GDT: 4/7/09 - DET (0-1) AT TOR (1-0) - 7:07 p.m. ET

Edwin Jackson and his potential are potentially the big mysteries in the Tigers' rotation. But there's very little mystery left between Jackson and the Jays.

When Detroit's major starting pitcher acquisition over the offseason makes his first regular-season appearance in a Tigers uniform, he'll face a team that has opposed him more often than any opponent except the Red Sox and Yankees in terms of games played. No team, in fact, has more plate appearances against Jackson in his career than Toronto.

Two of the top four familiar hitters with Jackson in terms of player appearances are Blue Jays, as are five of the top 20. Nobody has faced Adam Lind more often, and it isn't particularly close.

After 10 meetings over the last few years, four of them last season alone during Jackson's final year with the Rays, the Jays might arguably know more about what to expect from Jackson than the Tigers do.

"They've seen me so many times, there's no secrets there," Jackson said. "Now, there's no secret to what pitches you have. It's just a matter of who's going to get who that day. They know what I've got. I know what they've got, give or take a few new players."

In that situation, it's a matter of who executes. If Jackson makes his pitches, his talent should be enough to win out, even against a team that's familiar with him.

"You just have to go out and stick to your game plan," Jackson said.

To a large extent, that's the story of Jackson's career. When he executes, he has the arsenal to create some pitching mastery, from a mid-90's fastball to nasty breaking stuff. When he's off, the results are vastly different.

The Jays saw both of those extremes last year. Jackson tossed eight scoreless innings at Rogers Centre on May 8, the start of a 20-innings scoreless streak for him over three outings. Two months later, on July 20, the Jays came to Tropicana Field and touched him for six runs on eight hits in 4 1/3 innings.

"It just gets away -- the ability to really stem the tide when it's going in the wrong direction, when you're able to gather your thoughts, slow things down and get out of a jam," Rays manager Joe Maddon said after that July 20 game. "And sometimes he's been able to do that. And tonight was one of those nights [he could not]. And I think that's a mark of youth, in a sense, or a lack of experience."

The Tigers believe Jackson has the experience to blossom. With three-plus Major League seasons under the belt at the age of 25, Jackson was enticing enough for the Tigers to give up one of their valued lefty power bats in Matt Joyce to get him. Now comes the blossoming part.

Manager Jim Leyland doesn't want Jackson to try to win 20 games. He just wants Jackson to pitch his game. If anybody should be able to tell the difference Tuesday, it's the Jays.

Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Edwin Jackson (14-11, 4.42 ERA in 2008)
Among Detroit's starting candidates who were around for all of Spring Training, nobody was as stingy as Jackson, who allowed a mere .176 average to opponents, amounting to 12 hits over 20 innings. Three of those hits were home runs, including a three-run blast against the Phillies after he walked the previous two hitters. He has never lost at Rogers Centre in six career outings, five of them starts, because he has largely kept the ball out of the seats, having yielded five homers over 33 1/3 innings.

TOR: LHP David Purcey (3-6, 5.54 ERA in 2008)
Purcey is third on Toronto's depth chart, but has been moved up into the second slot in the rotation to break up the right-handed and left-handed starters. Purcey had an inconsistent stint as a rookie starter for the Jays last season, finishing with 58 strikeouts and 29 walks over 65 innings in 12 starts. Purcey -- a first-round pick by Toronto in the 2004 First-Year Player Draft -- pitches best when he has his curveball working well and he's consistently finding the strike zone. The left-hander can be exposed when his breaking ball isn't working properly.

Tidbits
Gerald Laird will become the 13th different Major Leaguer to catch Jackson. Not surprisingly, Dioner Navarro has caught 57 of Jackson's 106 career appearances. Only two other catchers have more than seven -- Josh Paul with 15, and Shawn Riggans with 11. ... Alex Rios is feast or famine against Jackson -- 6-for-24 with five extra-base hits, two of them homers, and four RBIs, but also six strikeouts. ... Look for Marcus Thames to return to the lineup against the left-hander Purcey and start what should be an uptick in playing time at designated hitter and the outfield.



On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes

On television
• FS-D

On radio
• WXYT 1270/FM 97.1

Up next
• Wednesday: Tigers (RHP Zach Miner, 8-5, 4.27 in 2008) at Blue Jays (RHP Jesse Litsch, 13-9, 3.58 in 2008), 7:07 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Tigers (RHP Rick Porcello, ML debut) at Blue Jays (LHP Ricky Romero, ML debut), 12:37 p.m. ET
• Friday: Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 13-7, 3.73 in 2008) vs. Rangers (Kris Benson, 11-12, 4.82 in 2006), 1:05 p.m. ET

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Starting Lineups:

Detroit
Granderson, CF
Polanco, 2B
Ordonez, RF
Cabrera, M, 1B
Guillen, LF
Laird, C
Thames, DH
Inge, 3B
Everett, SS

Toronto
Scutaro, SS
Hill, 2B
Rios, RF
Wells, V, CF
Lind, DH
Rolen, 3B
Overbay, 1B
Barajas, C
Snider, LF

Let's go Ed! Gotta bounce back from last night.

Stat of the day:

David Purcey's batting average against the Tigers - .125, the lowest against any other opponent.

LET'S GO BOYZ!!! Please!

Tigers will take the next three from the Jays

Might as well get the first win of the season tonight.

catbox_9 wrote:

Might as well get the first win of the season tonight.

c'mon Tigers... my canadian friend is making fun of me today... dammit

SoulRat wrote:

c'mon Tigers... my canadian friend is making fun of me today... dammit

Tell your friend to drink a Molson and watch the Tigers win the next three

GO TIGERS GO!

Lineup:

:curtis:
:placido:




:thames:

batting in front of :thames:? Interesting...

catbox_9 wrote:

Here we go...

Are you going to be at both places tonight?

MARCO!

Granderson with an F6.

1 down



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Curtis is batting .000 since his first official at bat this year

Be right back, have to pick something up...

Polanco , 2 out.

No alcohol being served in Rogers Center tonight...

Ordonez grounds out, 3 out.

Scutaro , 1 out.

Granderson makes the catch, 2 out.

Granderson catches it again, 3 out.

Cabrera walks after falling behind 0-2.

Cabrera out on a fielder's choice off of Guillen's bat on an impressive play be Rolen.

Laird , 2 out.

Thames flies out, 3 out.

Back. Picked up a new kumquat tree....it had a kumquat ready to go.


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Inning over.

catbox_9 wrote:

Back. Picked up a new kumquat tree....it had a kumquat ready to go.

Have a kumquat on me.

Wells hits a double. No no-hitter tonight.

bobrob2004 wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

Back. Picked up a new kumquat tree....it had a kumquat ready to go.

Have a kumquat on me.

I ate it. It tasted like I was expecting

Hopefully the tree doesn't die here

A dry Rogers Centre! Now that's new...

catbox_9 wrote:

bobrob2004 wrote:

catbox_9 wrote:

Back. Picked up a new kumquat tree....it had a kumquat ready to go.

Have a kumquat on me.

I ate it. It tasted like I was expecting

Hopefully the tree doesn't die here

Give it water, food and sunlight and it should be fine.