2009 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

Ordonez's slam boosts Tigers in slugfest
Three homers pave the way to first second-half win

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/21/09 10:05 PM ET
updated: 07/22/09 12:10 AM ET

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DETROIT -- The Tigers scored as many runs before their first out of Tuesday's series opener against the Mariners as they did in their entire three-game sweep to the Yankees over the weekend. They had eight runs through two innings, the kind of outburst that they would've loved to have in the Bronx.

By the time Fernando Rodney finished off the 9-7 win over the M's with a Ryan Langerhans fly ball just shy of the right-field warning track, the Tigers needed just about every one of those tallies.

"Those are the toughest kind of games to manage," Jim Leyland said, "and it happened tonight. This one looked like it had disaster written all over it."

Leyland had watched the Twins' 10-run lead evaporate against the A's on Monday night. The way his team had been struggling to hit, he couldn't have figured he'd be in a similar bind.

Two of the American League's three stingiest pitching staffs combined to give up two dozen hits and seven home runs, albeit on a night Rick Porcello made his first start in 16 days against the M's fifth starter Garrett Olson. The damage included two from former Tigers prospect turned Mariners reserve Jack Hannahan, and Magglio Ordonez's first grand slam in seven years.

Ordonez's blast put the Tigers in command early, but they never quite put the Mariners away. In the end, Miguel Cabrera's sixth-inning solo shot turned out to be a huge insurance run as Fernando Rodney tried to finish off his 20th save in as many chances.

Yet it wasn't simply the run totals that had Leyland raving about his offense for the first time since the All-Star break. It was the approach.

"You always talk about being aggressive, but don't swing at bad pitches," Leyland said. "And we did that tonight. I was very impressed with our offense tonight."

Not until sixth hitter Ryan Raburn grounded out to third on Olson's 32nd pitch had a Tigers player finally been retired. Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco hit back-to-back gap liners early in the count to plate the first run, then Cabrera and Marcus Thames let Olson struggle his way into loading the bases with back-to-back walks.

Olson (3-4) put Ordonez into a 1-2 with back-to-back breaking balls -- one Ordonez took, the other fouled off. Once he went back to the curveball for his 2-2 pitch, Ordonez pounced, lofting it well towards the Detroit sky and into the left-field seats. His fifth home run of the season was his first grand slam since July 2, 2002, when the former White Sox slugger took Detroit reliever Jose Paniagua deep in Chicago.

"Magglio had a big night," Leyland said.

True, it was a big night against a pitcher who was struggling. Still, the way Detroit's offense had been going, even taking advantage of those performances hasn't been easy for them.

"I wasn't making pitches or getting the ball down," said Olson, who left after Placido Polanco's second-inning solo shot and another Cabrera walk. "Against any lineup, that doesn't cut it."

Chris Jakubauskas gave up an Ordonez walk and a Raburn liner that hit off center fielder Franklin Gutierrez's glove as he crashed into the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center field. That two-run triple extended Detroit's lead to 8-2 and seemingly gave the Tigers an easy night.

One shot after another, however, it became a little harder.

Considering Porcello hadn't started since the Fourth of July weekend at Minnesota, he was expected to have some rust. His workload the last couple weeks consisted of a simulated game last week and two side sessions.

In that sense, the offensive outburst gave him some room to be aggressive and live with the results, from Jose Lopez's first-inning RBI single on a 3-0 pitch to Hannahan's fourth-inning solo homer to Langerhans' two-run drive in the fifth. He never quite settled down, though.

"I think it was a matter of being more consistent," Porcello said. "Certain guys, I felt fine [against] and everything was coming out of my hand good, and certain guys I'd fall behind and have to lay one over."

Once Porcello left, Hannahan's second homer leading off the sixth off Fu-Te Ni and Ronny Cedeno's ensuing single somehow brought the potential tying run to the plate. And that comfortable night turned into yet another close game after a weekend full of them in New York.

The way the Mariners hit was just as flustering for Leyland as the way his team hit proved encouraging.

"As a manager, you're helpless," he said. "Five of their catchup runs were home runs. You can't plan for that as a manager, and that's what's frustrating."

He could plan out his bullpen, mixing Ni with Zach Miner for the seventh before using setup men Bobby Seay and Brandon Lyon for the eighth. Then Rodney hit Russell Branyan with a 1-2 fastball leading off the ninth before Lopez's grounder up the middle skipped off Polanco.

"I didn't feel too good," Leyland admitted. "I didn't feel too good at all."

He felt better after Rodney retired the next three batters in order, including a strikeout of Wladimir Balentien with runners at second and third. And the Tigers, now up two games on the second-place White Sox, could finally relax.

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

Lack of offense spoils Galarraga's start
Right-hander gives up one run on one hit in 7 1/3 innings

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/23/09 12:35 AM ET

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DETROIT -- Armando Galarraga got to know Felix Hernandez during their time on the Venezuelan team in the World Baseball Classic. They had a hug and wished each other a good game, Galarraga said, when the Mariners arrived for this three-game series.

They probably couldn't have wished for this good of a matchup on Wednesday night. The ending, though, had to feel familiar for the Tigers.

Galarraga arguably outpitched Hernandez with 7 1/3 innings of one-hit ball, but it took one more hit to make it all for naught. Russell Branyan's two-run homer off Bobby Seay with two outs in the eighth inning provided the Mariners all the offense they needed, sending the Tigers to another 2-1 defeat. It marked Detroit's third loss by that score in its last four games.

After spending much of the season's first half trying to recapture his form as a front-line starter, Galarraga pitched his best outing of the year, only to fall to the same fate that Justin Verlander and Edwin Jackson did in their solid outings against the Yankees over the weekend.

In Wednesday's case, the two hits allowed tied for the lowest hit total allowed by the Tigers in defeat since 1954, according to research on baseball-reference.com. Detroit had suffered the same fate nine other times, but just four when pitching the full nine innings.

"I'm doing good things," Galarraga said. "Just keep it more consistent, try to keep going the same next start. That's when my numbers will change."

That's the consolation for the Tigers, who seem to have the makings of a deeper rotation as Galarraga gets further out of his early-season funk. With two rookie starters, the onus falls more on the second-year right-hander to provide innings, rest the bullpen and give the Tigers a chance to win on a consistent basis.

This was a golden opportunity against one of baseball's best pitchers. In the end, it wasn't so much the leadoff walk Galarraga allowed in the eighth, but all the baserunners the Tigers left stranded in the first.

The Tigers needed just three pitches from Hernandez to create their opportunity in the opening inning. Curtis Granderson and Placido Polanco hit back-to-back singles to put runners at the corners with nobody out.

"Really, in the first inning, we got exactly what we wanted," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "We got first and third with the 3-4-5 [hitters] up. That's pretty good."

That's when Hernandez began to work. Cabrera, 3-for-5 lifetime off his fellow countryman entering the night, fouled off back-to-back fastballs and a changeup on the outside corner, before swingly meekly at a slider off the plate. Clete Thomas, starting in the cleanup spot to give the Tigers another left-handed bat, fouled off two pitches out of the zone before taking a slider for a called third strike.

Marcus Thames battled his way to a walk, loading the bases, but Hernandez put Josh Anderson in an 0-2 hole before getting him to fly out to left.

"Sometimes it's frustrating," Leyland said, "and other times you kind of have to tip your hat, because you know that guy's capable of getting out of a jam like that. In this particular situation, it's probably a little frustrating, but that guy's really good."

Polanco's single and stolen base his next time up set up Thomas with another shot. This time he delivered, sending a ground ball through the middle for a two-out, third-inning single and a 1-0 lead.Thames' broken-bat infield single extended the inning before Hernandez overpowered Anderson with a fastball down and in.

"I don't know if he's got a 90 mph slider," Anderson said, "but he did tonight."

With those chances squandered, Hernandez (11-3) settled down to retire 12 of the final 14 batters he faced, one runner coming on a strikeout and wild pitch. Galarraga matched him by retiring 13 of the first 14 batters he faced with a heavy arsenal of sliders and sinkers.

"I felt good, really good," said Galarraga, whose ERA dropped a quarter run to 4.82. "Sliders, two-seamers, and my location's getting better."

He didn't give up a hit until Ryan Langerhans slapped a ground-ball single through the right side, just beyond the reach of Polanco, with one out in the fifth. The other four baserunners Galarraga allowed all reached on walks, and the first three didn't advance.

The fourth was former Tiger Jack Hannahan, who worked Galarraga full to lead off the eighth inning as Detroit nursed a 1-0 lead. After Ronny Cedeno moved Hannahan into scoring position, Leyland brought in Bobby Seay, a lefty specialist, to face Ichiro Suzuki. Shortstop Ramon Santiago caught Hannahan breaking for third on Ichiro's ground ball, easily throwing him out at third.

Branyan made that irrelevant, pouncing on a hanging slider by Seay (1-2) and sending it over the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center field for his 24th homer of the season. It was the second homer Seay allowed in as many nights after holding opponents scoreless in his previous 21 outings.

"Slider, caught the middle," Branyan said. "That's about it."

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

Offense struggles in loss to Mariners
Defeat marks fifth in the Tigers' past six games

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/23/09 4:01 PM ET

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DETROIT -- The Tigers' Christmas in July celebration Thursday afternoon did nothing to give their stingy offense a spark. Jarrod Washburn sent down Detroit's sputtering offense quietly over seven scoreless innings for his first win over the Tigers in five years, sending them to their fifth loss in six games with a 2-1 defeat to the Mariners at Comerica Park.

With the White Sox in front of the Rays Thursday afternoon, Detroit's loss could leave them tied with Chicago in the American League Central heading into their four-game, three-day series this weekend at Comerica Park.

Four of Detroit's five losses since the All-Star break have been by the same score. Washburn (8-6), who had his share of low-scoring defeats over a seven-game losing streak to the Tigers since 2005, held them to a pair of singles and two walks Thursday, half of that damage coming in the opening inning, before Detroit plated a run off Seattle's bullpen in the eighth.

Again, the Tigers had a first-inning scoring chance thwarted, this time after Placido Polanco singled and Miguel Cabrera walked. Marcus Thames' ensuing flyout and Magglio Ordonez's liner to right began Washburn on a stretch of 11 outs in 12 batters before Brandon Inge singled in the fifth. Washburn recovered from that with a Dusty Ryan double-play grounder to retire his final eight batters.

Though Tigers starter Luke French (1-1) turned in another strong outing, retiring seven straight Mariners through the early innings, Mike Sweeney's first-inning double to score Ichiro Suzuki left the young left-hander pitching from behind all afternoon. Sweeney's sixth-inning single set up Seattle's other run, advancing Jose Lopez to third to score on Wladimir Balentien's fielder's choice groundout.

Once Washburn left, having thrown 93 pitches over his seven innings, Mark Lowe's leadoff walk to Inge set up Detroit's lone run in the eighth. Lowe retired pinch-hitters Clete Thomas and Ramon Santiago on called third strikes, but Curtis Granderson tripled in Inge with a drive to the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center field.

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

Our pitching staff should strike until DD get some more offense!

Verlander, Tigers back alone in first
Ace works out of ninth-inning jam to finish off complete game

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/24/09 5:56 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Justin Verlander kept looking into the Tigers' dugout as one White Sox batter after another reached base in the ninth inning Friday afternoon, until the bases were loaded with nobody out and the potential tying run at the plate. He hoped he wasn't coming out of the game, but he knew it was possible when he saw manager Jim Leyland on the phone.

Aside from getting outs, there wasn't much Verlander could do about it, except glare. Mind you, it's a pretty powerful glare. In the end, his complete-game 5-1 Tigers win over the White Sox was a pretty powerful performance.

"I'm really competitive," Verlander said. "I want the ball in that situation. I'm looking into the dugout, and I'm not going to tell you what I'm thinking. It's along the lines of, 'Don't come out here.'

"I saw him get off the phone, I saw him give a couple claps, and that was it. Then it's, 'All right. Game on. Let's go.'"

It was on. Two batters and three outs later, it was over, and the Tigers were back in first place by themselves.

Verlander had a similar thought in his head in the third inning when pitching coach Rick Knapp came to the mound. He had given up a leadoff double to Dewayne Wise, walked Jermaine Dye with one out, and fallen behind on a 2-0 count to his nemesis, Jim Thome.

Knapp came out to get Verlander to slow down and make his pitches. The ace knew that already.

"I wasn't very happy with him being out there in the middle of a big situation," Verlander said with a sheepish grin. "I'm kind of fired up. In so many words, I was like, 'All right, let's go.' But he said what he needed to say, and it got through. I'm a little stubborn sometimes. It still got through my thick skull. I made the adjustment."

He had to. By then, Verlander had already thrown 45 pitches. Getting from that point to the ninth was a feat in itself. Finishing it off was a rollercoaster ride, with quite a finish.

It's the latest example of how Verlander commands a game whenever he pitches, no matter the situation. While much of the afternoon was a duel between Verlander and Jose Contreras, or Verlander and the White Sox sluggers who used to pummel him in earlier seasons, the game swung on how Verlander handled himself.

After an eight-pitch opening inning, the young right-hander had fallen out of sync, and he was struggling to get himself back in.

"Right off the bat, he was cruising pretty good," Leyland said. "And then, for a couple hitters, it looked like all of a sudden he wanted to throw it 110 mph."

Verlander walked three batters and gave up a single and a double in a seven-batter span of the second and third innings, including loading the bases with two outs in the second, yet he didn't give up a run from it. He followed Knapp's mound meeting by firing three straight fastballs past Thome before Paul Konerko grounded out to end the inning.

The only run he allowed all day was unearned. A.J. Pieryznski led off the fourth with a ground ball to first base that Miguel Cabrera threw away. Carlos Quentin doubled Pierzynski over to third for Gordon Beckham's sacrifice fly.

At that point, Verlander had 73 pitches through four innings. No matter how many swings and misses he could get, he needed quick outs if he was going to last in the game.

"I knew if I wanted a chance to go seven or eight, which was my game plan, I would have to get some quick outs," Verlander said, "make some quality pitches with my fastball and get some guys to put the ball in play early. It couldn't have worked out any better than it did."

Though Beckham's sac fly put Chicago on the scoreboard, it also got Verlander on a roll. Starting with Chris Getz's popout a batter earlier, Verlander retired 14 of 15 batters, including 10 in a row after Thome's fifth-inning walk. The righty sent down the side in the seventh on just eight pitches, and the eighth inning in just seven.

"That's the difference between this year and last year," Leyland said. "He's figured it out. He calmed down a little bit. What you saw today was pretty impressive, because that's a very deep and impressive lineup."

The crowd of 27,844 gave Verlander a standing ovation as he left the field in the eighth, but Leyland left him in. Once the manager decided that, he was pretty much all-in, win or lose, because he probably wasn't going to put in closer Fernando Rodney in a bases-loaded jam.

"Even though I knew Verlander should stay out, and I believe it in my heart, I can't say it didn't cross my mind that maybe I should go to Rodney now," Leyland said.

Leyland didn't, so it was up to Verlander to get out of the jam. Once three straight singles loaded the bases, Verlander got out of it in Rodney-like fashion, getting a comebacker from Beckham to start a 1-2-3 double play before Wise grounded out.

"We had a great opportunity to score a couple of times," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said, "and we didn't. He threw the ball real well."

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

Bonine, Guillen help Tigers take twin bill
Thomas' eighth-inning RBI walk clips Sox in nightcap

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/24/09 11:55 PM ET

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DETROIT -- What a difference a day makes, or a day-night doubleheader in this case.

For that matter, what a difference a run-producing bat makes, even when the winning run comes in with the bat on the shoulder.

While Carlos Guillen's home run in his first day back sent fans at Comerica Park into a frenzy Friday night, it was Clete Thomas' bases-loaded walk that sent them home happy with a 4-3 win over the White Sox. Combined with Justin Verlander's complete-game victory for a 5-1 win in the opener, it was a doubleheader sweep that changed the outlook of the American League Central.

Barely 24 hours after the Tigers fell back into a first-place tie with the White Sox, with Chicago surging off Mark Buehrle's perfect game and Detroit sputtering, the Tigers are back to a two-game lead. Just as important, their offense looks a little more potent for the stretch run with Guillen in the middle.

"He makes the whole offense different," shortstop Ramon Santiago said.

Can one hitter really make a difference like that in a lineup?

"Absolutely," Brandon Inge said. "He's huge. Huge."

Time will tell. But after four 2-1 losses over Detroit's previous five games, at least Guillen helped make a difference on the scoreboard.

When the Tigers activated Guillen from the disabled list Friday morning, manager Jim Leyland said he would play both ends of the doubleheader. Guillen's limited to batting left-handed and playing as the designated hitter for now until his shoulder strengthens to better allow him to bat right-handed and throw, but that was good enough.

Guillen went 1-for-4 with a single in the afternoon game, but Leyland and others noted how much better his swing looked compared to April, just before his bad right shoulder finally forced him onto the DL.

Once Guillen connected with Bartolo Colon's fastball in the second inning of the nightcap, his swing looked really good. The flight of the ball appeared fine enough that as it sailed into the right-field seats, Guillen took a moment to watch it leave, then flipped the bat.

For his first home run since Aug. 16, 2008, he could be excused for a little flair.

"You have to do it when you hit a ball like that," Guillen said. "It's been a while since I hit a ball like that."

It was a solo shot that opened the Tigers' scoring and briefly tied the game after Jim Thome led off the inning by taking Eddie Bonine's first-pitch fastball deep to left for his fourth home run of the year off Tigers pitching and the 60th of his career against Detroit. An inning later, Jermaine Dye's two-run homer put the White Sox ahead.

The combination shots could've sent Bonine reeling in his spot-start assignment and set up a long night for a Tigers bullpen that was a man short with Freddy Dolsi optioned out. Instead, Bonine rebounded to hold down the White Sox from there, pitch a quality start and hand a close game over to Detroit's late-inning trio of Bobby Seay, Brandon Lyon and Fernando Rodney.

Hours earlier, Leyland entrusted Justin Verlander to go the distance and nearly regretted it once Verlander loaded the bases with nobody out in the ninth. This time, Leyland admitted he thought about bringing in Zach Miner in the sixth with Dye and Thome coming back up. He decided against it and let Bonine take them on. Bonine struck out Dye on a nasty dropping slider, walked Thome, then retired Paul Konerko on the next pitch to end his night.

"Bonine, to me, really was the story," Leyland said. "What a tremendous job. That's not easy. The poor kid drove up here today. He knows he's going back. To do what he did with the crowd and everything, it was great."

Given how trying his year has been, this trip felt like nothing. When Bonine made the Tigers bullpen out of Spring Training, he brought his mother from their Arizona home to Seattle to watch the Tigers in April. She lost a lengthy battle with breast cancer last month, and Bonine has spent the last month learning how to pitch without his biggest fan.

Once Bonine found out he was making this start, he reserved two seats for family members to watch him pitch. His stepfather took a red-eye flight Friday evening, made it to the game, and brought two Bonine jerseys. He wore one and put the other on the second seat, saved for Bonine's mom.

"In person, she would've been just as excited," Bonine said. "She was obviously excited up there. It was one of those things, driving up, I knew it was going to be a good night."

Once Dusty Ryan's RBI single and Placido Polanco's RBI fielder's choice tied the game in the fifth, it was set up for a good night all around. Magglio Ordonez followed Polanco's one-out single in the eighth by turning on a 94-mph fastball and pulling it down the left-field line for a double, the kind of pulled hit he had struggled to find most of the season.

After Linebrink intentionally walked Miguel Cabrera, Matt Thornton entered and erased the sacrifice fly opportunity by striking out pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn. However, Thornton couldn't finish off Thomas, who fouled off one 3-2 fastball high and inside before taking another high for his second game-winning walk in as many seasons.

If Guillen could switch-hit, Leyland likely would've saved Raburn to hit for Thomas. As it was, it didn't matter.

"It was a big day," Leyland said, "a good day for us."


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

Tigers extend lead with clutch win in 10th
Guillen delivers winner after Granderson ties it in ninth

By Jason Beck / MLB.com
07/25/09 9:45 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Two months ago, Carlos Guillen could barely pick up a toothbrush and brush his teeth. That's how bad he said his right shoulder felt. It's a much better feeling to be picking up the Tigers and putting them on his shoulders.

Actually, in the case of Saturday's game-winning single in a 4-3 comeback victory over the White Sox, it was the feeling of having half the Tigers roster seemingly try to jump on his shoulders in a mob scene in front of second base.

"It's fun," Guillen said. "I've been through a long rehab. It's been almost three months. I've worked hard on my shoulder to get better and get back on the field."

When Guillen came back from the disabled list Friday, he cautioned that it was about all 25 players acting as a team, not one player leading it. To that point, Guillen doesn't get a chance to drive in the winning run in the 10th inning if Curtis Granderson doesn't pull a Bobby Jenks fastball just inside first base for the game-tying RBI single with two outs and two strikes in the ninth.

Still, there's a different feeling in clutch situations with Guillen at the plate. On a Detroit team that has used the contributions of several youngsters to get to first place, from Rick Porcello's surprise rookie season to Clete Thomas' emergence as a Major League player, Guillen has been there before.

"Carlos' bat back in the lineup makes a difference," manager Jim Leyland said. "We're a different looking club. We're not a great club by any means, but there's a difference with the presence of a veteran like that that's been in those situations before. He's not going to panic."

After Tigers closer Fernando Rodney (1-2) retired the White Sox in the top of the 10th, Thomas started the rally when he lined the first pitch from D.J. Carrasco (3-1) into left-center field for a leadoff single. When Miguel Cabrera's single advanced Thomas to second, up came Guillen, 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in his career off Carrasco.

"I was looking for a good pitch to hit early in the count, trying to drive the ball," Guillen said. "And with two strikes, I was trying to make good contact. ... I'm not trying to do too much. I'm just trying to put the ball in play with two strikes, trying to put it in the right spot and let good things happen."

Very little was good to hit, with Carrasco trying bury him with pitches down and in. Guillen fouled off a tough slider on the corner to stay alive before Carrasco tried to sneak a fastball by him on the outside corner.

Guillen didn't do a lot with it, but his bouncer through the middle was just right -- hard enough to get past shortstop Alexei Ramirez, soft enough that Thomas had time to round third as center fielder Dewayne Wise charged the ball and slide in safely as the throw came home.

Thomas got a welcome reception at the plate. But the bulk of the traffic went to Guillen around second.

"Every year, Carlos has been one of our key guys," Thames said. "He's been eager to get back, and him coming back just to hit left-handed, that lets you know that he really wants to play. He really wants to help us out, even though he can't bat right-handed right now. He's just that type of teammate. He wanted to come back and help out as much as he can.

"I'm happy he's back. He gives us a boost."

For someone who nearly had season-ending shoulder surgery, it's a boost for Guillen, too. His low point came during the Tigers' road trip to Baltimore at the end of May, his shoulder clearly not getting better after nagging soreness forced him onto the DL in early May. If it hadn't improved by the All-Star break, surgery would've become an option.

Guillen spent long days rehabbing at a facility in Miami, and he still does a heavy dose of shoulder work before he does his pregame routine. His shoulder isn't all the way back yet, but it's good enough.

That left-handed bat is 5-for-12 since his return.

"Huge," Gerald Laird said to describe Guillen's impact. "He's a huge threat."

Guillen's hit was the last of several clutch hits the Tigers produced late for just their third win this year when trailing after eight innings. After Brandon Inge started the ninth-inning rally with a one-out single, Thames shattered his bat on a Jenks fastball that landed in short right field for a single that sent pinch-runner Adam Everett to third.

Jenks overpowered Ramon Santiago on a popup to deep short for the second out, then got ahead on Granderson, who took back-to-back fastballs on the inside corner as late-afternoon shadows crept over the field.

"A lot of guys couldn't see very well," Granderson said. "Sure enough, you have Bobby Jenks throwing 97 mph with a great split and a great slider. It was very difficult to see, so it was a matter of hopefully getting something around the zone and not chase something too far out of the zone. I got a pitch I was able to at least get the bat on."

It was virtually the same inside fastball, and Granderson turned on it, sending it just inside the bag to continue the game. It was the third 0-2 count of the game in which Granderson produced, digging out walks in the other two. This one handed Jenks just his third career blown save against Detroit.

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

Saturday, July 25, 2009
Tigers 4, White Sox 3
Carlos Guillen drives in Tigers' winner in 10th inning
Lynn Henning / The Detroit News

Detroit -- Sometimes, a crowd seems almost to will a team to victory.

That seemed to be the lesson from Saturday's 4-3 Tigers victory over the Chicago White Sox at a sold-out Comerica Park.

Down 3-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers used one-out bloop singles by Brandon Inge and Marcus Thames, and a two-out double from Curtis Granderson to tie the game, 3-3, as a Comerica crowd of 41,378 rocked downtown Detroit.

They won it in the ninth on consecutive singles by Clete Thomas, Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Guillen, the just-returned left-hand hitter who had two RBIs Saturday.

The ninth-inning rally prevented Edwin Jackson from losing yet another heartbreaker after he held the White Sox to three runs in seven innings.

Fernando Rodney got the victory after mowing down the White Sox in the ninth, retiring Jim Thome on a strikeout, then getting A.J. Pierzynski to hit into a double play after he carefully walked Paul Konerko.

The Tigers moved to three games in front of the White Sox ahead of Sunday night's series finale at 8:05 p.m., which will be televised on ESPN.

Porcello struggles early as Tigers fall
Detroit held at bay as White Sox get within two games

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/27/09 12:55 AM ET

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DETROIT -- Gerald Laird pulled aside Rick Porcello as the Tigers catcher and rookie pitcher entered the dugout after a four-run first inning from the White Sox on Sunday. It wasn't a confrontation, but more motivation.

"I just told him the first inning's over," Laird said. "I said, 'It's over. They got to you in the first inning. They got four runs off you. Now you have to take me as far as you can.' I told him, 'Six innings, four runs, I'll take it.'"

Porcello didn't quite get that far, but to Laird, he made strides. In that sense, Detroit manager Jim Leyland didn't have an issue with his 20-year-old starter's performance in Sunday's 5-1 loss to Chicago at Comerica Park. It was the strides Porcello didn't make quickly enough to cover first base on a first-inning grounder that bothered Leyland.

"You live with some of those things," Leyland said. "But you don't live with not covering first base."

In the end, the Tigers will have to live with taking three out of four from the White Sox and hitting the road with a two-game lead in the American League Central.

"It's something people don't look at," White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said, "but I have to look at it."

Porcello didn't look like a pitcher tiring down the stretch. If anything, with a near-sellout crowd of 38,255 at Comerica Park, a national television audience watching on ESPN and a chance to pitch his team into command in a pennant race, he looked like a kid with too much energy, though he said it felt like another start. Porcello fell into the trap of falling behind on hitters, and he let the one situation where he worked ahead early go for naught.

That was Alexei Ramirez, who came up after Scott Podsednik beat out a bouncer to shortstop to lead off the game. Porcello worked his fastball inside and out to put Ramirez in a 1-2 count before the Chicago shortstop pounced on a bad pitch and laced a single to left.

"I really felt good about getting Ramirez out," Porcello said. "Then I just kind of hung a breaking ball to him, and he hit that one. Those two guys right there, they started it off."

A nine-pitch battle with Jermaine Dye that included three straight foul balls ended in a walk, leaving the bases loaded for Porcello to face the dangerous Jim Thome. After struggling to get his pitches down, Porcello made the pitch he wanted, a sinker that Thome hit to first for Miguel Cabrera to try to start a double play.

Adam Everett's throw went wide of first and back towards the tarp in foul territory, but Porcello was still getting to first base as Everett fired. Had Porcello broke earlier, Leyland said, he could've had a play to at least stop the ball, if not stretch for the out.

"No question," said Leyland, who has seen it from Porcello a couple other times this year. "He's got to be there. It doesn't matter where the throw goes. If the throw goes bad, that's part of the game. But there's no excuse for not being there."

Porcello didn't make any excuses.

"To be able to get Thome to roll over on that grounder and not getting over, it's inexcusable," Porcello said. "I have to get over and get to the bag. [If we get] two outs there, it might've turned out differently."

Podsednik would've scored from the third on the play regardless. The error, charged to Everett, allowed Ramirez to come around. Thome scored when Porcello fell behind on Paul Konerko, who pounced on Porcello's 3-1 fastball and sent it deep to left for his 19th home run of the year.

It was Porcello's worst opening inning of the season, but after Laird's challenge came Porcello's best stretch of pitching in a while. Those pitches he left up dropped back down, and the outs piled up. Porcello retired 12 of 14 batters after Gordon Beckham's second-inning solo homer before Ryan Raburn's double error on Porcello's 98th pitch sent Leyland to his bullpen with one out in the sixth.

It marked the sixth consecutive outing that Porcello didn't last six innings. To the Tigers, though, it could've been a lot worse.

"The kid really made strides today," Laird said. "Like I told him, 'You could've really put a damper on our bullpen if you didn't put it together. For a 20-year-old to compose himself, he found his rhythm, and he went 5 1/3. That allowed us to only use two guys out of the bullpen, and that was huge."

Said Leyland: "The hanging breaking ball, giving up the home run, that's part of the game. This guy isn't Bob Feller."

Nor was he Chicago starter Clayton Richard, who stole the spotlight not far from where he once battled Chad Henne for the quarterback job at the University of Michigan. Magglio Ordonez's single and run in the fourth inning was Detroit's only scoring against the big left-hander, who scattered five singles over eight innings.

"It looks like he took a page out of Mark Buehrle's book," Leyland said. "He worked fast, got the ball and threw it. He doesn't fool around."

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

Tigers continue road funk in Arlington
Galarraga unable to hold down former teammates

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/28/09 12:36 AM ET

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ARLINGTON -- Armando Galarraga is starting to wonder if he's under a hex. Jim Leyland is wondering again if his offense will ever get out of its inconsistent funk.

For some reason, the key hits, clutch outs that seem to identify the Tigers at Comerica Park elude them on the road. Monday's 5-2 loss to the Rangers was far from a debacle, considering how much worse the Tigers have played away from Detroit. But it sure didn't look like a team rolling off of a clutch series victory, either.

The homegrown momentum melted deep in the heart of Texas, and the Tigers were left again trying to figure out why.

"I don't know. Go ask those guys," manager Jim Leyland said, referring to the players portion of the visiting clubhouse at Rangers Ballpark at Arlington. "I do the same thing on the road that I do at home."

Carlos Guillen hasn't been on the road with the Tigers for a while. But even he could notice the difference.

"We need to start playing better on the road," Guillen said, unsolicited. "Maybe we're trying to do too much on the road. We've got to play the same way we play at home, with the same confidence. I think that's the most important thing as a player, confidence. You have to make adjustments where you play. Maybe we give at-bats away. We have to stay maybe more aggressive."

Guillen might've had a point.

The Tigers' lone run off Rangers rookie starter Tommy Hunter came on his second pitch of the game, when Curtis Granderson took him deep for his 19th career leadoff home run. Detroit's best scoring chance came in the fifth inning, when a Michael Young leadoff error, Granderson's one-out single and a Placido Polanco walk loaded the bases for the heart of the order.

Clete Thomas swung at a first-pitch fastball and hit a squibber less than halfway down the first-base line. Hunter (3-1) charged off the mound and made a shovel pass out of his glove that catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia lunged to grab for the forceout at the plate.

That left it to Miguel Cabrera, who was nearly able to walk in a run. With a 3-0 pitch, however, Leyland gave Cabrera the green light to swing, figuring Hunter would have to give him a pitch to hit.

Cabrera took a fastball around his belt for strike one, then a slider to run the count full. Hunter got Cabrera to swing at a high fastball that might've been ball four, but Cabrera fouled it off. The next fastball was higher, and Cabrera swung and missed to end the threat.

Though Leyland didn't want to single out Cabrera, he couldn't hide his general frustration.

"In the history of my career, I've never given the green light more to hitters than I have since I've come to Detroit," Leyland said. "And I can count on my hand the times that guys have swung [on] 3-0. I'm not talking about Cabrera, I'm talking about in general. Guys just can't seem to discipline themselves. It's like they get tensed up."

At that point, the Tigers still had not only a 1-0 lead, but a dominant pitching performance. Galarraga worked a sharp-moving slider and a good changeup to retire 13 of his first 14 batters, including 12 Rangers in a row.

After Hank Blalock flew out on the first pitch of the bottom half of the fifth, up came Nelson Cruz, who pounced on a 1-0 fastball and put the kind of swing on it that resembled his Home Run Derby performance.

Galarraga quickly rebounded to end the inning, but Elvis Andrus' leadoff double began a Rangers onslaught in the sixth. After Ian Kinsler popped out on a sacrifice bunt attempt, Michael Young's single to right-center led to a pair of costly errors.

Andrus held up at third base as Granderson fired the ball back in, but nobody fielded the throw. Galarraga was left to run down the ball as it rolled into foul territory between third and home. Andrus alertly took off for home; Young advanced to second when Galarraga couldn't field it cleanly.

After David Murphy walked, Galarraga retired Marlon Byrd for the second out before Blalock turned on an offspeed pitch inside and ripped it into the right-field corner for a double to clear the bases.

"I just left the changeup right there," Galarraga (5-9) said. "It was down, but it was more in the middle. It's the pitch to Blalock."

Galarraga lasted seven innings, as he did in two of his other three July outings. But neither he nor the Tigers have won any of them, despite Galarraga's 3.29 ERA for the month.

"I feel good," Galarraga said. "I feel like I had a good game. And then everything happened. Four runs. I don't know. I wish I had better luck, but I don't know."

Leyland can relate.

"There's just no excuse that a team -- as good of a hitting team as we have -- doesn't come up with more than one run," Leyland said. "I tip my hat to the pitcher, obviously. He pitched very well. But particularly in this ballpark, you have to come up with more than one run. There have been too many times where a fly ball, a base hit could break the game open."

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

Tigers' bats again stifled in Arlington
French unable to hold off hot Rangers offense

By Jason Beck / MLB.com


07/29/09 12:34 AM ET
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ARLINGTON -- To the Tigers, the pitch behind Clete Thomas might or might not have been a pitch to the head. The loss that followed it was definitely a punch to the gut.

The Tigers haven't had to talk about the shutdown inning often this year, the way their offense has been going. But after Tuesday's 7-3 defeat to the Rangers, Detroit starter Luke French did.

"I'm big on shutdown innings," French said.

The lack of one was big for him and his team. The lack of offense after that sounded all too familiar.

All too briefly Tuesday, the Tigers seemed in control on the road for the first time in a long while. Ramon Santiago's RBI double and Dusty Ryan's two-run single gave Detroit a 3-0 lead midway through the second inning against Texas spot starter Doug Mathis, who got the nod in place of Vicente Padilla, who was still sidelined after a bout with swine flu.

French wasn't commanding, but he was in command. And after the three-run second, he wanted the shutdown inning -- the quick, scoreless inning to follow the rally and send the Tigers back to the plate with a sense of control and a chance to add on.

Though Andruw Jones doubled with one out in the second, the ensuing popout from Josh Hamilton should've put French back in control. He had two outs, eighth hitter Jarrod Saltalamacchia coming up, and young ninth hitter Elvis Andrus on deck.

Once he got a 1-2 count on Saltamacchia, he was set to finish it. Then came three pitches that missed for a two-out walk.

"That was a killer, that walk there," said manager Jim Leyland, who believes in shutdown innings, too. "That did him in for that inning."

Then came an RBI single from Andrus.

Then came a drive to the fence in right-center field by Ian Kinsler on the next pitch for a game-tying triple.

Michael Young's go-ahead RBI double followed.

Before the Tigers could bat again, they were behind. Whether or not they were waiting for something bad to happen, they got it.

"That's probably one of the worst things to do," French said. "You just score three runs, and then I got out there and give up a four-spot, it kind of kills what was going on."

The Tigers put together one more rally in the fourth inning with back-to-back singles from Magglio Ordonez and Brandon Inge to start off the frame. They would not get another baserunner until Carlos Guillen singled to lead off the ninth. They hit just three balls out of the infield in the stretch of 15 straight outs in between.

"We didn't really do a lot," Leyland said.

One of the balls that got to the outfield in that stretch was a fly out by Thomas, one of six straight outs from former Tigers reliever Jason Grilli (1-1) to earn his first win as a Ranger. But it was the 92-mph fastball two pitches earlier that went behind Thomas, head-high, that concerned the Tigers more. By the time the night was over, it was the catalyst for the tit-for-tat that left both dugouts with a warning from home-plate umpire Andy Fletcher.

The pitch in question came just after Thomas hit a long foul ball down the right-field line. But would Grilli, a Detroit teammate of Thomas during the 2008 season, throw at him?

"When you don't throw any wild pitches the rest of the time you're out there, and one goes behind his head after a loud foul, it just looks suspicious," Leyland said. "I'm not saying he did or he didn't, but it did look suspicious. We were trying to send a message back."

Leyland later described Grilli's pitch as "careless."

"I don't know," he said. "I didn't know what to think, whether he did or didn't do it on purpose. That's part of the game. Just go on about your business."

Grilli didn't indicate any hard feelings.

"I had great experiences over there," Grilli said. "I've been with the Tigers more than with any team in my career. It's bragging rights, playing against your friends."

The Tigers' message pitch came an inning and a half later after Andrus homered to make it a 7-3 game. Zach Miner threw his next pitch behind Ian Kinsler.

"We weren't trying to throw the ball behind Kinsler," Leyland said. "We were trying to throw the ball down and in on him to get him to move his feet, just to send a message back. No question about it. And I'd do it again, because I felt Grilli's was a real careless pitch. I think careless is a pretty good description of it."

Once Eddie Guardado's first pitch of the seventh inning went inside to Adam Everett, his teammate on the Twins last year, the dugouts were warned.

"I just don't think there was anything to it," Everett said. "To get it tight is one thing. To try to hit somebody is another."

The one player hit by a ball was Ramon Santiago, and it was a fourth-inning foul tip that knocked him out of the game with a bruised right shin. He's day-to-day.

All the while, the Tigers couldn't mount even the hint of a comeback. Mathis provided the shutdown inning before Grilli, Guardado, Darren O'Day and former Tigers prospect Guillermo Moscoso wrapped up.

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

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Tigers 13, Rangers 5
Tigers rough up Rangers
Lynn Henning / The Detroit News

Arlington, Texas -- Given that a lot of things haven't been done conventionally by the Tigers in 2009, it figured manager Jim Leyland's team would be good for a night as crazy as Wednesday's game at Rangers Ballpark.

The team that acted for the past month as if it had been inoculated against hitting broke loose for 19 hits in a 13-5 rout of the Texas Rangers that also featured some slick pitching by Justin Verlander.

Verlander struck out 13 batters in seven innings, matching his career best, and never walked a soul as he pushed his record to 12-5 and helped the Tigers stop a three-game slide.

But it was an offense that has been so mystifying inept for so many nights and weeks that stunned everyone Wednesday, beginning with a Rangers Ballpark crowd of 33,235.

Curtis Granderson was a tone-setter with two home runs, including his second leadoff home run of the series as he took the team home-run lead with 22. Miguel Cabrera slammed a three-run home run to go with a double and two singles, good for 4 RBIs. Marcus Thames added a home run and a double, while Ryan Raburn and Adam Everett had three hits apiece.

Verlander could have gotten by with a lot less help.

He struck out seven batters in the first four innings and had 10 by the end of the fifth. The fifth was the only inning where he stumbled.

After a booted ground ball by Raburn -- who started in place of the hobbling Brandon Inge -- put the leadoff batter on, Verlander allowed four singles, good for three runs.

Of course, he struck out the last two batters after getting his first out of the inning on -- yes -- another strikeout.

He was pummeling the deft-hitting Rangers with everything in his arsenal. Verlander's fastball, curveball, and change-up combination was devastating as he stayed ahead of hitters and finished them off with two-strike pitches that made the Rangers groan.

His only serious mistake was a hanging breaking ball to Andruw Jones in the second that Jones walloped 417 feet into the left-field seats for the Rangers' first run.

On the opposite end of the pitching spectrum was Rangers starter Scott Feldman. His evening began with Granderson mashing his third pitch and first strike of the night into the right-field seats. An inning later, Granderson did it again with a man on base to climb past Inge for the team lead in home runs.

The Tigers scored at least once in each of the first four innings. Feldman disappeared early, allowing 10 hits and six runs in 2 1/3 innings.

Verlander exited after the seventh inning after he had reached 115 pitches. He was followed by Brandon Lyon, who pitched yet another scoreless inning of relief, and by rookie Casey Fien who finished things off, although not before allowing Jones' second home run of the evening leading off the ninth.

The Tigers are off today as they head to Cleveland for a three-game weekend series against the Indians, who have already made a change in their pitching rotation: Cliff Lee, the former Cy Young Award winner, won't start Friday's game, after all.

He was traded Wednesday to Philadelphia as the Indians prepare for a makeover.

lynn.henning@detnews.com.

Verlander's K's lead finale rout of Rangers
Granderson, Cabrera show lumber in Detroit power surge

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

07/30/09 12:33 AM ET

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ARLINGTON -- Adam Everett didn't need to wait for the question. The Tigers' 13-5 win Wednesday at Texas meant that much.

"Big," Everett blurted out.

For a team that had scored five runs total over the first two games of the series -- one against a rookie starter, the other against an emergency starter and a patchwork bullpen -- yes, it was.

Of course they pounced on a bad night for Scott Feldman and an evening when the Rangers bullpen was caught a little short. They weren't going to overlook that. And with 13 runners left on base, it still wasn't a great night for them.

"An OK game, not a nice game," said Curtis Granderson, who homered in each of his first two at-bats.

But the way they had struggled to find the big inning so many times over the past few weeks against pitchers of all varieties, it was a necessary game.

"That's exactly what we needed. We needed to come out and play up to our expectations and play up to our abilities," Everett said. "We hadn't done that in a long, long time. And [in support of] arguably our best pitcher. When you can do that, that's huge."

The combination of Justin Verlander and an ignited Detroit offense against Feldman meant a game in which the Tigers seemed to spend almost the entire first four innings at the plate. They expended 38 pitches out of Feldman in the top of the first inning, then watched Verlander retire the Rangers on 16 pitches in the bottom half. A 32-pitch third inning for the Tigers' offense preceded a 12-pitch bottom half.

If baseball had time of possession, the Detroit would've worn down Texas with it. The shutdown inning the Tigers couldn't find Tuesday came multiple times from Verlander a night later.

"I call them stop innings," Verlander said. "When your team goes out there and scores, you have the momentum. You want to go out there and get your guys back in the dugout as quick as possible. That's something that I always try to do: When our guys put up runs, get our guys back in the dugout and swinging again. I think that's how you get a lot of wins."

In the case of Verlander (12-5), it's how he moved into a tie for the Major League wins lead to go with his commanding American League strikeout lead. His 13 strikeouts tied a career high he set May 14 at Minnesota, but this time he didn't walk a batter in the process.

He wanted to help get his offense back onto the field. His hitters, meanwhile, wanted to give him a cushion on the scoreboard.

"Anytime you can do that for him and give him that type of support, you've got a great chance of winning that game," Everett said.

The Tigers scored more than three runs in just one inning, a seventh inning in which Miguel Cabrera's three-run homer put Detroit into double digits. More important, they scored in each of the first seven innings.

Granderson homered in each of the first two innings, including his 20th career leadoff home run to open it. Carlos Guillen added a two-run single in the second and a bases-loaded walk off former Tigers farmhand Guillermo Moscoso in the third. Marcus Thames hit a solo shot in the fourth. Cabrera doubled in Guillen in the fifth before his seventh-inning blast, both hits coming with runners in scoring position.

Only a Marlon Byrd catch in deep center field and an acrobatic play from Omar Vizquel late kept Cabrera from a five-hit game. He still fell just a triple shy of the cycle.

Before the game, Leyland talked with Cabrera to try to take some pressure off of him. The message was simple.

"Don't try to carry the team," Leyland said. "Just be yourself. Just have fun and play baseball. That's what he does. I don't need him to carry the team. I just want him to take advantage of his opportunities. If he does that, he'll be plenty good enough, and I think a lot of those things will fall in place."

Verlander's outing fell in line. He retired 12 of Texas' first 14 batters through four innings, striking out seven, before a Ryan Raburn error and two singles loaded the bases with one out in the fifth. Vizquel's single and Michael Young's two-run double brought the Rangers to 8-4 and put the potential tying run on deck.

After a first-pitch ball to David Murphy, Verlander fired three straight fastballs past him -- the first two at 98 mph, the last at 99. Six more fastballs at 96 mph or above finally finished off Byrd to end the threat.

"It's fun to watch him pitch when he's right," Leyland said.

On nights like this, it has to be fun. But given all that the Tigers have had to handle on the board, it had to be big.

"We can sleep a little better now," Everett said.

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 in 13-inning endurance battle
Guillen ties it ninth; Jackson tosses 115 pitches through four

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

08/01/09 1:55 AM ET

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CLEVELAND -- Edwin Jackson walked off the mound and into the visitors' dugout at Progressive Field one last time Friday night looking like he had just labored through a complete game. After all, he had thrown 115 pitches, his fifth highest total of the season.

Amazingly, it was just the end of the fourth inning. The Indians made him work that hard. Little could anyone imagine they still had nine more innings and three more hours to go before Jamey Carroll's 13th-inning single would decide this 6-5 Tigers loss just after midnight ET on Saturday morning.

It was an endurance battle in so many ways.

"Hey, that was a great effort," manager Jim Leyland said. "They busted their tails, and that's all you can ask for."

No Major League pitcher since at least 1988 had thrown as many pitches as Jackson did Friday without pitching into the fifth inning, according to research on baseball-reference.com and retrosheet.org. Just five other times in the last 20 years had the Tigers pitching staff thrown more pitches in a game, and one of them was their 16-inning win July 3 at Minnesota.

The Tigers' 265th and final pitch from Casey Fien (0-1), the last reliever left in the bullpen, wasn't bad. But Carroll hit it in a very good location, just inside first base as Miguel Cabrera watched helplessly and Jhonny Peralta trotted home happily after his leadoff double.

"He hit it in the perfect spot," Leyland lamented. "We just couldn't get one of those."

Said Carroll: "Fortunately, it was a couple of inches inside the line, and we go home happy."

Hours earlier, Jackson was looking for swings and misses and couldn't get them, no matter how much he tried. He took the mound with a 2-0 lead thanks to Clete Thomas' first-inning single, then gave it up to Asdrubal Cabrera, whose two-run homer capped a nine-pitch battle that included three straight two-strike foul balls to extend the at-bat.

"It's big for the other team when they tie the game early," said Carlos Guillen, whose ninth-inning homer eventually tied the game again.

Three batters later, Travis Hafner battled Jackson for 11 pitches, six of them two-strike fouls, before finally whiffing on a 98-mph fastball for the second out. Pitching coach Rick Knapp went out simply to give him a rest.

"I want to say between Hafner and Cabrera, I felt like I threw about 50 pitches," Jackson said. "They kept fouling them off and fouling them off."

An inning later, rookie Trevor Crowe lasted 10 pitches and four straight two-strike foul balls against him before lacing a one-out single to left. Jackson eventually stranded the bases loaded that inning, overpowering Shin-Soo Choo with a 99-mph fastball for a groundout. It was Jackson's 64th pitch of the night.

The pitches kept piling up. He had 88 through three, then hit the 100-pitch mark with only one out in the fourth.

"His command wasn't good and his secondary stuff was not good," Leyland said. "His slider, he threw a couple real nasty ones. But for whatever reason, he wasn't getting on top of it, and it wasn't real sharp."

The good ones he threw didn't matter. They were fouled off, too. The Indians fouled off 28 Jackson pitches, almost as many as he threw for called and swinging strikes combined.

"They made me work from the beginning," Jackson said. "They kept spoiling good pitches and spoiling good pitches."

Choo's fourth-inning double scored Crowe to put Jackson behind in the fourth, then Crowe added on runs in the sixth and eighth. The Tigers didn't score again until Magglio Ordonez doubled and scored in the eighth, which left them with a two-run deficit entering the ninth once Placido Polanco's sliding stop for a double play kept Cleveland from breaking open the game in the eighth.

Polanco's leadoff single off Indians closer Kerry Wood brought up Guillen as the potential tying run. He jumped on a 3-1 fastball and drove it deep to right for his second home run since coming off the disabled list a week ago.

"I was trying to be aggressive and make good contact," Guillen said.

Carroll entered as a pinch-runner in the ninth, but was stranded on second when closer Fernando Rodney struck out Crowe to send it into extra innings. An inning later, Carroll had a chance to end it, but Brandon Lyon caught him on a called third strike with runners at second and third.

Rodney and Lyon combined for five scoreless innings. It wasn't enough.

"It was a great ballgame," Leyland said, "but they finally got a big hit and we didn't."

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

Saturday, August 1, 2009
Tigers 4, White Sox 3 (12)
Porcello sharp before Tigers scratch out extra-inning victory
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Cleveland -- Winning in 12 innings after losing in 13, the Tigers outlasted the Indians for a 4-3 victory on Saturday night.

The back-to-back marathons, lasting more than 8 1/2 hours, marked the first time since 1988 that the Tigers have played consecutive games of at least 12 innings each.

Ryan Raburn's two-out single in the 12th, after the Tigers had opened the inning with a pair of walks, drove in the tie-breaking run. Relief pitcher Jose Veras balked in the second, and deciding, run.

The victory allowed the Tigers to maintain a 1 ½ -game lead in the American League Central over the also-victorious Chicago White Sox.

Bobby Seay (2-2) was the winning pitcher. Zach Miner allowed a run in the 12th, but retired Grady Sizemore on a pop-up to short with the tying run on third for his first major league save.

The tiebreaking runs came three innings after the Indians tied it in the bottom of the ninth on a triple-single sequence against Fernando Rodney, his first blown save this season in 22 save opportunities.

Before that, though, introductions had definitely been in order.

Rick Porcello, say hello to the eighth inning. Eighth inning, this is Tigers rookie Rick Porcello.

The two of you hadn't yet met.

But they did in this game when Porcello worked the first eight innings before handing the ninth to Rodney. The 20-year-old right-hander had lasted as long as seven innings in three of his 18 starts this season.

His pitching line: Eight innings, four hits, one run -- which the Indians scored in the first -- plus one walk and three strikeouts.

The outstanding performance ended a stretch of four consecutive starts in which Porcello allowed four or more earned runs. It looked, in fact, like one of his starts in May, when he went 5-0, allowing fewer than two earned runs four consecutive times.

If he's reverting to May, it's good news for the Tigers.

With a pitch count of 91, in fact, Porcello looked strong enough to continue. But there was no way manager Jim Leyland was going to ask more from him than he'd already done.

The Tigers didn't get a hit off Indians' starter Jeremy Sowers until Raburn's single in the fifth following a leadoff walk to Marcus Thames.

They did absolutely nothing against the left-hander the first three innings, but showed signs of life in the fourth when it took an outstanding play in center by Grady Sizemore to steal a hit from Placido Polanco -- and another good defensive play up the middle by shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to take a hit away from Miguel Cabrera.

The walk-single combination by the Tigers in the fifth, however, led to the tying run. With one out, Dusty Ryan also walked -- loading the bases. Adam Everett's fly ball to left proved deep enough for Thames to score from third.

Three consecutive singles to start the sixth -- Polanco, Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera -- gave the Tigers their second run. With a bases-loaded chance to get more, however, Ryan took a called third strike.

Porcello didn't have a smooth first inning.

He walked Sizemore to get it started. Sizemore stole second, then went to third when Miguel Cabrera misplayed a grounder to first for an error.

Peralta's single to center drove in Sizemore.

That's as much damage as the Indians did, however, as Travis Hafner followed with a double-play grounder to short.

Porcello settled down after that, allowing assorted singles, but nothing that got him into any kind of trouble. In fact, from the third inning to the sixth, he retired 11 in a row.

As a yardstick of how he improved after the first, Porcello went to a 3-0 count on Sizemore leading off the sixth, but instead of walking him as he did in the first, he came back to strike him out.

His 10th victory of the season was not to be, however.

tom.gage@detnews.com

Tigers overcome to pinch Tribe in 12th
Rodney blows first save; Raburn ignites winning frame

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

08/02/09 12:38 AM ET

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CLEVELAND -- And to think, the Tigers came to town this weekend with their late-inning relievers needing work.

Before the Tigers took the field Saturday, manager Jim Leyland talked about the disappointment a team has after losing a long extra-inning game. Hours later, he nearly had another one to deal with, the Indians threatening and the Tigers holding on. In the end, it was another clutch Ryan Raburn hit, a 12th-inning insurance balk, and more long relief work that helped Detroit pull out a 4-3 win at Progressive Field.

Leyland still has a potential mess to deal with in his bullpen to rest some tired arms. But thanks to some clutch outs, Fernando Rodney's first blown save of the year did not end up being a blown win.

"Kind of a weird game, a wild game," Leyland said, "but it ended up right."

Not since Aug. 26-27, 1988, had the Tigers played back-to-back games of at least 12 innings. That team was fighting for dear life to stay on top of the American League East and split those games at Milwaukee before it lost 10 of 11 to fall out of the lead for good, part of a late-season collapse.

This year's Tigers are hoping that fate doesn't happen to them, but they've had to fight for the last 2 1/2 months to maintain their AL Central lead. The White Sox beat the Yankees again Saturday afternoon, meaning a Tigers loss would've brought Chicago to within a half-game.

So when Asdrubal Cabrera led off the ninth inning with a triple off Rodney, it would've been understandable to fear the worst. At that point, it would've been tough not to expect extra innings.

"To be honest with you, when a guy gets a leadoff triple, I'm thinking it's a tied game," Leyland said. "I'm not going to lie. When a guy gets a leadoff triple, nobody out, you've got to think it's a tied game, and you've got to be thinking what you're going to do next, who's coming up for you."

At that point, with Cleveland's Cabrera on third and nobody out, Rick Porcello's gem of an outing might as well be in the distant past. His eight innings of one-run ball weren't just his first quality start since June 12, but arguably the best outing of his brief career.

Porcello retired 15 of 16 batters after giving up a first-inning run, and he induced twice as many ground balls (16) as fly balls (eight). With a 20-year-old rookie at 91 pitches, close to his usual pitch count, and a closer Leyland prefers to bring in to start an inning rather than insert with runners on base, there was no question, even with Rodney coming off two innings Friday.

"If you're talking about a veteran guy like [Justin] Verlander or [Edwin] Jackson, it may be little bit different," Leyland said.

Rodney, whose streak of 21 consecutive save opportunity converted was the Tigers' longest since Matt Anderson in 2001, still nearly converted this one. He struck out Shin-Soo Choo for the first out and had Jhonny Peralta in a 1-2 count before he hit a soft fly ball into shallow left-center field.

"I never think that run's going to score," Rodney said. "I'm pitching to keep the run at third base, but that blooper happened. Little popup, very difficult play, nothing you can do."

Granderson's diving catch couldn't stop Cabrera from tagging up to score, but it kept the winning run off base. Once Rodney retired Travis Hafner, back they went into extra innings, and back came the extra-inning mentality of Detroit's relievers.

"You know when it's a tie game and they've got their last at-bats, you have to make quality pitches," left-hander Bobby Seay said. "If you do get beat, you get beat with your best pitch. Obviously, with home-field advantage, they get the last at-bat. I think it speaks volumes about how Zach [Miner] pitched and how Ryan [Perry] pitched as well."

Perry escaped a 10th-inning jam when Wyatt Toregas' liner to short allowed Adam Everett to double off Jamey Carroll, Friday's hero, to end the inning. Seay (2-2) stranded a runner at second in the 11th by striking out Hafner.

Raburn, who drove in the go-ahead run in the Tigers' 16-inning win July 3 at Minnesota, singled in Placido Polanco before Jose Veras (1-1) gave up an insurance run on a balk. That extra run became huge after Carroll singled and Trevor Crowe doubled with one out in the bottom of the 12th.

As Crowe's liner scooted to the fence in left-center field, Granderson was thinking to keep him at second, regardless of whether Carroll scored.

"Right away, I thought there's going to be a run on second base. There's no play at home," Granderson said. "But they ended up stopping him."

As it turned out, he fired the ball back in quickly enough to hold Carroll at third, rendering Toregas' run-scoring groundout meaningless and allowing Miner to hold on with a first-pitch popout from Grady Sizemore for his first Major League save.

"Trevor Hoffman better watch out," Miner joked.

Add up Friday and Saturday, and Tigers relievers pitched 12 innings in just over a 24-hour span, allowing five runs on 15 hits with 11 strikeouts. It's a split decision they'll take, hopefully with some rest to follow.

"We battled down to the last out tonight," Seay said.

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

Galarraga roughed up in loss to Tribe
Tigers stifled on day righty allows eight runs in 5 2/3 innings

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

08/02/09 5:51 PM ET

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CLEVELAND -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland really did say it out of the blue Sunday morning.

"Today's the biggest game of the year for us, in my opinion, up to this point," Leyland said. "Not whether we win or lose, but if we can get innings out of [Armando] Galarraga today to get our bullpen straightened back out, this is the biggest game of the year."

Innings-wise, the Tigers got what they needed, albeit barely. That was good, because the 11-1 loss to the Indians didn't provide much else for them.

"If you could find any bright spots today, that's the one bright spot," Leyland said afterward. "We got enough innings out of Armando. They weren't all obviously good innings, but we got enough innings out of him to kind of get our bullpen back in order."

Now Detroit will try to get Galarraga back in order.

After Tigers relievers threw 12-plus innings over the previous two nights -- both extra-inning games -- there was no confusion about what Galarraga had to do. Whether he baffled the Tribe or whether Cleveland rocked him, he was going to have to give what he could for at least 100 pitches.

His first career loss at Progressive Field, where he beat the Indians twice last year, ended up being a big one. His eight runs and 11 hits allowed both were career highs, and many of his pitches later looked like he tried to aim the ball. But he knew that if it got to that, he wasn't going to get any relief for a while.

"I thought about it," Galarraga said. "I wanted to get to more innings. I kind of feel bad for that. I wish I could have more innings, no matter if I'm doing good or bad."

From his personal standpoint, this one fell into the latter.

"It's a bad start," Galarraga said. "I'll come back next time, do my best. I haven't been throwing great, but I've been throwing better the last couple starts."

His July actually was better than his winless record would suggest, having allowed 10 runs over four starts and lasting at least seven innings in three of them. His ERA dropped by one-half run in that span. Once he gave up five fourth-inning runs Sunday, it was back over 5.00.

Third-base umpire Chris Guccione's call that Asdrubal Cabrera would've scored on Shin-Soo Choo's double without fan interference put Galarraga behind three batters into his outing. Once he escaped further damage with a double-play comeback, however, Galarraga got onto a roll of seven outs in eight batters.

That said, a lot of those outs came when he was behind. Each of Cleveland's first three hitters had 2-0 counts, as did five of the first 10 hitters Galarraga faced.

"He didn't have command today," catcher Gerald Laird said. "He wasn't really too crisp early, even though he only gave up one run. He settled down a little bit the second and third inning, but his command wasn't real sharp the whole game."

Against an aggressive Indians lineup that fouled off 28 pitches over Edwin Jackson's four innings Friday and hit into early outs against Rick Porcello on Saturday, it put Galarraga in a difficult spot.

"I thought he pitched on the defensive from the very first inning," Leyland said. "When you do that, something's in your head. If you pitch aggressively and they hit you, you tip your cap to them. But if you're pitching from behind all the time, I mean, what do you expect on 2-0 [counts]?"

Come the fourth inning, the expected happened. Jhonny Peralta's leadoff single on a 2-0 pitch began a barrage of six hits, the last four for extra bases. Andy Marte and Trevor Crowe hit back-to-back doubles down the foul lines ahead of Grady Sizemore's two-out, two-run homer.

The Indians batted around that inning, but Galarraga retired five straight after Peralta's leadoff double in the fifth. He had three consecutive strikeouts and was an out away from ending the sixth when he walked Sizemore and fell behind on another 2-0 count to Cabrera, who took a 2-1 pitch deep for his fifth home run on the year. That knocked out Galarraga and brought in Casey Fien before Fu-Te Ni finished out the game.

"This is all a learning process for all of us," Leyland said. "And hopefully, he learned a lesson. If he learns a lesson from this, then I can learn from this. If he doesn't, then that's another story."

Leyland made that point to Galarraga back in the Tigers' dugout.

"Don't think too much," Galarraga said was the lesson. "Sometimes that's what happens. But when it's tough, it's tough trying to get outs and get better."

Indians starter Carl Pavano (9-8) beat the Tigers for the third time in as many starts this season, scattering four singles over seven innings before Ramon Santiago's sacrifice fly plated Gerald Laird in the eighth.

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

Thomas walk-off completes Tigers' rally
Verlander settles down after five-run first inning

By Mike Scott / Special to MLB.com

08/03/09 9:26 PM ET
UPDATED: 08/03/09 10:41 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Baltimore's Danys Baez had struck out four of the first five Detroit batters he faced. So with the bases empty and a 1-2 count on Tigers outfielder Clete Thomas in the ninth inning, Monday's game seemed destined to go into extra innings.

One 424-foot blast later, the Comerica Park crowd was sent home happy with a 6-5 Tigers victory. Thomas was even happier. It was not only his seventh homer of the year, but the first walk-off long ball of his career -- at any level.

Yet he still knew enough about walk-off home runs to know you should throw your helmet high in the air.

"I just threw it up there," Thomas said. "I don't know how high it went."

The ninth-inning shot over the center-field wall into the bushes capped a five-run comeback for the Tigers. But you'd have to excuse Detroit management if, 19 pitches into the game, it wanted to hire a private investigator or see who the imposter was wearing Justin Verlander's jersey.

By the time that lanky imposter with the No. 35 on his back had thrown those first 19 pitches, the Orioles' Brian Roberts had driven a ball 400 feet for his 12th career leadoff home run. Nolan Reimold, Adam Jones and Nick Markakis had singled. Aubrey Huff had driven in a run. Ty Wigginton had doubled home another. Designated hitter Luke Scott, who was rumored to be coming to Detroit before the July 31 Trade Deadline, doubled home two more.

Indeed it was Verlander who spotted Baltimore's five first-inning runs. The All-Star was in the seemingly unthinkable position of being pulled in the first inning at home against a last-place team that just last week traded its All-Star closer, George Sherrill.

"It was one of those innings," Verlander said. "The pitch to Roberts was a terrible one I left out over the plate. But the fact that [Baltimore] was aggressive allowed me to pitch eight innings because I made adjustments."

Once Verlander struck out a couple of O's hitters in the second inning, he quickly regained his footing. He went eight innings, allowing those five runs on nine hits, striking out eight and retiring the last 10 batters he faced.

Detroit manager Jim Leyland thought about pulling Verlander after the seventh, but Verlander cruised through it and then breezed through the eighth, including a strikeout of Scott. He threw one fastball at 98 mph in that final inning.

"He's coming of age. He showed tonight why he's one of the best pitchers in baseball," Leyland said of his starter. "But I've got to be careful. He threw 120 pitches last time, came back and didn't get an extra day off. I've got to be careful that I don't get greedy [with Verlander's pitch counts]."

Detroit gave its starter a chance for the win by responding in the bottom of the first. The first four Tigers batters all reached base. Curtis Granderson tripled to straightaway center, Placido Polanco doubled, Thomas walked and Miguel Cabrera doubled home two against Orioles starter Chris Tillman to cut the lead to 5-3. Tillman went five innings, allowing five runs, in his second Major League start.

Ramon Santiago singled home Marcus Thames in the fourth and Cabrera crushed his 21st home run of the season in the fifth to tie the game at 5. That got Verlander off the hook.

"That [comeback] just shows you how capable our offense can be," Verlander said. "We can score runs. I just needed to give my team a chance to win."

Leyland said that responding with three runs in the bottom of the first inning was a key to the comeback.

"That three spot sends a red flag that you might have a chance," he said. "And then when you don't allow [Baltimore] to score in the second and you can add on, that's a huge thing."

Thomas won't soon forget his first walk-off home run or the pitch that it came on.

"It was a fastball in. [Baez (4-5)] had been striking out a few of our lefties with a front-door fastball that came out over the corner of the plate," Thomas said. "I was making sure I wouldn't get beat there."

When rounding third base, Thomas had a few thoughts going through his mind.

"I was like, 'Wow, I actually did this,'" he said. "It was more than I ever dreamed. It was right up there with having a first kid and [playing] your first game in the Majors."

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

Washburn struggles in Tigers debut
Detroit offense unable to provide support for new lefty

By Mike Scott / Special to MLB.com

08/04/09 9:50 PM ET
updated: 08/04/09 11:31 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Jarrod Washburn admitted earlier this week that he felt like a rookie as he was set to take the mound Tuesday against the Orioles in his Tigers debut. It turns out the only true rookie who did take the Comerica Park mound was the one who picked up the victory.

Brian Matusz wiggled his way out of multiple jams in his first Major League start and multi-RBI games from Nick Markakis and Cesar Izturis powered Baltimore to an 8-2 victory over Detroit.

Washburn (8-7) kept the Tigers in the game for awhile. Yet on the day that he was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for July, the veteran's performance was rather pedestrian.

Detroit can only hope and assume that better days are ahead for its newest starting pitcher.

"There's no excuse. I didn't do my job. I didn't have command," Washburn said. "I wanted to start out on the right foot and give everyone a good first impression. But what happened was the exact opposite of that."

Washburn expects significant improvement on Sunday when he is scheduled to start against the Twins at home. But on Tuesday he was outdueled by Matusz, who may not have been overpowering but was impressive nevertheless.

Matusz came into his first Major League start with a good deal of fanfare as the fourth overall pick in 2008's First-Year Player Draft. Even Tigers manager Jim Leyland said Tuesday afternoon that he was "looking forward to seeing [Matusz] pitch, but then again not looking forward to it" because of how talented the lefty was reputed to be.

On this night Matusz (1-0) was great when he needed it. He stranded eight runners in just five innings, allowing six hits. He struck out the last two batters he faced in Marcus Thames and Ryan Raburn with runners on second and third, throwing 99 pitches to earn the win.

"I was impressed with [Matusz]," Leyland said. "He has good stuff and really good pitchability for a young guy. He was [willing to throw changeups while behind in a count. He's a four-pitch guy and is impressive."

Meanwhile, Washburn was also occasionally finding his way into trouble, but didn't have as much success as his counterpart in pulling a Houdini act. Baltimore scratched out a couple of early runs on an RBI single by Markakis in the first and an RBI single by Matt Wieters in the second.

While both of those rallies were snuffed out by double plays, Washburn only stranded one runner. He allowed Izturis' second home run of the season with two outs in the fifth inning. Then his night was essentially over in the sixth when Washburn yielded a 442-foot blast to Markakis that slammed into the brick wall above the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center. Markakis and Izturis each finished with three RBIs.

By the time the damage was done in the sixth, the Orioles had sent nine batters to the plate while increasing their lead to six. The Baltimore bullpen took care of the rest.

Washburn didn't feel having an extra couple of days off from his normal schedule affected him. He last pitched on July 28 for Seattle against Toronto. "I had some adrenaline going but it didn't affect the movement on any pitches," Washburn said. "My sinker was sinking but my location was way off. Markakis hit a four-seamer [fastball] that was in a terrible location."

Detroit catcher Gerald Laird said Washburn didn't have his best command and kept a couple of pitches up that were hit hard. But he is confident that one of Washburn's worst starts is behind him.

"I got really familiar with him and how he pitches really quickly," Laird said. He's easy to catch and comes at you with strikes. The biggest challenge [in catching a new pitcher for the first time] is seeing what the ball does when he misses his spots and how each pitch moves in certain situations."

The Tigers had their chances early. They loaded the bases with two outs in the second inning for Adam Everett. The shortstop drilled a Matusz pitch up the middle for what appeared to be a multiple run-scoring single until Izturis dove to his left, snagged the hard grounder and flipped with his right hand to Brian Roberts, just beating the sliding Raburn.

Everett drove home Detroit's first run with a fourth-inning double, scoring Brandon Inge. Magglio Ordonez added an RBI single in the ninth.

Like Laird, Leyland isn't worried about Washburn's ability to provide the Tigers with wins during an AL Central race.

"He was not sharp tonight but he'll be fine Sunday," Leyland said. "We have other things that are more of a concern to us right now than [Washburn]."

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

DREW SHARP | BALTIMORE 8, DETROIT 2
New pitcher, same old lack of support for Tigers

BY DREW SHARP • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • August 5, 2009

It didn't take long for Jarrod Washburn to feel at home in his new surroundings. All he had to do was follow the zeros after his new team's name on the scoreboard. You're not a bona fide starting pitcher for the Tigers until you've contracted the stomach queasiness attributable to their offensive anemia.

Welcome to Detroit, Mr. Washburn.

The first Pepto-Bismol is on the house.

It's not that Washburn didn't contribute to an unsatisfying evening at the ballpark Tuesday. He wasn't as miserly in surrendering runs as advertised when the Tigers acquired him just before Friday's trading deadline. But even if Washburn had been, it wouldn't have mattered.

He simply would have lost 3-2, instead of by the final 8-2 verdict.

"This was my fault," Washburn said. "It's my job to give us a chance to win and I failed. I wanted to make a good first impression to the fans and couldn't get it done. There's a lot of excitement here with a first-place team heading into a pennant chase, and I didn't do what they brought me here to do. I'm disappointed."

Washburn graciously took the hit, putting him one up on the offense.

There will remain those adamant that adding Washburn while ignoring the offensive ills constitutes management neglect. But sometimes the smarter strategy is further strengthening a plus, especially when a weakness falls far beyond the salvation of one player.

If there was only one move to be made at the trading deadline, Washburn was the more prudent decision.

The Tigers aren't a 90-win team.

They'll wade just above .500, and maybe that becomes the lone requirement for winning the woebegone American League Central. A record of 30-27 the rest of the way gives the Tigers 85 wins, and that might be enough to fight off the crawling pursuit of Chicago and Minnesota. But counting on fewer wins places a greater significance on quality starting pitching, regardless of chronic lack of run support.

Getting to 85 wins requires scratching out more 3-2 victories than 2-1 defeats, but that starts with a deep rotation. The Tigers have that now -- Washburn's worst start in two months Tuesday notwithstanding. His arrival takes the pressure off Rick Porcello. The 20-year-old rookie doesn't have to be that crucial No. 3 starter now.

You keep convincing yourself that it can't be all that bad if they're still in first place, taking Jim Leyland's advice to enjoy the run while not necessarily looking at the rocky path.

But this might qualify as the worst we've endured during this stretch of wretchedness, because the Tigers turned a 22-year-old freshly picked off the Baltimore farm into a Steve Carlton hologram. The Tigers stranded eight runners during rookie Brian Matusz's five-inning debut, including five in scoring position.

"We've had quite a few games where we've left a lot of guys on, so I don't know if this is anymore frustrating than any of the others," said general manager Dave Dombrowski. "We've had a tough time coming up with the big hit, and this game was no exception."

Washburn was accustomed to rampant run-scoring droughts before he arrived. According to STATS LLC, Washburn was third in the American League in poorest run support entering Tuesday, getting only 3.65 runs per nine innings.

Guess who's first on that list? It's Washburn's new teammate, Edwin Jackson (3.42 runs per nine innings).

It took one game, but Washburn feels like a Tiger already.

Tigers' batting sucks!

2003 anyone?

Still say convert Willis to a DH or an outfielder. He always was a good hitter!

Jackson deals in Detroit victory
Righty uses variety of pitches to stymie O's again

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

08/05/09 9:25 PM ET
UPDATED: 08/05/09 11:50 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Fernando Rodney said he feels like a monster when he has to pitch out of a jam. He couldn't identify a particular monster, only "something intimidating."

If that's the case, who knows what scary image Edwin Jackson might be conjuring to Orioles hitters this year? The numbers are scary enough.

By the time Gregg Zaun took a called third strike from Rodney to finish Detroit's 4-2 win Wednesday, Baltimore hitters were daring Rodney to spot a fastball and looking for him to hang a changeup. By contrast, the O's looked for fastballs from Jackson, after he overpowered them in May, and ended up with a mix.

Five days after Jackson needed 115 pitches to get through four innings at Cleveland, he didn't even need that many pitches to get into the ninth inning Wednesday.

"He's just got command and he's throwing 98 [mph] with three other pitches for strikes," Orioles manager Dave Trembley said. "He's got four pitches that are all power."

He used pretty much all of them Wednesday. If Jackson's last outing prompted worry in Detroit that the All-Star right-hander might be running out of gas down the stretch, Jackson had a curveball for them. Or more accurately, he had a heavy dose of power sliders and some changeups mixed in with his fastballs. And in the end, he had much the same outing as he posted May 31 at Camden Yards, where he blanked the Orioles on two hits over eight innings.

That was part of the difference between the 28 pitches Indians hitters fouled off over four innings Friday and the 17 swings and misses he had Wednesday. It was a dual effort between Jackson and Gerald Laird to read what Baltimore hitters were doing the last couple nights.

"This team is really aggressive," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said, "and I thought he mixed in some other pitches for the first pitch to get them off their game plan a little bit. You could see this team's game plan is to go right at you and be aggressive on that first fastball they see. You can see that, and they're good at it. They're a good offense. That's a job to shut down that offense. That's a very good offense, a lot of versatility."

Jackson's eight strikeouts fell one short of a season high, and all of them came on swings and misses. More than a couple came on pitches other than fastballs.

After Brian Roberts led off the game by grounding out on a changeup, Jackson sent down Nolan Reimold swinging at a slider and ended a seven-pitch battle with Nick Markakis with a changeup.

Aubrey Huff went down swinging in the second and fourth. Tigers killer Luke Scott swung and missed at the slider in the fourth and a 97-mph heater in the seventh on Jackson's 104th pitch of the night.

"Gerald and I were doing this great job of mixing up pitches tonight and just keeping them off balance," Jackson said, "so they can't really just sit on one thing."

Neither of the two hits Jackson allowed through eight innings was well struck. Adam Jones hit a first-inning infield blooper that first baseman Miguel Cabrera ran down as if to catch but then let bounce. Six innings later, Markakis' blooper into left gave the O's a leadoff single before Jackson kept him at first.

At that point, Jackson was sitting on a 1-0 lead. Magglio Ordonez pounced on a Jeremy Guthrie fastball in the fifth and turned on it for a line drive over the left-field fence. His sixth home run of the season was his first since July 21.

Ordonez, now 6-for-10 lifetime against Guthrie (7-11), had two of Detroit's six hits against him. Once Brandon Inge and Adam Everett singled off Guthrie to fuel a three-run eighth, Jackson had a better cushion.

Leyland had decided before those runs that Jackson would get a chance at the complete-game shutout. But the longer the Tigers hit in the eighth inning, the more he wondered about it.

"If we had made three quick outs, I think he'd been fine," Leyland said. "But I think the fact that he sat over there so long, I think I should've taken him out. But he's one of our horses. He had a two-hit shutout [at the time]. That's hard to do."

Jackson said the time on the bench had nothing to do with his pitches in the ninth. If anything, he was glad to have those extra runs once he hit Reimold on his first pitch and gave up Jones' two-run homer four pitches later.

By the end, the big pitch was up to Rodney, whose two-out walk to Scott moved the potential tying run into scoring position for Zaun. The O's catcher barely got a 2-1 pitch foul for strike two, then he held off on a checked swing to run the count full.

With runners going, Rodney went back to his heater and spotted a 97-mph pitch on the corner for a called third strike.

"In situations like that, one-run or two-run lead, I feel like I have more confidence," Rodney said. "No matter if it's a full count, I feel more comfortable. I feel like a monster."

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

Way to go Edwin!!!!!!!!

Big second gives Porcello 10th win
Tigers hit for cycle in second frame to back rookie hurler

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

08/06/09 3:50 PM ET
updated:

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DETROIT -- Brandon Inge's two-run homer highlighted a four-run second inning for the Tigers, helping Rick Porcello join an elite group of 10-game winners with a 7-3 win over the Orioles Thursday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Porcello (10-7) became one of just three pitchers in the past 22 years to post double-digit wins in a season at age 20 or younger, and the first since Seattle's Felix Hernandez in 2006. No Tiger had done it since Dave Rozema was a 15-game winner in 1977.

Considering Porcello had won only one of his previous six starts, it was a bit of a long road to get there after getting to the eight-win mark by June 18. He took a no-decision in his previous start on Saturday at Cleveland thanks to a blown save, but Detroit's early offense on Thursday allowed him to cruise from there.

The Tigers hit for the cycle in a 35-pitch second inning from fellow rookie starter David Hernandez (3-4), whose one-out single to Magglio Ordonez started his mess. Inge pounced on a first-pitch fastball and sent it deep to left for his 22nd home run of the season and his first homer since taking part in the Home Run Derby over the All-Star break. Ramon Santiago's two-out triple, Curtis Granderson's RBI double and Placido Polanco's run-scoring single put Detroit in command.

Porcello, meanwhile, took a no-hitter into the fifth, retiring 13 of his first 14 batters before singles from Ty Wigginton and Felix Pie led to a run. Wigginton's RBI double in the sixth chased Porcello from the game, the right-hander having scattered four singles over 5 2/3 innings with three walks and a strikeout.

Alex Avila had a pair of hits in his Major League debut, the first Tiger to do so since Brent Clevlen on July 30, 2006. Avila, son of Tigers vice president Al Avila, doubled in a run in the third inning before singling and scoring in the fifth.

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

Not a bed debut for Avila.

Thursday, August 6, 2009
Tigers 7, Orioles 3
Tigers take series from Orioles
Porcello cruises to 10th win after allowing just two runs, four hits.
Larry Lage / Associated Press

Detroit -- Brandon Inge hit a two-run homer in a four-run second inning and Rick Porcello didn't give up a hit until the fifth, helping the Detroit Tigers coast to a 7-3 win against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday.

The Tigers won three of four games in the series to stay atop the AL Central, heading into a matchup with the third-place Minnesota Twins.

Porcello (10-7) became just the second pitcher in franchise history with double digits in wins at the age of 20 or younger, joining Dave Rozema, who had 11 victories before his 21st birthday.

The rookie gave up two runs on four hits over 5 2-3 innings. He gave up only one run in his last start after allowing 19 runs in his previous four.

David Hernandez (3-4) gave up five runs and seven hits, needing 81 pitches to get through three innings. Brian Bass followed and gave up two runs in three innings.

The Tigers hit for the cycle as a team in a span of five at-bats in the second inning to help them take a 4-0 lead.

Inge hit a two-run homer one pitch after Magglio Ordonez singled. Ramon Santiago later had a two-out triple and scored on Curtis Granderson's double. Placido Polanco's grounder off third base bounced into the outfield for the fourth RBI of the inning.

In his major league debut, Detroit's Alex Avila hit a two-out RBI double in the third inning to set off a celebration in the front office's box. Avila's father is Tigers assistant general manager Al Avila, who was hugged by Hall of Famer Al Kaline and congratulated enthusiastically by team president Dave Dombrowski and vice president John Westoff.

"Wow," Dombrowski said after sitting back down.

Baltimore's Ty Wigginton was the first to get a hit off Porcello, singling to lead off the fifth inning and scoring on Felix Pie's single. Wigginton's RBI double in the sixth ended Porcello's day.

Fu-Te Ni followed with 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief to help Detroit keep its cushion.

Avila's big day sets tone in Tigers' win
Rookie catcher collects first hit, calls Porcello's 10th victory

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

08/06/09 6:12 PM ET

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DETROIT -- As Alex Avila headed into second base on his RBI double Thursday, most of the eyes in the Tigers dugout were focused on one place. They were mainly looking upstairs.

It was Alex Avila's first Major League hit, and a meaningful one in the early-inning surge that sent the Tigers to their 7-3 win over the Orioles Thursday. But it was Tigers vice president Al Avila's moment.

"That was quite awesome," the elder Avila said of watching his son collect his first big league hit. "And embarrassing, too."

He'll gladly take it. He'll welcome the point when his son's big games come as more of a routine. So, too, will the Tigers.

"I'd like to think that he probably enjoyed that moment," the younger Avila said with a smile.

Avila made it to the Majors before even spending a full year in professional ball. Yet somehow, the 22-year-old made his Major League debut catching a pitcher nearly two years younger than he is.

Together, their performances set some milestones. While Avila became the first Tiger with two hits in his debut since Brent Clevlen in 2006, Porcello (10-7) became one of just three pitchers in the past 22 years to post double-digit wins in a season at age 20 or younger, and the first since Seattle's Felix Hernandez in 2006. No Tiger had done it since Dave Rozema was a 15-game winner in 1977.
"I'm definitely honored to be mentioned in that category," Porcello said. "I'm definitely more happy to help the team out, help us try to stay in first place."

Considering Porcello had won only one of his previous six starts, it was a bit of a long road to get there after getting to the eight-win mark by June 18. He took a no-decision in his previous start last Saturday at Cleveland thanks to a blown save, but Detroit's early offense Thursday made sure he was in line for a positive result.

As Porcello and Avila agreed, they made a pretty good tandem.

After sending down the top third of the O's lineup in order for the first time all series, Porcello got on a roll, retiring 13 of the first 14 batters he faced. Not until Ty Wigginton's bloop single fell into short center field leading off the fifth did Porcello allow a hit.

"I was just trying to throw strikes early and not fall behind guys," Porcello said. "Those two starts after the All-Star break, I just didn't have good command."

Just as important for Porcello were the secondary pitches.

"The changeup wasn't quite as sharp as it was in Cleveland," Porcello said, "but the slider was definitely a lot better. It definitely helped to keep them off-balance and keep them off the fastball."

That was the game plan Avila and Porcello went over with pitching coach Rick Knapp before the game. The youth, the inexperience didn't seem to matter. As both pointed out of each other, they're mature, pretty relaxed for their age range. "Rick did an unbelievable job today," Avila said. "He really stuck to the game plan we put together. He was able just to throw strikes."

Said Porcello: "He was great behind the plate. He didn't seem like he was nervous at all. He was good back there."

Somewhat surprisingly, Avila seemed just as poised at the plate with a bat in his hands.

After Brandon Inge's two-run homer put the Tigers in front, Avila -- a .264 hitter when the Tigers called him up from Double-A Erie on Tuesday -- battled Orioles starter David Hernandez for eight pitches before watching a fastball hit the corner at 94 mph for a called third strike. He fouled off three pitches, including a curveball with two strikes.

"The one thing I was impressed with him is it looks like he picks up the ball real well when he's hitting," manager Jim Leyland said. "It look like he's got a pretty good eye at the plate, not a lot of movement. And it looks like he recognizes balls from strikes pretty quick. That's a big plus if you can do that."

An inning later, Inge's two out single created a chance for Avila to step in again. Again, he battled for Hernandez for eight pitches, this time fouling off four straight before pulling a 2-2 curveball down the right-field line.

Avila knows where his dad sits at Comerica Park, but he didn't look. His teammates did, pointing to the box.

"It's a great feeling for him," Carlos Guillen said. "He only played one year in the Minor Leagues, and he's up here, getting base hits and an RBI on the first day. He hit the ball hard, had good at-bats, played a great game."

The elder Avila tried to keep it diplomatic, but that was difficult. He was receiving hugs all around, and he wonders if the entire baseball community had either texted for called him about that hit.

"It was just relief, really," Avila said, "relief that he got it under his belt. And really, he's a doubles hitter, so it's a good thing it was a double for his first hit."

Avila added a fifth-inning single, this one straight back up the middle off Brian Bass, before scoring on Curtis Granderson's two-out infield hit.

All in all, it was a good first day at work.

"If his dad's not too cheap, maybe he'll buy him dinner," Leyland joked.

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

Sounds like this was more about Al than it was Alex! Youngsta had a good day though!