GDT: 4/18/09 - DET (5-5) AT SEA (8-3) - 9:10 p.m. ET

SEATTLE -- Ramon Santiago is back in Seattle, where he played two seasons, and back in the starting lineup while Adam Everett recovers from a lingering flu bug. And when he's asked about his hot start this year, the Tigers utility man can't help but think back to the hot days of the tropical winter in his native Dominican Republic.

There, on the sands of the beach at the Boca Chica resort community not far from his hometown of the capital city of Santo Domingo, Santiago, who's hitting .316 (6-for-19) with a home run and six RBIs in five games, underwent a Friday workout ritual that has him in what he says is the best condition of his career.

"We run on the beach," Santiago said. "La playa."

When he says "we," he's referring to a pretty impressive group of joggers. Red Sox slugger David Ortiz and Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano are part of the group, along with a host of other big leaguers and even unsigned prospects. They put on tennis shoes and do sprints, distance running and resistance training, and attract quite a crowd of baseball-crazy sun-bathers on hand to witness the weekly All-Star parade.

For Santiago, it's a particularly difficult capper to a week full of weightlifting and cardiovascular work, but the pain pays off at the end of the morning workout. That's when the players gather at a nearby restaurant for a big lunch of local specialties such as rice and beans, plantains, chicken and fish, and "the big-money guys pay."

"It's my favorite day of the week," Santiago says. "I look forward to it."

Santiago also is looking forward to the birth of his first child, a boy who will be named Ramon Jr., due July 15. And he's looking forward to continuing to help the Tigers, something manager Jim Leyland seems more than willing to facilitate a few times a week.

"He's a good player," Leyland says. "He's a nice player to have. He's versatile, he's a switch-hitter, he's got good hands and an accurate arm. He's a nice little player for us."

Santiago, who will turn 30 in August, hit .282 for the Tigers in 58 games last year and is batting .287 (60-for-209) in 95 games since the start of the 2007 season. He says there's a clear correlation between the increased intensity of his offseason fitness regimen -- he also plays winter ball in the Dominican -- and his improved numbers.

"I think as I've gotten older and gotten more experience, I've matured and learned to get myself ready," he says. "It's a long season."


Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Edwin Jackson (0-0, 3.38 ERA)
Jackson couldn't repeat the dominance from his first Tigers start when he took the mound last Sunday against the Rangers, but he kept the Tigers close enough for a late-inning comeback. The Rangers roughed up Jackson for two-run homers in the first and third innings, but he not only held Texas scoreless from there, he lasted six innings in the process. His 13 innings through two starts have reinforced team hopes that he'll emerge as an innings-eater on the staff, not to mention a maturing young starter set to follow up on last year's success with Tampa Bay. Jackson won both of his previous career starts against the Mariners, allowing a lone run on nine hits over 15 combined innings.

SEA: LHP Erik Bedard (1-0, 2.02 ERA
The left-hander pitched the best game of his tenure with the Mariners in his previous outing, holding the Athletics to two hits over the first eight innings and three hits in 8 1/3 innings. He retired 11 of 12 batters during one stretch and 13 straight in another. His left shoulder obviously is healthy again, and he threw 102 pitches overall, 67 of them for strikes. He has 14 strikeouts in his first two starts.

Tidbits
... Reliever Joel Zumaya (sore right shoulder) was transferred from Class A Lakeland to Triple-A Toledo, where he'll continue to rehab out of the bullpen for the Mud Hens on Saturday. "It's exciting to me that he's healthy," Leyland said. "The biggest thing is health and strikes."
... Dontrelle Willis (anxiety disorder) will begin his rehab with Lakeland on Tuesday. Leyland said Willis pitched in an extended spring training game Thursday and the reports said he "looked fantastic." Leyland said the left-hander threw 62 pitches and that 48 of them were strikes. "They were legitimate strikes, too," added Leyland, who was encouraged by Willis' velocity being in the 90-92 mph range. "The younger kids weren't swinging at balls outside the strike zone."
... After allowing seven runs (five earned) in the first two games this season, Tigers relievers have posted a 2-0 record and a 1.90 ERA in the last seven games. Opponents are batting .146 (12-for-82) against Tigers relievers in that stretch.

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

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

On television
• FS-D, FS-D+

On radio
• WXYT 1270

Up next
• Sunday: Tigers (Rick Porcello, 0-1, 7.20 ERA) at Mariners (Carlos Silva, 0-1, 6.00 ERA), 4:10 p.m. ET
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 2-0, 0.68 ERA) at Angels (Jered Weaver, 1-1, 3.09 ERA), 10:05 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

Detroit AVG
:curtis: Granderson, CF .205
:placido: Polanco, 2B .282
Ordonez, RF .270
Cabrera, M, 1B .513
Guillen, LF .176
:thames: Thames, DH .286
Laird, C .321
Inge, 3B .265
Santiago, SS .333


Seattle AVG
Suzuki, RF .308
Chavez, LF .386
Griffey Jr., DH .231
Beltre, 3B .214
Sweeney, M, 1B .250
Lopez, J, 2B .206
Johnson, R, C .188
Betancourt, SS .333
Gutierrez, F, CF .212

55 degrees and Mostly Cloudy at Game Time

East Winds around 10mph

GO JACKSON (yawn! I can't deal with these late starts!)

Go Guillen!

Jackson is 27 outs away from a perfect game...

DOUBLE!!

inning over

Inge hitting .257 and dropping fast...

Inning 2
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Marcus Thames grounds out, third baseman Adrian Beltre to first baseman Mike Sweeney.

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Gerald Laird singles on a line drive to left fielder Endy Chavez.

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Brandon Inge called out on strikes.

B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Ramon Santiago pops out to pitcher Erik Bedard.

cat

CMON GUYS DON'T GET SWEPT!!!

Bottom Half

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Mike Sweeney grounds out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Jose Lopez pops out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera in foul territory.

B:1 S:0 O:3 -
Rob Johnson flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson

0-0 after 2 innings

WAKE UP THEM BATS, BOYZ!!!

at least got a single

Inning 3
Top Half

B:3 S:2 O:0 -
Curtis Granderson singles on a line drive to right fielder Ichiro Suzuki.

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Placido Polanco flies out to center fielder Franklin Gutierrez.

Cleveland beat NYY 22-4 today.

B:4 S:1 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez walks. Curtis Granderson to 2nd.

Happy Birthday Miggy...

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera called out on strikes.

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

at least got a single

BLESS IT MIGGY! CMON!!!

STOP STRIKIN' OUT ON YER BIRTHDAY, BUD!

B:2 S:2 O:3 -
Carlos Guillen grounds out, second baseman Jose Lopez to first baseman Mike Sweeney.

another waste of runners on base!

0-0

57 degrees should be warm enough for Miggy to hit... He did well last night with the same temps

Bottom Half

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Yuniesky Betancourt grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Franklin Gutierrez called out on strikes.