GDT: 4/22/09 - DET (7-6) AT LAA (5-8) - 10:05 p.m. ET

ANAHEIM -- Justin Verlander quickly went from no-hit stuff through four innings of his last start to five hits and five runs in the fifth. If he's going to rebound, he'll have to keep the Angels from waiting him out Wednesday night.

"Verlander could be outstanding," manager Jim Leyland said, "but he has to throw strikes. If he throws strikes, he'll be in good shape."

Leyland had just watched the Angels wear down previously dominant Armando Galarraga for 110 pitches over five innings. They had forced 80-plus pitches from Galarraga before he induced the second out of the third inning. Given Verlander's struggles at times with high pitch counts early, this should be a big test for the Tigers' hopes to get seven innings out of Verlander on a consistent basis.

Verlander lasted 7 1/3 innings and 108 pitches at Seattle last Friday despite eight hits allowed and eight strikeouts, precisely because he kept the Mariners to a lone walk. It was a defeat, but it's the kind of outing the Tigers are willing to take. It's the efficiency and the effectiveness that were key.

And it'll be key again for Detroit, because although the Angels possess power potential, it's contact-hitting speedsters like Chone Figgins, Erick Aybar and Maicer Izturis that can give pitchers fits.

"They foul good pitches off. They really seem to be on your pitches," said Zach Miner, who won't have to start in this series but pitched a key inning of relief in Tuesday's series opener. "They're not trying to take too big of swings, and they're just trying to stay with the ball. You kind of saw that with Armando. They kind of ran his pitch count up just fouling pitches off, good pitches."

If Verlander can come up with many of the same pitches he possessed last Friday, he probably won't run that risk. Beyond a high-90s fastball, Verlander's ability to locate his curveball for strikes makes a huge difference in the course of an at-bat and an opponent's plan of attack against him. So, too, does Verlander's pickoff move in the ability to control an opponent's running game.

Verlander's downfall his last time out came once Mariners hitters started attacking his first and second pitches rather than allowing him to get ahead and put him into defensive swings. The Tigers, to some extent, will take that with his stuff as long as he continues to pound the strike zone and challenge hitters to hit his pitches, whether it's a 99-mph fastball or a change of speeds.

By contrast, part of the problem Tuesday for Galarraga seemed to be his mechanics. Leyland pointed out that he was out of sync for the first few innings before he finally worked through it over his final two.

Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Justin Verlander (0-2, 7.88 ERA)
Verlander admitted to feeling as confounded as he's ever been in his last start, when he pitched four perfect, overpowering innings against the Mariners while striking out seven before watching his night unravel in a five-run fifth inning. By his own account, Verlander was working with the best stuff he's had since his no-hitter in June 2007, but a leadoff double in the fifth by Adrian Beltre snowballed into a big inning when the Mariners bunted successfully, third baseman Brandon Inge committed a throwing error and Verlander uncorked a wild pitch.

LAA: LHP Joe Saunders (2-1, 2.18 ERA)
Saunders demonstrated why he was an American League All-Star in 2008 with a superlative effort against the hot-hitting Mariners on Thursday night, snapping their winning streak at six games. The smooth lefty limited the Mariners to one run across seven innings on three hits, his only walk intentional. He struck out three, including a full-count whiff of Wladimir Balentien to leave the bases loaded. Saunders is emerging as one of the game's best and most dependable southpaws at 27, working several off-speed deliveries in with his bread-and-butter sinker. He's deceptively fast, consistently reaching the low 90s. He's 0-1 in two career starts against the Tigers with a 6.35 ERA.


Tidbits

... The Tigers announced Tuesday that they'll make up last week's rainout against the White Sox on Friday, July 24 as part of a day-night doubleheader with games at 1:05 p.m. ET and 7:05. Tickets for the rainout are good for the afternoon games.
... Ryan Raburn is expected to join the club at Angel Stadium on Wednesday, having been recalled from Triple-A Toledo Tuesday night when Marcus Thames went on the 15-day disabled list with a strained intercostal muscle.
... The Tigers also expect to get results from Thames' MRI exam to determine whether he has a simple strain, muscle pull or something worse. Thames said he felt a pop when he hurt the muscle taking early batting practice Tuesday.
... Adam Everett will make his first start at shortstop in over a week, having recovered from the stomach virus that left him unable to hold down food for several days and kept him bedridden for a day or two over the course of the week.

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

On radio
• WXYT 1270/97.1 FM

Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Thursday: Tigers (RHP Edwin Jackson, 1-0, 2.14 ERA) at Angels (LHP Darren Oliver, 0-0, 2.35 ERA), 10:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Tigers (RHP Rick Porcello, 1-1, 3.75 ERA) at Royals (RHP Zack Greinke, (3-0, 0.00 ERA), 8:10 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Tigers (RHP Zach Miner, 1-1, 8.10 ERA) at Royals (RHP Kyle Davies, 1-0, 2.89 ERA), 7:10 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

Detroit AVG
:curtis: Granderson, CF .232
:placido: Polanco, 2B .269
Ordonez, DH .292
Cabrera, M, 1B .451
Guillen, LF .234
Laird, C .314
Inge, 3B .289
Raburn, RF .000
Everett, SS .227

LA Angels AVG
Figgins, 3B .255
Izturis, M, 2B .200
Abreu, LF .373
Hunter, CF .310
Morales, 1B .234
Napoli, C .214
Matthews, RF .200
Rivera, DH .289
Aybar, E, SS .257

Well let's at least take the rest of this season. We're gonna have our hands full with the Royals. Come on Tigers!!! Hit Saunders!!

Much cooler tonight in Anaheim


71 degrees and fair skies


68 degrees at game time

Light Winds

69 degrees and fair skies as of 4pm PST


67 degrees at game time

Light Winds

Fair Skies


Zero chance of Rain

GO TIGERS!

I predict the Tigers will take the next two games from the Angels!

GO VERLANDER!!! Get your ERA below 7.00!

please?

Inning 1
Top Half

B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Curtis Granderson walks.

B:2 S:1 O:0 -
Placido Polanco doubles (6) on a fly ball to center fielder Torii Hunter. Curtis Granderson scores.

B:1 S:0 O:0 -
Coaching visit to mound.

B:2 S:1 O:0 -
Magglio Ordonez singles on a line drive to left fielder Bobby Abreu. Placido Polanco scores.

B:3 S:2 O:2 - Miguel Cabrera grounds into double play,
third baseman Chone Figgins to second baseman Maicer Izturis to first
baseman Kendry Morales. Magglio Ordonez out at 2nd.

B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Carlos Guillen flies out to right fielder Gary MatthewsJr.

2-0

Bottom Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Chone Figgins swinging.

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Maicer Izturis doubles (1) on a fly ball to right fielder Ryan Raburn.

B:4 S:2 O:1 -
Bobby Abreu walks.

B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Torii Hunter swinging.

B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Kendry Morales homers (1) on a fly ball to right field. Maicer Izturis scores. Bobby Abreu scores.

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

LAA 3-2

35 pitch 1st inning for

Inning 2
Top Half

B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Gerald Laird grounds out, second baseman Maicer Izturis to first baseman Kendry Morales.

B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Brandon Inge pops out to first baseman Kendry Morales.

B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Ryan Raburn strikes out swinging.

LAA 3-2

Get your act together JV!

Bottom Half

B:3 S:2 O:0 -
Gary MatthewsJr. singles on a line drive to right fielder Ryan Raburn.

B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Juan Rivera grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Gary MatthewsJr. to 2nd.

B:2 S:0 O:1 -
Erick Aybar doubles (3) on a fly ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson. Gary MatthewsJr. scores.

LAA 4-2

B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Chone Figgins strikes out swinging.

B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Maicer Izturis grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

LAA 4-2 after 2 innings

Inning 3
Top Half

B:1 S:0 O:0 -
Adam Everett doubles (2) on a fly ball to center fielder Torii Hunter.(should have been a fielding error)

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Joe Saunders to first baseman Kendry Morales. Adam Everett to 3rd.


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Placido Polanco flies out to center fielder Torii Hunter.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez singles on a ground ball to right fielder Gary MatthewsJr. Adam Everett scores.

LAA 4-3

B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera singles on a line drive to right fielder Gary MatthewsJr. Magglio Ordonez to 3rd.

Evening all.

B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Carlos Guillen singles on a ground ball to left fielder Bobby Abreu. Magglio Ordonez scores. Miguel Cabrera to 2nd.

Tied 4-4

tigerbob wrote:

Evening all.

Good evening

B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Gerald Laird flies out to right fielder Gary MatthewsJr.


Tied 4-4

JV still struggling it would appear from the posts so far...

Yep

Bottom Half

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Bobby Abreu grounds out, shortstop Adam Everett to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:2 S:0 O:1 -
Torii Hunter doubles (5) on a fly ball to right fielder Ryan Raburn.(should have been the 2nd error by Raburn)

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Kendry Morales grounds out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Torii Hunter to 3rd.