GDT: 7/4/09 - DET (44-35) at MIN (41-40) - 4:10 p.m. ET

MINNEAPOLIS -- If Edwin Jackson is in All-Star limbo, Saturday is his final chance to pitch himself out of it, one way or the other. But as he readies for his Fourth of July assignment against the Twins in a FOX Saturday Game of the Week broadcast, his first half has shown his wins are a little less independent of his team's fortunes.

Look over the range of prognostications on the American League's All-Star pitching staff, and Jackson seems to have a near-even split between those who put him on the team and those who don't. The raw pitching statistics argue his case that he has been one of the league's best starters so far this year. The wins and losses question that, even if it's greatly a product of one of the league's lowest run-support totals.

The AL's only pitcher with a lower ERA than Jackson's 2.49 is Zack Greinke, who took a 1.95 ERA into Friday's start. Same goes for walks plus hits per innings pitched, where Jackson's 1.04 mark ranks just ahead of Roy Halladay. Jackson's 6.98 hits per nine innings actually leads the league. His record, however, stands at 6-4, including no wins in his past four starts.

He isn't going to pretend he hasn't thought about the chance of going to the All-Star Game. But he isn't going to take that thought out with him to the mound.

"It's one of those things you take in time," Jackson said. "Everyone pretty much knows when they have a chance to make it or not. And when you do have a chance, you try to take advantage of the opportunity. You're not thinking about it while you're out there."

AL All-Star manager Joe Maddon managed Jackson with the Rays last year before Tampa Bay traded him to Detroit for Matt Joyce. But as Tigers manager Jim Leyland can attest from 2007, managers have less control over naming the pitching staff these days. Player balloting plays a primary role in that. Still, a few picks are left to the manager, and Maddon will have one more spot to choose now that Major League Baseball expanded rosters to 33 players to accommodate one more pitcher following last year's extra-inning marathon.

"Yeah, it would be neat to get to a chance be managed by the manager that you had last year," Jackson said. "It would be like reliving old memories. Me and Joe had a pretty good relationship, so it wouldn't be a bad thing. It would be fun. Maybe get a chance to be with some old teammates."

Maddon likely will have largely made up his mind before Jackson takes the mound Saturday afternoon at the Metrodome. Still, one more solid outing wouldn't hurt. A win, moreover, would greatly help the Tigers as they meander to the end of this long road trip.

Despite Jackson's ERA, the Tigers are just 9-7 in games he starts, only one game better than their record behind Armando Galarraga through his struggles. Yet they've won his past two starts with ninth-inning rallies, beating the Cubs on Ryan Raburn's walkoff shot June 23 and pushing past the Astros on Brandon Inge's two-out, ninth-inning blast.

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Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Edwin Jackson (6-4, 2.49 ERA)
Jackson hasn't won in his past four starts, including a no-decision for his seven innings of three-run ball in the Tigers' comeback win Sunday at Houston, but his stinginess is all over the AL leaderboards. He's second in the AL to Greinke in ERA, second in hits per nine innings and third in WHIP ratio. Yet his 5.15 runs of support per nine innings as the pitcher of record ranks lowest on the Tigers' staff and near the low among AL starters. His last outing with more than three earned runs allowed came against the Twins, who put up four seventh-inning runs on him in defeat May 4 at Comerica Park.

MIN: LHP Francisco Liriano (4-8, 5.62 ERA)
Liriano delivered his best start of the season in St. Louis when he held the Cardinals to two runs on four hits over seven innings. The left-hander was finally able to get ground balls in the contest, with 12 of his outs coming on groundouts. Liriano has been struggling to deliver longer outings and his rotation spot was in jeopardy before the start. But now he'll see if he can continue the success when he faces the Tigers in the holiday contest. Liriano is 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA in eight career appearances (six starts) vs. Detroit.
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Tidbits

... Inge and Justin Verlander were the June winners for Tigers Player and Pitcher of the Month honors, respectively. Inge batted .287 for the month with six home runs and 28 RBIs. Verlander went 2-1 with a 2.91 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 34 innings.
... Magglio Ordonez is 6-for-17 lifetime against Liriano with two doubles and a home run. Placido Polanco is 6-for-20 for his career against Liriano.
... Twins catcher Joe Mauer is 3-for-8 with a double and four RBIs off Jackson.
... Ramon Santiago rejoined the Tigers in Minnesota after missing two games to return to Detroit and be with his wife, who went into labor and was hospitalized but did not yet give birth to their first child. She returned home and could give birth at any time, but Santiago likely will remain with the team through this series.

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Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Sunday: Tigers (Rick Porcello, 8-5, 3.90 ERA) at Twins (Nick Blackburn, 6-4, 3.10 ERA), 2:10 p.m. ET
• Monday: Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 5-7, 5.34 ERA) vs. Royals (TBD), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Tuesday: Tigers (Justin Verlander, 8-4, 3.54 ERA) vs. Royals (Bruce Chen, 0-2, 4.38 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET

Starting Lineups:

TIGERS

1. :curtis: Granderson, CF
   
2. :placido: Polanco, 2B
   
3. Cabrera, 1B
   
4. :thames: Thames, DH
   
5. Raburn, LF
   
6. Inge, 3B
   
7. Ordonez, RF
   
8. :dusty: Ryan, C
   
9. Everett, SS
   

P: :jackson: Edwin Jackson

TWINS

1. Denard Span, CF
   
2. Brendan Harris, SS
   
3. Joe Mauer, DH
   
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
   
5. Jason Kubel, LF
   
6. Michael Cuddyer, RF
   
7. Brian Buscher, 3B
   
8. Jose Morales, C
   
9. Nick Punto, 2B
   

P: Francisco Liriano

Happy 4h, everyone. I'll be at church but then will be back.

End of 2, no score.

Jackson at 44 pitches.

Grandy K swining

Polly flies to center.

Miggy flies out

Inning 1
Top Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson swinging.


B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Placido Polanco swinging.


B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera singles on a line drive to right fielder Michael Cuddyer.


B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Marcus Thames called out on .


Bottom Half

B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Denard Span flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:3 S:3 O:2 -
Brendan Harris called out on .


B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Joe Mauer walks.


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Justin Morneau singles on a ground ball to left fielder Ryan Raburn. Joe Mauer to 2nd.


B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Jason Kubel flies out to left fielder Ryan Raburn.

0-0 after 1 inning

Inning 2
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Ryan Raburn flies out to right fielder Michael Cuddyer.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Brandon Inge flies out to center fielder Denard Span.

B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez doubles (10) on a line drive to left fielder Jason Kubel.

B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Dusty Ryan walks.

B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Adam Everett called out on .

Bottom Half

B:4 S:0 O:0 -
Michael Cuddyer walks.

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Brian Buscher swinging.

B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Jose Morales swinging.

B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Nick Punto walks. Michael Cuddyer to 2nd.

B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Denard Span grounds into a force out, shortstop Adam Everett to second baseman Placido Polanco. Nick Punto out at 2nd.

0-0 after 2 innings

Inning 3
Top Half

B:3 S:3 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson swinging.

B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Placido Polanco flies out to left fielder Jason Kubel.

B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera flies out to left fielder Jason Kubel.

Bottom Half

B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Brendan Harris flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:3 S:1 O:2 -
Joe Mauer grounds out, shortstop Adam Everett to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Justin Morneau doubles (22) on a line drive to right fielder Magglio Ordonez.

B:1 S:0 O:3 -
Jason Kubel pops out to catcher Dusty Ryan in foul territory.

0-0 after 3 innings

Inning 4
Top Half

B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Marcus Thames pops out to second baseman Nick Punto.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Ryan Raburn lines out to third baseman Brian Buscher.

B:1 S:3 O:3 -
Brandon Inge swinging.

Bottom Half

B:1 S:2 O:0 -
Michael Cuddyer homers (13) on a fly ball to left field.
MIN 1, DET 0



B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Brian Buscher swinging.

B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Jose Morales grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Nick Punto singles on a ground ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
With Denard Span batting, Nick Punto steals (7) 2nd base.

B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Denard Span flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

MIN 1, DET 0 after 4 innings

come on guys...

Inning 5
Top Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez swinging.

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Dusty Ryan pops out to second baseman Nick Punto in foul territory.

B:3 S:1 O:3 -
Adam Everett grounds out softly to first baseman Justin Morneau.

MIN 1, DET 0 after 4.5 innings

Use some of that fire you had last night!

msgol

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Brendan Harris pops out to third baseman Brandon Inge in foul territory.

B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Joe Mauer on foul tip.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Justin Morneau homers (20) on a fly ball to right center field.
MIN 2, DET 0

Ed's pitching nice. Only two runs, and no support!

gogetem!! Happy 4th!!

B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Jason Kubel swinging.

MIN 2, DET 0 after 5 innings

gdennis59 wrote:

Ed's pitching nice. Only two runs, and no support!

What's new... he should be pissed at his team mates!

Inning 6
Top Half

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson pops out to shortstop Brendan Harris.

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Placido Polanco grounds out, third baseman Brian Buscher to first baseman Justin Morneau.

let's hope those fireworks mean some Tigers runs!!!!!!!!

B:2 S:1 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera pops out to second baseman Nick Punto.

MIN 2, DET 0 after 5.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Michael Cuddyer swinging.

B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Brian Buscher pops out to shortstop Adam Everett.

B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Jose Morales singles on a ground ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

111 pitches for :jackson:

c'mon guys - Jackson needs backup!! If the Tigers want to stay in the hunt, they'd better do something.

B:0 S:3 O:3 -
Nick Punto swinging.

112 pitches...

MIN 2, DET 0 after 6 innings