, rookie Luke French gave up just one earned run in five frames, but the Tigers lost, 5-3.

After the game Sunday, Leyland had nothing [but] praise for his pitching staff and criticized his slumping hitters. All told, Detroit gave up just nine runs to one of the best offensive teams in baseball in a stadium already known as a hitters' paradise.

On paper, those sound like perfect numbers for a successful weekend. But, just like Leyland's formula for driving in runs, it's a lot easier said than done.

"If you would have told me we would have held them to nine runs in three games, I would have told you we might have had a sweep," Leyland said. "Two out of three for sure. Our pitchers did a tremendous job the entire series."

Jared Diamond is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

DETROIT 9, SEATTLE 7
Ordonez grand slam helps Tigers beat Mariners

FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES • July 21, 2009

Magglio Ordonez hit a grand slam in a five-run first inning and the Detroit Tigers held on for a 9-7 win over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.

Detroit scored just five runs while being swept in a three-game series at Yankee Stadium last weekend, but matched that total before making their first out against Seattle.

Rookie Rick Porcello (9-6) got the win despite allowing five runs on nine hits and a walk in five innings.

Tigers closer Fernando Rodney allowed the first two batters to reach in the ninth before retiring the next three for his 20th save in 20 tries.

Seattle’s Jack Hannahan hit two of the seven home runs in the game. Miguel Cabrera, Placido Polanco also homered for Detroit. Wladimir Balentien and Ryan Langerhans connected for Seattle.

Seattle starter Garrett Olson (3-4) allowed seven runs in 1 1-3 innings.

The Mariners went up 1-0 in the first on Jose Lopez’s RBI single, but the Tigers quickly took command with five in the bottom half and three in the second.

Curtis Granderson led off with a single and scored on Polanco’s double. Olson walked Cabrera and Marcus Thames to load the bases, and Ordonez gave the Tigers a 5-1 lead with his first grand slam in seven years.

Polanco homered in he second and Ryan Raburn added a two-run triple later in the inning when Seattle center fielder Franklin Gutierrez injured his left elbow and knee while crashing into the right-centerfield scoreboard.

Seattle got a run in the third on Balentien’s RBI single and another on Hannahan’s solo homer in the fourth.

The Mariners continued their rally, pulling to 8-5 on Langerhans’ two-run homer in the fifth and making it a one-run game on Hannahan’s second of the game in the sixth. Cabrera, though, restored Detroit’s three-run lead with a homer in the bottom of the sixth.

Balentien hit the game’s seventh homer to make it 9-7 in the seventh, but Detroit’s bullpen was able to hold Seattle scoreless in the final two innings to clinch the win.

NOTES: OF Carlos Guillen is scheduled to move from Single-A Lakeland to Triple-A Toledo on Wednesday as he continues his rehab from a shoulder injury. ... Ordonez’s last grand slam had been against the Tigers on July 2, 2002, in Chicago. ... Hannahan’s homers, his first at Comerica Park, came eight years after he was drafted by Detroit. ... Gutierrez left the game after colliding in the scoreboard, but x-rays on his elbow were negative and he is being listed as day-to-day.