GDT: 8/22/09 - DET (65-56) AT OAK (53-68) - 9:05 p.m. ET

OAKLAND -- Placido Polanco has hit leadoff in the Tigers' past two games, not because manager Jim Leyland wanted him there, but because he needed them there.

"He's the only option I have," Leyland said. "I like him second. ... He's an excellent hitter, but he doesn't walk."

The Tigers will have their primary option back when they face the A's in the second game of a three-game set on Saturday.

After a two-day break to clear his head, Curtis Granderson returns to center field and the No. 1 spot in the order.

"He's in a funk," Leyland said of Granderson, who has hit .226 since July 28. "We need to get him out of it. ... I wanted to give him a few days away."

It's no coincidence that Granderson's days away came against a pair of left-handed starters.

Granderson is batting .178 in 129 at-bats against lefties this year. The All-Star had a .259 average against them last season.

Leyland said part of the problem is that Granderson is facing better left-handers now than he did in 2008.

"They've been closer together, too," Leyland said. "If you're struggling against lefties and you see a bunch of them in a row, that can be disastrous."

Fortunately for Granderson, Detroit faces a righty in Oakland's Trevor Cahill on Saturday. Granderson is batting .283 with a .904 OPS when facing right-handers, hitting 21 of his 23 homers.

The 28-year-old has also been a better hitter on the road (.270 average) than at home (.237), something else Leyland thinks could help turn him around.

"He's been good on the road," Leyland said. "It's the opposite of what the rest of the club has done, really. ... Hopefully, that will help take care of it."
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Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Armando Galarraga (6-10, 5.16 ERA)
The Tigers hope Galarraga can get back on a routine and back up to full strength after a throat infection left him unable to eat solid food for a few days and sapped his energy last week. Still, the Tigers wouldn't mind seeing the same deception Galarraga used in his return to strike out six batters over five innings while allowing just four hits. For someone who still looked worn down and struggled mightily with his pace in his opening inning, Galarraga had better velocity on his fastball than he had in some of his healthy starts. He's 2-1 with a 6.97 ERA in six career outings against Oakland, four of them starts.

OAK: RHP Trevor Cahill (6-12, 4.97 ERA)
Cahill handled the White Sox through five innings on Sunday, holding them to just two hits. He allowed two runs in the sixth, though, then let the first two White Sox hitters reach base in the seventh before he was chased. "I started off good with some quick innings," Cahill said, "but I got into a little trouble when I was going through the lineup for the second and third time." The Tigers tagged Cahill for seven earned runs in 2 1/3 innings -- a career low for the righty -- on May 17.

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Tidbits

...Dontrelle Willis, removed from his first rehab start after 1 1/3 innings on Wednesday due to soreness in his right hip, was examined by Dr. Grant Jones on Thursday. Head athletic trainer Kevin Rand said X-rays were negative, but that the area was inflamed. MRI exam results have has been sent to Dr. Bryan Kelly in New York for further study.
... Dr. James Andrews performed arthroscopic surgery on Joel Zumaya on Friday, removing a bone fragment from the reliever's right shoulder. Rand said Andrews thinks Zumaya "will be ready for Spring Training."
... Nate Robertson threw five shutout innings with Triple-A Toledo on Thursday. He was followed by Jeremy Bonderman, who then pitched two perfect innings in relief. "It was Nate's best outing since he's been down there," Rand said. "Bonderman showed a little more life on his fastball. They're both moving in the right direction."
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Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Sunday: Tigers (Rick Porcello, 10-7, 4.34 ERA) at Athletics (Brett Tomko, 2-2, 4.21 ERA), 4:05 p.m. ET
• Monday: Tigers (Justin Verlander, 13-7, 3.29 ERA) at Angels (Jered Weaver, 13-4, 3.89 ERA), 10:05 p.m. ET
• Tuesday: Tigers (Jarrod Washburn, 8-7, 3.18 ERA) at Angels (John Lackey, 8-6, 4.00 ERA), 10:05 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

Detroit AVG
Granderson, CF .255
Polanco, 2B .269
Guillen, C, LF .244
Cabrera, M, 1B .335
Huff, A, DH .251
Thomas, C, RF .247
Inge, 3B .241
Avila, C .435
Santiago, SS .256

Oakland AVG
Kennedy, A, 3B .278
Davis, R, CF .296
Suzuki, K, C .275
Hairston, S, LF .286
Sweeney, R, RF .274
Ellis, M, 2B .273
Cust, DH .235
Barton, D, 1B .167
Pennington, SS .262

still - grandy is good on defense, and when he hits, he hits. I have no problem with him.

Current Conditions

Oakland Coliseum

Mostly Cloudy 63 F

Humidity: 73 %

Wind: from the W at 15 mph

Barometer: 29.88 in

last updated: 8/22/09 5:05 PM PDT

Inning 1
Top Half

B:2 S:2 O:0 -
Curtis Granderson doubles (15) on a line drive to right fielder Ryan Sweeney.


B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Placido Polanco singles on a soft line drive to center fielder Rajai Davis. Curtis Granderson to 3rd.

B:1 S:2 O:1 - Carlos Guillen grounds into a force out,
shortstop Cliff Pennington to second baseman Mark Ellis. Curtis
Granderson scores. Placido Polanco out at 2nd. Carlos Guillen to 1st.
DET 1, OAK 0

B:1 S:2 O:2 - Miguel Cabrera grounds into a force out,
shortstop Cliff Pennington to second baseman Mark Ellis. Carlos Guillen
out at 2nd. Miguel Cabrera to 1st.

B:3 S:1 O:3 -
Aubrey Huff grounds out, second baseman Mark Ellis to first baseman Daric Barton.

DET 1, OAK 0 after .5 inning

Bottom Half

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Adam Kennedy flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Rajai Davis lines out to second baseman Placido Polanco.


B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Kurt Suzuki singles on a ground ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Scott Hairston flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

DET 1, OAK 0 after 1 inning

Inning 2
Top Half

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Clete Thomas swinging.


B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Brandon Inge swinging.


B:1 S:3 O:3 -
Alex Avila called out on .

DET 1, OAK 0 after 1.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:1 O:0 -
Ryan Sweeney singles on a ground ball to right fielder Clete Thomas.


B:4 S:0 O:0 -
Mark Ellis walks. Ryan Sweeney to 2nd.

B:4 S:1 O:0 -
Jack Cust walks. Ryan Sweeney to 3rd. Mark Ellis to 2nd.

darn it Gala, don't you know where the strike zone is???

THROW STRIKES!!!!!!!

B:4 S:1 O:0 -
Coaching visit to mound.

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Daric Barton out on a sacrifice fly to right fielder Clete Thomas. Ryan Sweeney scores. Mark Ellis to 3rd.
DET 1, OAK 1

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Cliff Pennington singles on a line drive to center fielder Curtis Granderson. Mark Ellis scores. Jack Cust to 2nd.
OAK 2, DET 1

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Adam Kennedy flies out to right fielder Clete Thomas.

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Rajai Davis singles on a soft ground ball to shortstop Ramon Santiago. Jack Cust to 3rd. Cliff Pennington to 2nd.

B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Kurt Suzuki grounds into a force out, shortstop Ramon Santiago to second baseman Placido Polanco. Rajai Davis out at 2nd.

OAK 2, DET 1 AFTER 2 INNINGS

Inning 3
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Ramon Santiago grounds out to first baseman Daric Barton.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Curtis Granderson grounds out, pitcher Trevor Cahill to first baseman Daric Barton.


B:2 S:0 O:3 -
Placido Polanco flies out to center fielder Rajai Davis.

OAK 2, DET 1 AFTER 2.5 INNINGS

Bottom Half

B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Scott Hairston flies out to left fielder Carlos Guillen.


B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Ryan Sweeney flies out to left fielder Carlos Guillen.


B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Mark Ellis singles on a ground ball to right fielder Clete Thomas.


B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Jack Cust swinging.

OAK 2, DET 1 AFTER 3 INNINGS

Inning 4
Top Half


B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Carlos Guillen grounds out, second baseman Mark Ellis to first baseman Daric Barton.

B:4 S:1 O:1 -
Miguel Cabrera walks.

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Aubrey Huff singles on a line drive to right fielder Ryan Sweeney. Miguel Cabrera to 3rd.

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

B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Brandon Inge grounds into a force out, shortstop Cliff Pennington to second baseman Mark Ellis. Aubrey Huff out at 2nd.

OAK 2, DET 1 AFTER 3.5 INNINGS

Bottom Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Daric Barton called out on .

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Cliff Pennington grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Adam Kennedy singles on a ground ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Rajai Davis lines out softly to shortstop Ramon Santiago.

OAK 2, DET 1 AFTER 4 INNINGS

Inning 5
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Alex Avila flies out to left fielder Scott Hairston.

B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Ramon Santiago flies out to right fielder Ryan Sweeney.


B:3 S:1 O:3 -
Curtis Granderson lines out to right fielder Ryan Sweeney.

OAK 2, DET 1 AFTER 4.5 INNINGS

Bottom Half

B:3 S:1 O:1 -
Kurt Suzuki grounds out, shortstop Ramon Santiago to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Scott Hairston flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Ryan Sweeney lines out to second baseman Placido Polanco.

OAK 2, DET 1 AFTER 5 INNINGS

Inning 6
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:0 -
Placido Polanco singles on a line drive to center fielder Rajai Davis.

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Carlos Guillen grounds out to first baseman Daric Barton. Placido Polanco to 2nd.

B:2 S:1 O:1 -
Miguel Cabrera singles on a fly ball to right fielder Ryan Sweeney. Placido Polanco scores.
DET 2, OAK 2



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

B:4 S:1 O:1 -
Aubrey Huff walks. Miguel Cabrera to 2nd.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Clete Thomas flies out to right fielder Ryan Sweeney.


B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Brandon Inge flies out to left fielder Scott Hairston.

DET 2, OAK 2 after 5.5 innings