GDT: 7/8/09 - DET (45-38) vs KC (36-47) - 7:05 p.m. ET

DETROIT -- The Tigers are going to give Clete Thomas another shot. They're hoping it can give them the spark he provided them last time around.

"Clete Thomas is going to play [Wednesday] night, somewhere," manager Jim Leyland said.

Wednesday's series finale against the Royals is also the rubber match of the three-game set, as the Tigers try to win a series for the first time in two weeks after dropping six of nine on the road. They'll have to try to pull it out against Zack Greinke, whose two meetings with Detroit this year have both been complete-game victories.

They're hoping Thomas can help them out, as they are with Brandon Inge, who has one last chance to woo fans before balloting for the All-Star Final Vote ends Thursday at 4 p.m. ET.

Thomas' first arrival in Detroit helped ignite a previously dormant Tigers offense on a May roll that helped send the Tigers into command of the American League Central. They haven't given up the division since, but they haven't exactly thrived at the plate, either.

When the Tigers announced after Tuesday's game that they were recalling Thomas from Triple-A Toledo, Leyland said it was about trying to get the same initial impact again.

"He's another left-handed hitter, a good defender with some speed," Leyland said. "He's given us a spark from time to time and started to fight a little bit.

"Is he ready? I don't know, but he potentially gives you some extra life, a live bat and a loud bat. That's basically the situation we're in right now."

Tuesday's three-homer, eight-run outburst on Kansas City pitching helped temper some of those struggles, but they need the consistency. Royals starters Gil Meche and Bruce Chen struggled with control and walks to give Detroit hitters opportunities to drive in runs in each of the first two games in the series. The Tigers couldn't convert Monday, but did it against Chen Tuesday with seven two-out RBIs.

Those baserunners are likely to be scarce against Greinke, who held Detroit to one run in each meeting this year with nine hits and 18 strikeouts over 18 innings. Both victories were part of his dominance over the season's first two months, which he hasn't had the past few weeks.

Thomas went on a tear after arriving from Triple-A Toledo in early May, going 14-for-38 (.368) over his first nine games with three doubles, five RBIs and seven runs scored. He had a two-homer game May 30 at Baltimore before falling into a June swoon, going 3-for-29.

The Tigers optioned him back to Toledo June 11 to have him work on shortening his long swing. He batted .349 (30-for-86) with the Mud Hens, but his progress will best be measured by how he fares against Major League pitching. He had 10 doubles in that stretch, but no home runs.

"He's done pretty well," Leyland said. "He's still going to have his moments. He's a young player, but I think he's an exciting young player. The one thing I like about him is he's an aggressive young player. He's not timid, and I like that."

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Pitching matchup

DET: LHP Lucas French (0-0, 2.35 ERA)
French will get another turn in the Tigers' rotation after tossing 4 2/3 innings of two-run ball on six hits during his first Major League start last Friday at Minnesota. It wasn't a bad outing by any definition, and French showed poise in working in and out of trouble, but Leyland said there was some rust simply from the fact that he hadn't pitched in more than a week. Expect some crispness now that he'll get a regular dose of work between starts. One oddity from his outing was a huge total of 15 fly balls, compared with just two grounders.

KC: RHP Zack Greinke (10-4, 2.00 ERA)
Greinke never looked comfortable in his previous start against the White Sox. He allowed a homer in the second, and allowed four runs -- two earned -- over six innings. Greinke admitted to feeling a little fatigued after the game. He's been impressive all season -- as his numbers show -- and he's pitched a lot of innings during the first half of the season. But Greinke said he always feels like this midseason, and he'll find a boost of energy as the season heads into the second half. Greinke has faced the Tigers twice this season and the numbers look good. He's allowed just one earned run in two complete games against Detroit.
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Tidbits

...To make room for Thomas on the Tigers' roster, Detroit designated for assignment the contract of outfielder Don Kelly, who batted .250 (12-for-48) with three doubles and three RBIs in 19 games with the Tigers. Major League teams have 48 hours to claim Kelly on waivers, or the Tigers can outright him to Toledo.
... The Tigers are pulling out all the enticements they can to try to push the All-Star Final Vote on Brandon Inge. Fans who vote for Inge at least 100 times will be entered into a contest to win a "Deliver the Game Ball to the Mound" fantasy package for the August 4 game. Voting continues at MLB.com and tigers.com through 4 p.m. ET Thursday.
... Placido Polanco (3-for-8) and Gerald Laird (3-for-6) have six of the Tigers' nine hits against Greinke this year.

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Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Tigers (Edwin Jackson, 6-4, 2.59 ERA) vs. Indians (Carl Pavano, 7-7, 5.36 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 5-7, 5.03 ERA) vs. Indians (Cliff Lee, 4-8, 3.45 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

Kansas City AVG
DeJesus, D, LF .258
Bloomquist, SS .283
Butler, 1B .287
Guillen, J, RF .250
Pena, B, DH .326
Teahen, 3B .288
Olivo, C .249
Callaspo, 2B .300
Freel, CF .152


Detroit AVG
Granderson, CF .257
Polanco, 2B .262
Cabrera, M, 1B .324
Thames, DH .257
Thomas, C, RF .237
Inge, 3B .267
Anderson, J, LF .250
Laird, C .237
Santiago, SS .273

YAY CLETE

Inning 1
Top Half

B:3 S:2 O:1 -
David DeJesus grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Willie Bloomquist pops out to second baseman Placido Polanco.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Billy Butler doubles (24) on a fly ball to right fielder Clete Thomas.

B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Jose Guillen pops out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera in foul territory.

0-0

laprimamirala wrote:

YAY CLETE

I'm so glad to see him back!

Magglio in a platoon now?

He's so far out of it now, but I know he won't go back to AAA

:curtis: walks!

:placido: doubles
:curtis: on 3rd

flies out

Miggy is another Tiger who is getting waaaaaay too complacent!

:thames: with an RBI

:curtis: scores

1-0

rbi 2 out single for CLETE!

2-0

Now Brandon called out on strikes

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

2-0 after 1 inning!

Brandon strikes out tooooooo much!

Inning 2
Top Half

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Mark Teahen grounds out, pitcher Lucas French to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

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

B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Alberto Callaspo flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Ryan Freel walks. Miguel Olivo to 2nd.

Time for a Popsicle.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.

B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Mitch Maier flies out to right fielder Clete Thomas.

DET 2, KC 0 after 1.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:3 S:2 O:0 -
Josh Anderson hits a ground-rule double (4) on a line drive down the left-field line, on fan interference.

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Gerald Laird singles on a bunt ground ball to pitcher Zack Greinke. Josh Anderson to 3rd.

B:0 S:0 O:1 - Ramon Santiago out on a sacrifice fly to
left fielder David DeJesus. Josh Anderson scores. Gerald Laird to 2nd
on the throw.
DET 3, KC 0

B:3 S:0 O:2 -
Curtis Granderson flies out to right fielder Mitch Maier. Gerald Laird to 3rd.

B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Placido Polanco grounds out, third baseman Mark Teahen to first baseman Billy Butler.

DET 3, KC 0 after 2 innings

Inning 3
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
David DeJesus grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Willie Bloomquist grounds out, pitcher Lucas French to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:3 S:1 O:2 -
Billy Butler doubles (25) on a fly ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:2 S:1 O:3 -
Jose Guillen lines out to right fielder Clete Thomas.

DET 3, KC 0 after 2.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Miguel Cabrera singles on a fly ball to right fielder Mitch Maier.

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Marcus Thames swinging.

B:3 S:3 O:2 -
Clete Thomas swinging.