GDT: 4/15/09 - DET (4-4) VS CWS (4-3) - 1:05 p.m. ET

DETROIT -- The last time Armando Galarraga faced the White Sox, he was pitching in relief in Detroit's final game last season and looking wild. He's had plenty of time to prepare for Chicago's power hitters this time, which is good news for Jim Leyland.

Four White Sox home runs in Monday's 10-6 Tigers loss exposed the same weakness Tigers pitching has had against Chicago for some time. And after Galarraga mixed and matched his pitches to keep the Rangers off-balance at Comerica Park last Friday, Leyland would love to see an encore.

"We definitely have to do a better job of keeping them in the park, there's no question about that," Leyland said Tuesday morning. "That's what they do very well. They've got a power-packed lineup there with [Jim] Thome and [Paul] Konerko and [Jermaine] Dye. You've got to keep them in the park and you've got to keep the other guys off the bases."

When Galarraga is at his best, he's certainly capable of limiting hitters. His ratio of 7.657 hits per nine innings last year was the second best among American League starters. At the same time, though, his 28 home runs allowed marked the second-highest total in the league.

None of those homers came against the White Sox. In fact, none of his hits did, either. His only appearance against the Sox was that relief appearance, a one-batter meeting with Dye that included two wild pitches, allowing Dewayne Wise to come around from second and score the tying run before Dye's walk put the go-ahead run on base.

Galarraga admittedly came out with too much energy for that relief appearance. As a starter, his history suggests a much more collected repertoire.

Beneath that calm demeanor, however, lies a very driven second-year pitcher. While Leyland and others try to emphasize not to raise unrealistic expectations for Galarraga, he thinks he can significantly improve on last year.

"I need to prove to myself that I can do better," he said after his home-opening win. "Last year, I won 13. This year, I can win 17. And next year, I can win 20. Keep going and do better and better every day."

How driven is Galarraga these days? After holding Texas to a lone run over seven innings Friday, he was upset that he gave up the run, especially on a bloop hit.

His skill Friday was in keeping Rangers hitters off-balance, mixing fastballs, sliders and sinkers in unexpected counts and getting a surprising number of swings and misses. That could be crucial against the White Sox and a lineup in which veteran hitters have done a skillful job of anticipating what opponents will throw them in certain counts.

"When they were waiting for a sinker, I threw a slider," Galarraga said of the Rangers. "When they were waiting for a slider, I threw a sinker at the knees. If I see something else, I throw a changeup. I threw three pitches really well."

Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Armando Galarraga (1-0, 1.29 ERA)
Any questions on whether last year's Tigers surprise story has the capability to repeat or better his breakout 2008 season seemingly were answered Friday, when Galarraga dominated the previously scorching Rangers offense for seven innings of one-run ball. His eight strikeouts marked a career high, and the Rangers that did hit the ball never made good contact, limited to five singles and a slew of groundouts. He ended up being the perfect starter for the always-intense home opener in Detroit, and he'll close out the opening homestand against the only division opponent he didn't start against last year.

CWS: RHP Jose Contreras (0-1, 7.20 ERA)
It certainly wasn't a dominant effort for Contreras in his first start since rupturing his left Achilles tendon back on Aug. 9, 2008. But the Twins didn't exactly crush the right-hander, a performance somewhere in between that was somewhat expected from the veteran. Contreras gave up four earned runs on seven hits, including Joe Crede's home run, over five innings. He walked three, struck out three and threw 86 pitches. But most importantly, Contreras felt healthy after his first regular-season test. Contreras has an 8-8 lifetime record against Detroit and a 4-4 mark at Comerica Park.

Tidbits
... The Tigers will have a moment of silence and a video tribute before the game for former pitching great Mark Fidrych, who passed away unexpectedly Monday at age 54.
... Placido Polanco needs two games to tie Germany Schaefer for eighth place on the Tigers' all-time list for games at second base.
... Carlos Guillen could end up as the designated hitter again as the Tigers try to protect his sore right Achilles tendon. Guillen is 16-for-40 (.400) lifetime against Contreras with three home runs, nine RBIs, 10 walks and only one strikeout.

To track MLB play-by-play: http://m.mlb.com/scores/

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MLB.TV
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Up next
• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Tigers (Justin Verlander, 0-1, 9.35 ERA) at Mariners (Felix Hernandez, 1-0, 4.15 ERA), 10:10 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Tigers (Edwin Jackson, 0-0, 3.38 ERA) at Mariners (Erik Bedard, 1-0, 2.03 ERA), 9:10 p.m. ET

lineups

Chi White Sox
Lillibridge, 2B
Fields, 3B
Quentin, LF
Thome, DH
Dye, RF
Konerko, 1B
Pierzynski, C
Ramirez, SS
Anderson, B, CF


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

Great first inning from Armando! 2 Ks after a triple.

Get some runs in there boys!

Inning 1
Top Half

B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Brent Lillibridge pops out to second baseman Placido Polanco.

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Josh Fields triples (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Carlos Quentin swinging.

B:0 S:3 O:3 -
Jim Thome called out on .

Hi Swiss

1-2-3 for Contreras.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Hi Swiss

Hi there!
Nobody else? Just the two of us?

Bottom Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson grounds out to first baseman Paul Konerko.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Placido Polanco grounds out, pitcher Jose Contreras to first baseman Paul Konerko.

B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Magglio Ordonez called out on .

0-0

swiss_tiger wrote:

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Hi Swiss

Hi there!
Nobody else? Just the two of us?

so far.

I'm here til 2....
GO GALA

Inning 2
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:0 -
Jermaine Dye singles on a line drive to left fielder Josh Anderson.

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Paul Konerko flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
A. J. Pierzynski lines out to second baseman Placido Polanco.

laprimamirala wrote:

I'm here til 2....
GO GALA

Hi Lap

laprimamirala wrote:

I'm here til 2....
GO GALA

Lap is here!

B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Alexei Ramirez flies out to left fielder Josh Anderson.

0-0

flies out

flies out

0-0 after 2 innings

Another 1-2-3 for Contreras.

It's a good thing Galarragha is sharp again.

swiss_tiger wrote:

It's a good thing Galarragha is sharp again.

He is our Ace now... competition for

Inning 3
Top Half

B:4 S:1 O:0 -
Brian Anderson walks.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

swiss_tiger wrote:

It's a good thing Galarragha is sharp again.

He is our Ace now... competition for

He has passed JV loooong time ago!

bobrob will disagree with me on that one,...

B:2 S:2 O:1 - With Brent Lillibridge batting, Brian
Anderson caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Gerald Laird to second
baseman Placido Polanco.

laprimamirala wrote:

bobrob will disagree with me on that one,...

oh well......

Texas must be kicking themselves for getting rid of

B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Brent Lillibridge flies out to left fielder Josh Anderson.

B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Josh Fields grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

good play Brandon!

0-0

BINGE! What a throw!