2011 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

LEYLAND... START BEING THE EXPERIENCED MANAGER YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO BE OR PLEASE RESIGN NOW. IF NOT YOU WILL BE FIRED, WHICH IS PROBABLY WHAT IS BEST FOR THE TEAM!

Tigers edged in walk-off fashion yet again

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/1/2011 12:41 AM ET

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CLEVELAND -- Consider the Tigers believers in the Indians' magic April. Now they have to do what they can to change their own fortunes in May.

"They're not a pushover," Rick Porcello said of the Indians after Saturday's 3-2, 13-inning loss.

They most definitely are not, no matter how much Tigers pitching seemed to push them around on Saturday night.

Just under four hours and 13 innings of baseball Saturday night might be best whittled down to two moments, neither of them having to do with Orlando Cabrera's walk-off drive to center field that ended the game.

The sight of Indians hitters flailing helplessly at Al Alburquerque's slider was foremost. Not since Willie Hernandez in his American League MVP season of 1984 had a Tigers reliever struck out six batters over three or more perfect innings. And rarely has a Tigers reliever gotten the same results out of the same pitch for such an extended stretch. It kept the Tigers alive into extra innings, and it provided some momentum for Brayan Villarreal to follow and strike out the side in order in the 12th inning.

The other sight would be the incredulous look on Miguel Cabrera's face as he stood on second base in the 13th inning, having watched Ryan Raburn's drive die on the warning track in left-center field. He extended his arms to the spot in disbelief.

Cabrera led off the inning with a double. He couldn't advance from there. Asked how frustrating the loss was, it was evident.

"A lot," he said. "We played good. Sometimes you have to give credit to them. The last two days, they've come back from behind. That means you have to play harder and you have to score more runs."

One more run might well have done it on Saturday. As it was, Cabrera and Raburn comprised all of Detroit's offense on fourth-inning solo homers. Cabrera homered, doubled and walked three times, two of which were intentional.

It was a standout performance from Alex White and an Indians bullpen that arguably hasn't received the credit it deserves so far this season. It was also another day of struggles to put across runs.

"We just didn't show any patience at the plate," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "That many strikeouts and swinging at the pitches we swung at, that's just not acceptable. That's just the way it is. I'm not going to try to sugarcoat it. Swinging at the pitches we swung at tonight is just not acceptable for a Major League team. That's just poor concentration."

Porcello and White were nearly teammates at the University of North Carolina four years ago, but they were dueling Saturday, trading groundball outs. By the time Orlando Cabrera drove in Michael Brantley for the Tigers' second walk-off loss in as many nights, Porcello and White were almost distant memories.

Much like Friday's series opener, the Tigers took the first lead but missed chances to build on it. Austin Jackson reached base in each of his first three plate appearances but didn't score in any of them. He reached to lead off the first and fifth innings but was stranded after the Indians opted to intentionally walk Miguel Cabrera. Brennan Boesch, the next hitter, was retired.

Indians manager Manny Acta simply wasn't going to let the Tigers' slugger beat them.

"I got overly confident [pitching to him Friday] and he made me pay for it," Acta said. "To me, he's the best hitter in the American League. I'm not talking about batting average. I'm talking about hitter.

"He's the most intimidating guy in the AL. I'm not afraid to say I fear him. I'm petrified of the guy. No disrespect to the guys behind him, but we fear Miggy and we're not afraid to say it."

Cabrera saw exactly one strike over his first four plate appearances combined. He hit it 415 feet to straightaway center field for his seventh home run of the year, this one leading off the fourth inning. Two batters later, Raburn battled out of an 0-2 count to slug a solo homer to right.

Porcello entered the bottom of the fourth inning with a 2-0 lead before Indians catcher and cleanup hitter Carlos Santana halved it with his second home run in as many nights, this one a two-out solo shot.

Michael Brantley's first home run on the year tied the game leading off the sixth, but Porcello kept it tied by stranding the bases loaded, getting Matt LaPorta to fly out to deep center field. It was one of just two flyouts Porcello allowed over seven innings, compared with 10 groundouts. Likewise, White posted a 9-to-2 ratio of groundouts to flyouts.

"I had a good feel for a swingback sinker," Porcello said. "And Alex [Avila] did a great job of calling a game back there, recognizing guys' swings, recognizing what they're looking for and then making calls."

Porcello fanned a season-high seven batters, yet still needed just 100 pitches to last seven innings. Add in Alburquerque's six, Villarreal's three and Daniel Schlereth's strikeout of Jack Hannahan to strand the would-be winning run on third base to end the 11th inning, and the Tigers' staff recorded 17 of its 37 outs by strikeout. The Tigers struck out 12 times in comparison.

"We're battling hard," Porcello said. "Guys are playing their butts off. We're just coming up a little short. I think pretty soon here, we're going to definitely get it going. I think we're right there."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog, and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers fall one run short in finale vs. Tribe

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/1/2011 8:00 PM ET

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CLEVELAND -- Once again, the Tigers and Indians took a tie game into the eighth inning at Progressive Field. This time, the Indians didn't need a walk-off hit to pull it out.

That didn't make it any easier for the Tigers after Sunday's 5-4 loss.

"It's definitely frustrating," Austin Jackson said. "Any time [we] lose, I think we get frustrated. Overall, I don't think we played bad, but we just got the short end this series."

The Tigers actually had the situation they wanted at the end. Miguel Cabrera stood at the plate with two outs in the ninth inning, the potential tying run on first base, and the Indians with no choice but pitch to him.

As much as Tribe manager Manny Acta fears him, he wouldn't have dared move the tying run into scoring position and put the go-ahead run on base, no matter how much Brennan Boesch struggled this series.

Cabrera won the battle with Indians closer Chris Perez, scorching the first pitch he saw through the left side for an RBI single. But the tally he plated merely drew the Tigers within a run. The baserunner who could tie the game still stood on base, awaiting another hit.

Once Perez induced a game-ending flyout from Boesch on his next pitch, Cleveland won the war.

Short of another walk-off hit, it was a fitting way to cap a series in which all three games were tied in the eighth inning or later. All three went down to the final at-bat. All three went in the Indians' favor.

"We have to figure out how to win games," Cabrera said. "We have to turn the page and find a way to play more aggressive. We lost two series. [The Mariners] swept us at home. [Cleveland] swept us here. We've got to do something different and try to win more games.

"We have a great team. We know we can play better. We know we can win."

There was enough frustration percolating in the Tigers clubhouse for the team to hold a closed-door session after the game. Some of the voices were loud enough to be heard down the hall in manager Jim Leyland's office, where Leyland kept his cool while he answered questions from reporters.

"All you can do is try to relax guys as much as you can," Leyland said. "That's what you try to do. And then at some point, you have to say something else. I mean, all you can do is support them. But at some point, you have to step up. That's just the way it is."

No one discussed the details of the meeting, or even the message.

"It's good," third baseman Brandon Inge said. "It's one of those [things] I think can unite the team. We're good, anyway, but I think we'll be better in the long run for it."

Somehow, the Tigers have to find a way to get better from this series. They believe they can.

"We've been in the games," catcher Alex Avila said. "It's been a dogfight. As much as you hate to lose the games, these kind of games make your skin a little bit tougher."

What had been a 2-2 game after seven innings swung wildly in the eighth. Avila's third sacrifice fly of the series drove in Don Kelly to give the Tigers a 3-2 lead and send the back end of the Tigers bullpen into action. But a rough patch that Joaquin Benoit would probably like to forget continued, including a contested hit-by-pitch that set up the Tigers' demise.

Benoit (0-2) recovered from Shin-Soo Choo's leadoff single to battle Carlos Santana for a fly ball to left field and the first out. After a first-pitch foul by Shelley Duncan, however, home-plate umpire Tim Welke ruled Benoit's next delivery hit Duncan on the hands, moving Choo into scoring position. Both Avila and Leyland argued, to no avail.

"That's a tough call for the umpire," Avila said. "When it hit, I thought it hit the bat. He said it hit the hand. There's not much you can do there. For the umpire, that's a judgment call, and that's the way it is. That's definitely a tough call to make, and more times than not, the umpires are right, anyway."

Up came Orlando Cabrera, whose walk-off RBI single won Saturday night's 13-inning contest. He hit a hard ground ball down the third-base line that sent Inge diving.

Inge slowed the ball, but he couldn't stop it, a fact that still bothered him after the game.

"It stayed down," Inge said. "Every ground ball that I'd gotten had hopped up, and then the last ball he hit [didn't]. I just tried to knock it down as much as I could.

"It's just one of those fluky, stupid things. It's just the way that this whole series was going. I catch that ball every time. It hops the same every time. It's a double play."

Instead, the ball rolled slowly into left field, as Choo came around to score the tying run. Two pitches later, Michael Brantley lined a go-ahead single into left field. A Matt LaPorta sacrifice fly plated Cabrera with an insurance run that became critical, once the Tigers put two runners on in the ninth.

It made the showdown with Cabrera much more manageable for the Indians.

"These guys, they're not afraid of him," Acta said. "I am, and you saw it. You saw the result."

What the Tigers saw didn't sit well with them, as they headed home on the bus four games under .500, tying their season low. With the Yankees coming to town, though, they had to move on.

"We're a better team," Ramon Santiago said. "We can turn this around."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog, and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Avila's homers spoiled as bullpen caves
Against Valverde, Yanks prevail in ninth to extend Tigers' skid

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/3/2011 12:40 AM ET

DETROIT -- Each day, it's something different for the Tigers. Only the result is the same.

That's how losing streaks reach seven games. That's also how closers go for long stretches without much work. On Monday, that fact came back to bite the Tigers.

"We've lost seven in a row -- you usually don't use your closer too much when you lose seven in a row," manager Jim Leyland said after two ninth-inning runs off Jose Valverde pulled the Yankees ahead in a 5-3 Tigers loss at Comerica Park.

"We [last] used him last Thursday against Seattle. He didn't pitch in Cleveland at all. That's not a good thing. That means you're not winning games, obviously."

That also means Valverde isn't getting in the pitches he needs to stay fresh. It's an ironic twist, considering overwork in an abundance of close games became Valverde's downfall down the stretch last season.

It wasn't funny irony as the Tigers try to find their way out of a skid that has matched their longest streak of Leyland's tenure. They haven't lost more than seven games in a row since Alan Trammell's final year as manager in 2005.

The Tigers lost seven straight last year, but that streak was interrupted by the All-Star break and featured some blowout losses, capped by an 8-0 defeat to the Rangers on July 20. Detroit lost seven straight to open the 2008 season, but few of those games were close.

The current streak includes four losses that were tied in the eighth inning or later. The Tigers' opponents have won all of those games in their final inning at the plate. This was the first one of those in which Detroit actually got to use its closer.

Leyland had to save Valverde in Cleveland, in case the Tigers took a lead into the ninth or into extra innings.

"He probably hasn't pitched enough, to be honest with you," Leyland said. "So he probably wasn't as sharp as you'd hope. He probably needs to pitch a little bit more. But obviously, you're saying, 'I won't pitch him tonight. We probably have a good chance to win tomorrow. So let's save him.'"

That wasn't a worry on Monday at home, where any lead in the ninth would've won it for the Tigers. Thus, in came Valverde for his first outing in four days, and just his second in eight days. By the time the right-hander left, he had thrown 35 pitches -- 19 of them strikes -- doubled his total of runs allowed over his previous 11 outings this year (one), and matched his previous walk total (two).

The Tigers might have won it in extra innings, the way their offense has been going. But it wasn't the way they expected to fall.

The closeness of the games produces every reason to believe the Tigers can pull out of this. But it isn't happening right now.

"I think that you just know you have a good team and you know it's going to play good," Leyland said. "I don't know if it's going to be tonight or tomorrow or the next day, but this team will play good. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind. We have too many good players. This team will play good."

Take away the first and last innings, and the Tigers arguably played well enough to win.

Solo homers from Alex Avila in the second and seventh innings, respectively, and Miguel Cabrera's third-inning RBI single comprised the Tigers' damage against familiar foe Bartolo Colon, whose career comeback in New York continued with seven strong innings.

Colon fired one fastball after another at Tigers hitters, with enough movement on nearly all of them to avoid hard hits. Austin Jackson saw nothing but fastballs in his first 11 pitches but struck out all three times, comprising nearly half of Colon's seven strikeouts.

Four of those strikeouts took just three pitches, three of the four ending with called third strikes.

"He's a strike-thrower," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Colon. "You don't see him get in too many long counts, you don't see him walk too many, and it really helps us out. We only have to use two guys. We were staying away from [Rafael] Soriano, we wanted to try and stay away from [Dave] Robertson tonight and we were able to do it."

Colon threw 97 pitches over seven innings. By comparison, Tigers starter Justin Verlander labored through six innings with 127 pitches, three off the highest pitch count of his career. Thirty-two of those pitches, though, came in a two-walk, three-hit first inning, punctuated by Jorge Posada's ground-rule double to center field.

That the ball hopped over the fence kept Nick Swisher from scoring a third run, and Verlander took advantage by striking out Russell Martin to strand him there. Brett Gardner singled and scored in the second, but that was all of the damage against Verlander.

Eight of New York's first 10 hitters reached base safely. Verlander scattered two singles and two walks from there.

"He said his arm felt really good," Leyland said. "He probably got overexcited, throwing real hard that early, pushing himself. He's done a good job making pitches at 92-93 [mph] to get outs. Tonight, with this lineup, maybe he was overamped a little bit."

Verlander recorded a quality start but was on the hook for defeat until Avila took Colon deep to left field for his second opposite-field shot and fourth home run on the year.

A 12-pitch battle between Valverde (2-1) and Curtis Granderson that resulted in a leadoff walk seemed to take something out of the right-hander, even though Granderson's wayward slide into second base on a steal attempt allowed Jhonny Peralta to tag him out. Valverde walked Mark Teixeira on four pitches before an infield single from Alex Rodriguez set up Swisher for a ground ball through the middle.

Valverde felt a tingle in his right shoulder, prompting a visit from head athletic trainer Kevin Rand, but he felt fine from there. That's one consolation -- having Valverde available if the Tigers can pull out a lead in one of these games. Right now, that's easier said than done.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog, and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

New-look Tigers break out of funk
Up from Minors, Sizemore collects three hits to back Penny

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/4/2011 1:00 AM ET

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DETROIT -- Scott Sizemore's .408 average from Triple-A Toledo isn't going to translate to the big leagues. Still, he had to get a kick out of looking up at the scoreboard during his last at-bat and seeing the number 1.000 by his name.

Seeing the numbers on the linescore had to be a little satisfying. It certainly was for those who had been through the seven straight losses the Tigers had been handed leading into Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Yankees.

"We needed it," manager Jim Leyland said. "There's no question about that."

No Tigers team has lost eight straight under Leyland in his six seasons managing in Detroit. Just seven other Major League teams can say the same since Leyland took over in 2006. The way this game was shaping up, it looked like a difficult feat to maintain.

On a night when CC Sabathia was looking for his first win at Comerica Park since 2007 with the Indians, when Brad Penny needed a decent outing to preserve a bullpen that had less than half its relievers available and when Sizemore stepped off a plane from Pawtucket and into a lineup that had sub-.200 hitters on either side of him, the Tigers had their best all-around game in a while.

Just as important after four straight late-inning losses, the Tigers put it together for nine innings. Then they were looking at the next nine on Wednesday night.

"We need this game, and many more," said Magglio Ordonez, whose best all-around game in four weeks came with runners on the bases for him to advance.

The Tigers called up Sizemore from Triple-A Toledo after Monday's 5-3 loss, hoping his hot start at Toledo could provide a spark for a Tigers offense that hit .249 in April and had struggled to plate key runs through two games in May.

Nobody on the Tigers expects Sizemore to roll along at the same pace. On the other hand, nobody expects Austin Jackson's .188 average entering the night to continue for a long stretch, either. Likewise, the .149 average next to Ordonez's name on the Comerica Park scoreboard after his first two at-bats seemed a little unrealistic, bad right ankle or no.

Once Sizemore followed Jackson's leadoff double in the first inning with one of his own, the ignition was apparently turned on.

"It sparked us a little bit," Sizemore said.

Sizemore and Jackson came up together out of Spring Training last year, making their Major League debuts on Opening Day, but they've seemed to be heading in different directions since. While Jackson slashed his way to American League Rookie of the Year consideration last year, Sizemore was optioned to Toledo by mid-May and never regained his second-base job.

The question with Sizemore this spring was whether he could win it back, which he didn't, losing out to Will Rhymes in a close competition. The spring question with Jackson was how much he could help himself if he cut down on strikeouts. Their numbers this season have been on different levels, and at different levels.

While Sizemore earned his callup, Jackson has had to outrun the perception that he's ticketed for Toledo. Tuesday was quite an answer.

"I'd like to take credit for it," Sizemore said, "but I think Austin did that all on his own. He's a great hitter. He's going to come around, sooner rather than later."

Their back-to-back doubles set up Ordonez's RBI groundout and Miguel Cabrera's sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead. Jackson grounded out in the second to strand two, then Sizemore's single leading off the third was erased by Ordonez's double-play grounder.

Sabathia had retired six straight Tigers before a four-pitch walk to Brandon Inge brought the top of the lineup back around with one out in the fifth. Jackson's ensuing line drive on a 1-2 pitch into the left-field corner set the rest of the offense in motion.

Jackson flew around the bases and challenged Brett Gardner's arm, beating a throw to third. It was the second triple of the season for last year's AL runner-up in triples, and it sent the Tigers' dugout into a frenzy.

"That's a good feeling," Cabrera said. "When he does that, it makes our offense go."

The triple plated Inge and set up Sizemore for an RBI single and a 4-0 Tigers lead. Ordonez's ensuing single broke an 0-for-14 slump.

The top three spots in the Tigers' lineup had combined for a .220 average this season. On Tuesday, Jackson, Sizemore and Ordonez combined for seven of Detroit's 11 hits. Sizemore led the way with a 3-for-4 night.

"I'm not going to say we're out of our little slump," Leyland said. "But I do believe hitting's contagious. Sometimes when two or three guys get hitting, they all get hitting."

It was plenty of support for Penny (2-3), who recovered from a long first inning -- and 50 pitches through two innings -- to toss a quality start on a night when Leyland had a shorthanded bullpen. The only run Penny allowed over his six innings was an unearned tally that reached base on a Sizemore error. Penny scattered six hits while walking two and striking out one.

"They had me on the hook early," Penny said. "They had me [looking at a] five-inning start. You'd better believe it. And I don't know, the second time through, every one of them were swinging first pitch, second pitch. Today, my stuff wasn't great, and they bailed me out."

Two of those hits came in the sixth inning, which should have set up a New York rally. But baserunning miscues from Robinson Cano and Jorge Posada left both of them out between first and second on back-to-back plays. With Penny starting to feel soreness in his intercostal region, it was arguably a rescue.

"I should've kept going," Cano said. "Those are the kinds of mistakes you just learn, so next time, keep running."

With Joaquin Benoit, Ryan Perry, Brayan Villarreal and Al Alburquerque all resting, Daniel Schlereth bridged the gap to closer Jose Valverde with two quality innings. Though Mark Teixeira connected for his eighth homer of the year, and his fourth off Tigers pitching, it was a solo shot.

Schlereth didn't know he was going two innings until he went out for the eighth. But he knew the importance. So did everyone.

"We needed this one tonight," Schlereth said.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog, and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Early support more than enough for Scherzer
Nine-strikeout gem gives Tigers back-to-back wins vs. Yankees

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/4/2011 11:55 PM ET

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DETROIT -- On the day Tigers manager Jim Leyland put his reshuffled lineup to work, Max Scherzer didn't need much offensive support. He gladly took it, of course, but the way the right-hander attacked the Yankees' lineup, the offense was a bonus.

In the case of Magglio Ordonez, it was a big bonus.

"I'm on record saying if he doesn't hit, I'm an idiot -- a lot of people think I am, anyway," Leyland said after Ordonez's two-run homer helped power the Tigers to a 4-0 win on Wednesday night at Comerica Park.

There was a certain irony to it, in more ways than one. The man who was dropped down in the retooled Tigers batting order played a big role in igniting it on a night when there wasn't much offense needed. The hitters ahead of Ordonez played their part, too. That includes new No. 3 hitter Brennan Boesch, who took advantage of the strikes that Yankees starter Freddy Garcia had to throw him.

Scherzer took that support, took advantage of a Yankees lineup searching for runs and kept New York's hitters off balance all night. In so doing, he became the first Tigers starter since Frank Tanana in 1988 to boast a 5-0 record this early in the season.

Scherzer isn't going to get too wrapped up in it, knowing that wins and strong pitching sometimes don't correlate. In Scherzer's case, though, his record is a pretty accurate reflection of the way he has been pitching.

A month ago, Scherzer opened his season watching the Bronx Bombers loft fly balls into the wind blowing toward the short right-field porch at Yankee Stadium, and he tried to hold on. But he didn't stop attacking hitters. He won anyway, thanks to an offensive outburst from the road team.

Different surroundings, vastly different conditions, same approach.

"My mentality is the best pitch in the game is strike 1," Scherzer said. "You don't have to be too fine, but you have to be aggressive. Especially with a lineup like that, it's even more imperative to be aggressive with your fastball. If you start falling behind in counts and get predictable, that's when they make you pay. That's what they're good at, and they're really good at it.

"Tonight, I was able to execute, and -- even in 1-0 counts -- get back to 1-1 counts. That's crucial for me to do that."

One night after Brad Penny adjusted to get quick outs from the Yankees' hitters the second time through the lineup, Scherzer came out firing from the outset. Not only did he send down 10 straight hitters after Derek Jeter led off the game with a single, Scherzer mowed down the heart of New York's lineup for four consecutive strikeouts.

Mark Teixeira, who homered off Scherzer in April, went down swinging at a changeup in the first inning and was followed by Alex Rodriguez, who looked at strike three to strand Jeter on first. Robinson Cano and Nick Swisher both went down swinging to start the second -- Cano on a fastball, Swisher on another offspeed pitch.

"His changeup was that good, where we just needed to show his slider, rather than have to use it as much," catcher Alex Avila said. "We were able to use his fastball and changeup to get outs this time around, where in previous starts, we used his slider to get outs. You go according to what's working, as well as what hitters are telling you."

Scherzer's manager was supporting the attack mentality.

"The one thing that I've felt all along for years, ever since I've been in the league, if you try to pitch real careful to the Yankees from pitch 1, you're going to get beat," Leyland said, "because you're going to miss, they're going to take and they're going to get you in hitters' counts all the time. They're going to wear you out."

Scherzer fired first-pitch strikes to 17 of 29 batters. More importantly, he had just three 2-0 counts.

"You have to give him some credit," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "The guys said his ball was moving a lot; it was running a lot. His changeup was good, and his breaking ball was good. He seemed to be ahead in the count a lot, could throw his changeup when he was behind in the count, or slider when he was behind in the count, and he shut us down."

The last Tigers starter to get out to a 5-0 start at any point was Jeremy Bonderman in 2007. But he was winless in April.

Ordonez can't boast nearly that quick of a start. But in just more than 24 hours since his average dropped to .149, Ordonez has gone 4-for-5. The last two hits came against an opponent he knows quite well.

Ordonez's first hit was part of a string of three consecutive singles off Garcia leading off the second inning, capped by Jhonny Peralta's RBI liner to center. Garcia kept it at that for the inning, but Boesch's one-out single restarted the Tigers' offense in the third.

Boesch, who replaced Ordonez in the No. 3 spot on Wednesday, saw two strikes in his first two at-bats combined and hit both for singles. The second time, Miguel Cabrera sent Boesch home by pulling a line drive down the left-field line and into the corner.

Garcia (1-2) caught his breath by inducing a flyout from just-activated designated hitter Victor Martinez, but Ordonez jumped on Garcia's first-pitch fastball, sending it over the bullpen and into the left-field seats for his first home run since last July 19. That was five days before Ordonez's season-ending right ankle injury.

The ankle has seemingly bothered Ordonez since, and it's playing a role in limiting his swing. For one night, though, it seemed to be no problem.

"I'm not going to get carried away," Leyland said.

For one night, pitching and hitting seemed to go in tandem.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog, and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

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AND FROM THE YANKS RECAP...

Garcia outdueled as Yanks go quietly
Tigers ride Scherzer's gem to second win in as many nights

By Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com | 5/5/2011 12:15 AM ET

DETROIT -- The Yankees were annoyed after missing several run-scoring opportunities in Tuesday's loss to the Tigers. But there would be no such feelings after Wednesday's game.

Max Scherzer didn't give them many to begin with.

The Tigers right-hander hurled eight dominant innings, limiting the Yankees to just four hits while handing them a 4-0 loss at Comerica Park.

With that, New York dropped back-to-back games for just the second time this season and moved to 5-5 on the road.

"You have to give him some credit," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "The guys said his ball was moving a lot; it was running a lot. His changeup was good, and his breaking ball was good. He seemed to be ahead in the count a lot, could throw his changeup when he was behind in the count, or slider when he was behind in the count, and he shut us down."

Scherzer, having given up five runs and 11 baserunners to the Indians in his last start, walked just two batters and struck out nine.

In outdueling Freddy Garcia -- who gave up four runs in seven innings -- the 26-year-old Scherzer got ahead of 17 of the 29 hitters he faced.

"My mentality is the best pitch in the game is strike 1," Scherzer said. "You don't have to be too fine, but you have to be aggressive. Especially with a lineup like that, it's even more imperative to be aggressive with your fastball. If you start falling behind in counts and get predictable, that's when they make you pay."

The Yankees put just one runner in scoring position against Scherzer in the first seven innings, then got his pitch count in the triple digits and put runners on first and second to start the eighth. But Derek Jeter flied out and Curtis Granderson grounded into an inning-ending double play to end New York's biggest threat of the night.

The Yankees were shut out for the third time this season and have lost back-to-back games to a team that had dropped six straight heading into this four-game series.

"We can never worry about what they're doing," said Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who's batting .154 (8-for-52) in his last 14 games. "We always have to worry about us winning our race. We know around here that when teams play us, they're going to come out with their 'A' game. So they almost become a little more dangerous when they're playing that poorly. I just know we can play better, and we will."

Facing a Tigers lineup that had Victor Martinez back for the first time since he hit the disabled list on April 19 with a strained right groin, Garcia broke a streak of eight straight starts in which he had allowed three earned runs or fewer, dating back to last season.

Detroit scored on a single by Jhonny Peralta in the second, then added three runs in the third on an RBI double by Miguel Cabrera, then the first homer of the year -- a two-run shot -- by struggling veteran Magglio Ordonez.

Between innings, YES Network cameras caught Garcia venting his frustrations in the Yankees' dugout. The 35-year-old right-hander said he was just upset at his pitch location against Ordonez -- a first-pitch, inside-corner sinker that caught a little too much of the plate -- and not catcher Francisco Cervelli.

"I wasn't happy because I threw that pitch," Garcia said. "That was a bad pitch for me. I live away and sometimes go in, but I threw that pitch and I was like, 'Nah, that was a bad pitch.' But we talked about it, and we settled down.

"I have no reason to be mad at [Cervelli]. I'm the one who threw the ball. If I don't want to throw that pitch, I don't throw that pitch."

While filling in for a resting Russell Martin, Cervelli was making his second start of the season behind the plate and working with Garcia for the first time. Cervelli said the two had pretty good chemistry and that he didn't notice Garcia was upset.

Shortly after Garcia vented, the two were seen smiling together on the dugout bench.

"I love this guy, man," the Venezuelan-born Cervelli said of his countryman. "He never showed like he was mad, or he never told me anything bad."

Garcia settled down after that, shutting the Tigers down through his next four innings. But Scherzer hardly wavered, and that was the difference.

"Hits are going to come and go," Girardi said. "There have been pitchers for years throwing shutouts. It's not like it's something new to the game. You don't like to see it happen to your club, but it happens. Offenses can score a lot of runs and they can get shut down, depending on how the starting pitcher throws.

Alden Gonzalez is a reporter for MLB.com. Read his columns and his blog, listen to his podcast and follow him on Twitter. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Boesch fuels Tigers' third straight win
Hitless through five, Detroit backs Porcello late to deny Yanks

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/5/2011 7:40 PM ET

DETROIT -- One inning, the Tigers are getting no-hit by A.J. Burnett, with nary a walk. The next inning, they have five runs on three hits on their way to a 6-3 win.

One day, the Tigers are shouting at each other in the clubhouse at Cleveland after a series sweep, on their way to a seven-game losing streak, tied for the longest under Jim Leyland's managerial tenure. Four days later, closer Jose Valverde is yelling behind the mound and in the clubhouse after a win, and the Tigers have taken three straight to close a four-game set against the American League East-leading Yankees, who had lost consecutive games only once this season before their arrival in Detroit.

The Tigers, meanwhile, are back within two games of .500 thanks to their third winning streak of three games or more this season, which have accounted for 11 of their 15 wins.

For the season, they're pretty much treading water. Shorter-term, they're bobbing, so to speak.

"You can't do anything about it," said Brandon Inge, who has preached the no-panic approach, with the exception of last Sunday's emotional team meeting. "We do understand it's the long haul, not just what happens in April and May. We understand every game counts, but it's for the long haul. We want to take the same approach all year."

Inge believes that the one flare-up the Tigers did have, the meeting in Cleveland, will help them in the long run. It's one of the best things that could've happened, he said, because of the unity that came out of it.

"Tempers flare," Inge said. "Things happen. Teams grow closer."

That doesn't mean that teams panic.

"I've got all the confidence in the world," Leyland said. "You can't ride with the emotions of the fans every time. And I understand their emotions. I'm not making excuses. I'm just making a point. If we pitch good tomorrow night, we'll have another chance to win another game. We're going to win a lot of games. I've never lost confidence in this team, and I won't. It's a good team. We should win our share."

The approach on Thursday against Burnett was consistent, even if the results weren't.

Burnett has a no-hitter to his credit, having tossed one in 2000 with the Marlins, so he has a track record of no-hit stuff, even if his historic moment came with nine walks. But as the Tigers looked up at the scoreboard in the sixth inning, they had a run, but neither a hit nor a walk. Their lone tally had come in the opening inning, when fill-in leadoff man Don Kelly was hit by a pitch, moved to third on Burnett's errant pickoff throw and scored on Brennan Boesch's sacrifice fly. Burnett had sent down 15 of 16 Tigers after hitting Kelly with an 0-2 pitch.

Ramon Santiago led off the sixth inning looking to turn on a first-pitch fastball, and he got it. Santiago sent it down the right-field line rather than into the gap, but the hard bouncer skipped off first baseman Mark Teixeira and into right field, breaking up the no-hit bid. Kelly's sacrifice bunt advanced Santiago before Boesch, who was 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position and two outs entering the game, sent a ground ball up the middle to draw the Tigers even.

Of all of Boesch's contributions, including the sacrifice fly and an eighth-inning solo homer, that one made him feel best.

"I felt we had to have it," Boesch said. "He threw me a couple of tough pitches."

Burnett and Victor Martinez battled each other for nine pitches before Martinez sent another ground ball through the middle for a leadoff single. It might have been the biggest at-bat of the game because of the rally that followed, but it was the only hit of the inning.

After a Magglio Ordonez walk, Ryan Raburn went to bat with the intention of bunting the runners over, but Burnett hit him with a 1-0 pitch to load the bases with still no one out for Inge, who worked a 2-0 count before launching a fly ball to deep left field to drive in the go-ahead run.

Ordonez and Raburn also moved up on the play, which became big two batters later, when Eduardo Nunez -- giving Derek Jeter a day off at shortstop -- overthrew Teixeira at first base for another error that turned Kelly's ground ball into two unearned runs.

"I just made a bad throw," Nunez said of his second error of the day. "That happens."

In that situation, it's a relatively rare happening. But it's something the Tigers aren't exactly going to apologize for capitalizing on. The Yankees had more than twice as many hits than the Tigers for the game, but Detroit doubled them in runs.

"We got a break," Leyland said. "You don't look for breaks, but they also go along with winning streaks and losing streaks. Today, Raburn gets hit, loads the bases. In the last inning, [Russell] Martin hits a bullet off Valverde, and it goes to shortstop. A couple days ago, that goes into center field. That's just the way it is."

Just two of the five runs off Burnett (4-2) were earned, the same number of earned runs Rick Porcello (2-2) allowed over his seven innings. Porcello, though, had just two innings without a hit, and he had one big jam in a 36-pitch fourth inning that he had to overcome to give Detroit a chance.

Kelly made a diving attempt but couldn't run down Eric Chavez's line drive to right center, which scored one run and set up another. What Porcello could control, he did, stranding the bases loaded by putting Nick Swisher in an 0-2 count and getting a lineout to third as Robinson Cano waited on deck.

The aggressive approach that worked for Max Scherzer on Wednesday night held true for Porcello on Thursday. And much as they tried, the Yankees couldn't wait them out. Take away Brad Penny's first two innings on Tuesday night, and Detroit walked just four Yankees batters over the final 25 innings of the series, during which New York scored four runs.

"They're a challenge," Jeter said earlier in the week. "The Detroit staff's a challenge."

That part is consistent, through good and bad. Do that, and the Tigers will take their chances.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog, and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Coke's early struggles cost him in loss

By Larry Millson / Special to MLB.com | 5/6/2011 10:08 PM ET

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TORONTO -- After taking three in a row from the New York Yankees, the Detroit Tigers were hoping to keep a good thing going against the Toronto Blue Jays.

But they stumbled in the opener of a four-game series at Rogers Centre as Toronto right-hander Jesse Litsch struck out a career-high nine in 6 1/3 innings and the Blue Jays scored a 7-4 victory.

Left-hander Phil Coke (1-5), the Tigers starter, allowed three runs on five singles in the first inning and only one more run in his remaining five frames. He allowed 11 hits. Right-hander Brayan Villarreal allowed Adam Lind's seventh homer of the season in the seventh.

Litsch (3-2) held the Tigers to four hits, three walks and one run on Friday before 19,711 at Rogers Centre.

Brennan Boesch was thrown out at home in the first inning on a diving play by catcher J.P. Arencibia, who had to go into foul territory to field left-fielder Juan Rivera's throw after a single by Victor Martinez. The Tigers (15-18) did not score despite two hits and a walk in the inning.

The Blue Jays (15-17) did score in their half of the inning, using five singles to score three runs. Rajai Davis and Yunel Escobar singled to set the stage for RBI singles by Lind, Rivera and J.P. Arencibia. Lind's single extended his hitting streak to 11.

Coke allowed another run in the third on Arencibia's double to right center that scored Rivera, who led off with a single.

Jhonny Peralta's groundout to third scored Martinez to end Litsch's shutout in the fourth. Martinez walked with one out and took third on a double by Magglio Ordonez.

Larry Millson is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Brilliant Verlander delivers second no-no
Tigers ace loses perfect game with one-out walk in eighth inning

By Larry Millson / Special to MLB.com | 5/7/2011 6:45 PM ET

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TORONTO -- Justin Verlander delivered the second no-hitter of his career -- and the seventh in franchise history -- on a sunny afternoon at Rogers Centre, leading the Tigers past the Blue Jays, 9-0, on Saturday.

Verlander already had one no-hitter in his career -- against the Milwaukee Brewers during Interleague Play on June 12, 2007, at Comerica Park. He is the 28th pitcher with more than one, including the postseason.

"I was pretty pumped up, actually, having gone through it before -- I was able to recall that," Verlander said of his thought process during the ninth inning. "I was really trying to keep my nerves settled a bit and did as much as I could. Obviously, there was some adrenaline still going.

"What was really nice was that the first batter, [David] Cooper, I got an out on the first pitch, which was really able to calm me down a little bit."

Verlander lost a perfect game with one out in the eighth inning, but a double-play grounder meant he had still faced the minimum 24 batters through eight innings and 98 pitches.

When the Blue Jays did hit a ball hard, the defense was there to protect the bid for history.

"I wanted to get back out there," Verlander said, referring to the delay between the bottom of the eighth and bottom of the ninth due to the Tigers' two-run top of the ninth. "To be honest with you, I was pretty relaxed. I felt pretty comfortable. I was just happy to have our guys get going. Obviously, some guys can use the hits; I was more than happy for those guys."

Mike McCoy, who entered the game when Adam Lind left with lower back tightness in the seventh inning, threatened Verlander's bid at history by opening the eighth inning with a lineout to center.


Tigers no-hitters
__Date______Pitcher______Opp.__Score

05/07/11_	Justin Verlander_	at_TOR_	9-0
06/12/07	Justin Verlander	vs. MIL	4-0
04/07/84	Jack Morris	at CWS	4-0
07/20/58	Jim Bunning	at BOS	3-0
08/25/52	Virgil Trucks	at NYY	1-0
05/15/52	Virgil Trucks	at WAS	1-0
07/04/12	George Mullin	vs. STL	7-0

Verlander lost his perfect game when J.P. Arencibia walked after a 12-pitch at-bat with one out in the eighth. But Edwin Encarnacion hit into a double play to keep the no-hitter going.

Verlander remained perfect after five innings on a call at first that brought Toronto manager John Farrell out of the dugout to argue. Encarnacion hit a sharply struck ball that bounced off Verlander, who retrieved the ball to the third-base side of the mound and threw to first, where Encarnacion was called out by umpire C.B. Bucknor to end the inning.

"The only thing that bothered me was that Encarnacion hit a ball off my arm early in the game," Verlander said. "Going into the ninth there, the first few warmup pitches didn't feel so hot."

Verlander was using his fastball, slider and changeup to great effect. The right-hander dropped in the curveball at times, keeping his pitch count under control -- 56 through five innings -- as shadows formed over home plate with the roof open for the first time this season.

"I really feel like I established a good rhythm early on," Verlander said. "After my last start, me and [pitching coach] Rick [Knapp], we said if I can harness the stuff that I had in that start, and ... I was able to do that today. Early in the game, I slowed way down, throwing 92, 93, 94 [mph] and established a rhythm with myself."


Verlander's 2011 game log

_Date___Opp.___IP__H__R/ER__BB/K__Dec._

05/07_	at TOR__	9.0__	0__	0/0___	1/4___	W
05/02	NYY	6.0	8	3/3	4/8	ND
04/27	SEA	6.0	5	4/3	3/8	L
04/22	CWS	7.0	4	3/3	0/8	W
04/16	at OAK	6.0	8	4/3	3/6	L
04/11	TEX	9.0	6	2/2	1/4	L
04/06	at BAL	8.0	4	3/3	2/9	W
03/31	at NYY	6.0	3	3/3	4/8	ND

The next close call came in the sixth, when Rajai Davis -- who struck out to end the game -- lined out to first base to end the sixth with the perfect game intact.

Shortstop Jhonny Peralta picked a sharp one-hopper off the bat of Yunel Escobar to start the seventh inning.

With two outs in the seventh, Verlander reached his first three-ball count of the game, going to 3-1 on Juan Rivera. Rivera fouled off two pitches before Rivera grounded back to the pitcher, keeping the perfect game alive.

Before the game, Tigers manager Jim Leyland lamented the lack of early runs scored by the Tigers this season, perhaps preventing Detroit's starting pitchers from having a chance to relax.

After the first six Tigers batters were retired, Leyland got his wish when the Tigers scored three in the third inning -- an unusual rally that included a balk, a hit batsman, a run-scoring walk, a run-scoring wild pitch and a disputed pickoff at second.

It started with Ryan Raburn's single. Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero was called for a balk, putting Raburn at second. Alex Avila was hit by a breaking ball and Raburn was picked off second, a call that brought Leyland from the visitors' dugout to argue.

Brandon Inge followed by drawing a walk. Austin Jackson singled to load the bases, and Romero walked Scott Sizemore to force in a run. A wild pitch scored another run, and Magglio Ordonez grounded out to shortstop to score the third run.

Jhonny Peralta hit his second homer of the season with one out in the fourth. Raburn then doubled and Avila hit his sixth homer of the season to end Romero's outing.

Larry Millson is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Penny follows Verlander's no-no with strong effort

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By Larry Millson / MLB.com | 5/8/2011 7:11 PM ET

TORONTO -- It was understandably easy to overlook Austin Jackson's three hits on Saturday. They were three more hits than the Blue Jays could muster against Justin Verlander.

So Jackson went out and did it again on Sunday, going 3-for-5 -- including the tiebreaking two-run homer in the seventh inning against Jo-Jo Reyes (0-3). Suddenly, the Tigers have a chance to win their second four-game series in a row.

With Brad Penny (3-3) allowing only the two runs produced by a Jose Bautista homer in the third inning, the Tigers defeated the Blue Jays, 5-2, before 17,392 at Rogers Centre.

Jose Valverde struck out the side in the ninth to earn his seventh save of the season, and 200th of his career.

Penny allowed seven hits in 7 2/3 innings and controlled his sinker well enough to induce two double-play grounders against the aggressive Blue Jays.

And that is good news for the Tigers, because Penny has won three of his past four starts to put the club in a position to do what it did earlier this week in its four-game series against the Yankees: Win three in a row after losing the opener.

But the key development here could be the return to form of Jackson in the leadoff spot. He can be a force at the top of the order with his speed, and his six hits over the past two days -- which improved his average to .224 -- are evidence of that.

"He's just putting the ball in play," manager Jim Leyland said. "When he put the ball in play last year, he had a terrific batting average, and that's his thing, when he puts the ball in play he gets hits."

"I was relaxed today and got good fastballs and put some good swings on them," Jackson said.

When Jackson did have good swings earlier in the season, the hits didn't come. "A couple of games did," he said, "but a lot of times I would be late on fastballs to hit and things like that. I tried to stay a little more positive these couple of games, and it's been working out. I would say just taking a positive attitude up there and being confident in yourself definitely helps."

If that's the case, Leyland can only hope that Jackson maintains that attitude. "He got three yesterday, it kind of went unnoticed," Leyland said. "He had a big day again today. Hopefully that's a sign of things to come. That would certainly be a big help to us, a catalyst at the top of the lineup like he was last year.

"He's gradually coming back. Let's not push him on and off the bandwagon. We've just to watch it and watch it, keep letting him play and see what happens."

Jackson said he wasn't discouraged by his struggles.

"Not really," he said. "I had to keep working at things with me and [hitting coach Lloyd McClendon] going to the cage. He did lot of talking, that was the main thing, you know, him trying to keep me positive when things weren't going well. It was one of those things where you have to keep battling when things aren't going your way."

The homer on a 2-2 pitch was his second of the season and followed Brandon Inge's two-out single. And he was using a symbolic pink bat on Mother's Day.

"It definitely felt good to get that hit," Jackson said. "With me staying positive and going up there with the right intentions, it definitely helped me out. It was hooking there at the end and I wasn't sure if it was going to stay fair. But it stayed fair and I was pretty happy about it."

Jackson led off the game with a single, and then had another single in the ninth. "To keep going there and keep battling each and every at-bat and not giving at-bats away, no matter what the situation," he said. "You can work on so many things mechanically, but if you don't believe in yourself when you're up there you're already beat before you go up there."

Jackson's homer made Valverde's milestone save possible on Sunday. He was asked if he is good for another 200.

"It would be nice," he said. "If I do it, I want to do it for Detroit. I want to end my career here. It's not only for me, it's for all my friends and my mother. She gave me everything I have, a good life. This is a special day."

The baseball, the spikes that he used Sunday and the lineup card he all sent to his mother. "She deserves it," he said.

But No. 200 wouldn't have happened without Penny adjusting and doing a better job later in the game of keeping his pitches down.

"I thought as the game went on he got the ball down much better," Leyland said. "Early, he was up a little bit and he was laboring a little bit to get the ball down. He's pitched pretty well lately, and it's kind of gone unnoticed."

Bautista hit a 3-2 pitch for his 10th homer of the season after missing the previous five games with neck spasms.

"It ran over the middle of the plate," Penny said. "It was definitely a mistake. It just ran. They're a real aggressive team. They were swinging at the first and second pitch, and fortunately I got a lot of ground balls that went right to the defense. A couple got through holes, but for the most part they were hit right at people. They got big double plays for me, I think that was the key.

"Even before the Bautista home run, I put two on with no outs and I go 3-0 on the hitter [Corey Patterson] and I wind up getting a double-play ground ball. That was huge."

Larry Millson is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers bash Blue Jays, Scherzer stays perfect

By Larry Millson / MLB.com | 5/10/2011 1:13 AM ET

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TORONTO -- This was a game, manager Jim Leyland said on Monday afternoon, that if he were at home as a fan, he would like to watch on television.

It was a matchup of two good young right-handers, Detroit's Max Scherzer and Toronto's Brandon Morrow.

"I think this will be one of the premier matchups on the Monday-night card," Leyland said.

Sometimes things don't work out the way they look on paper, but it worked out fine for the Tigers, who defeated the Blue Jays, 10-5, and for Scherzer, who earned his sixth win and moved into a tie for the American League lead with Jered Weaver of the Angels and Trevor Cahill of the A's after a 10-5 drubbing of the Blue Jays.

Austin Jackson drove in four runs, three on a fourth-inning double, and Victor Martinez drove in three, two on his third homer of the season, hit in the seventh off Octavio Dotel.

"That's the way it works out sometimes," Leyland said afterward. "We thought this was going to be a great pitching matchup, and Max wasn't sharp, Morrow wasn't sharp and it didn't turn out to be a pitching matchup at all."

After a solid few opening frames, Morrow was gone after 3 1/3 innings, having allowed three hits, three walks and five runs.

The Tigers took three in a row from the Blue Jays after losing the opener of the four-game series, just as they did last week against the Yankees.

It began well for Toronto. After Morrow (1-2) mowed down the Tigers in order in the first, the Blue Jays struck in the bottom of the frame, with Jose Bautista doubling to center to score a run.

Scherzer (6-0) did a better job holding up his end of the billing, although he needed 97 pitches to get through his five innings, during which he allowed five hits, three walks and two runs, with five strikeouts.

"The offense came alive today, and we were able to get a big lead on them," Scherzer said. "When the Tigers win, I'm happy. I just really wasn't sharp today. I didn't really have command of any of my pitches.

"I haven't really looked at the film yet to decipher what went wrong tonight, but that [release point] could be it. At the same time, I was able to battle and get through five and at least give the team a chance to win."

"He just couldn't get his release point," Leyland said. "He was all over the place. Just couldn't get consistent. He was hanging his slider a little bit. He just didn't have a good feel for his pitches tonight, for some reason. He got through it, he got another win and that's nice."

The Tigers had only one hit through the first three innings but rallied in the fourth when Brennan Boesch reached first on a wild pitch after striking out. Miguel Cabrera walked.

Martinez doubled for the first run, and Don Kelly singled in the second. After Alex Avila walked with one out to load the bases, Morrow was removed for Shawn Camp, who struck out Ryan Raburn before giving up Jackson's three-run double.

"Huge," Leyland said. "Biggest hit of the game."

"I did my job," Jackson said. "I just tried to put the ball in play with runners on."

Ramon Santiago's double scored the final run of the inning.

"We were just patient on [Morrow], " Jackson said. "He's a good pitcher, and he has a good arm and has good offspeed stuff. Toward the end of the inning, he was getting a little erratic, and we weren't swinging at bad pitches."

The Blue Jays laid off enough pitches from Scherzer as well to get three walks and build up his pitch count.

"Ninety-seven pitches in five innings, that's too many," Leyland said. "He wanted to go back out for another one, but I wasn't going to let him."

The Tigers scored four more runs in the seventh against Dotel. After Martinez homered, Kelly was hit on the ankle with a pitch and left for pinch-runner Brandon Inge, who took over from him at third base. The right ankle was bruised, and he is day-to-day.

Martinez now has a nine-game hitting streak, during which he is hitting .438 (14-for-32). He went 7-for-16 with six RBIs in the series against Toronto.

"When he hits behind Miguel [Cabrera], that's just another quality bat right in the middle of our lineup," Scherzer said. "That just does so much for our offense overall. The complexion of our offense is looking really good right now. The more the offense comes around and we start clicking, we're going to have a nice little May here."

Jackson, who followed his pair of three-hit games with the game-breaker on Monday, said that results help reinforce the positive attitude he has started to take to the plate.

"It definitely does," Jackson said. "If I can continue to just go out there with a positive attitude, I think the results will take care of themselves."

The Blue Jays made it interesting late, scoring three runs in the bottom of the ninth after Ryan Perry walked the bases loaded with none out. Jose Valverde came in and recorded the final out.

"[Perry] was just real stale because he hadn't pitched [since May 2]," Leyland said. "I don't have any problem with that. I felt bad, really, because it was seven days since he pitched. That's why I was getting guys work tonight."

Larry Millson is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers rout Twins in stormy affair

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/11/2011 2:05 AM ET

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MINNEAPOLIS -- The Tigers have seen slow starts from the Twins before. They remember 2006 and '09 pretty well, at least the players who were around for those late-season Minnesota comebacks.

They also remember manager Jim Leyland's oft-repeated adage this season: It's not always who you play, but when you play them. He said it again Tuesday afternoon, before the Tigers rolled to a 10-2 victory at Target Field.

Left unsaid was another lesson from those seasons: Every win against the Twins, in every shape and form, is golden. Put that way, not even a Midwestern hailstorm and a resulting 64-minute delay were going to stop their barrage on Minnesota pitching on a hot, humid night.

"I'm not one to get too excited about stuff like this," Leyland said. "We're playing good. We're playing better. I think we're showing signs that we're a good team, what I've seen saying all along. We'll see."

The signs are building again, after the seven-game losing streak that seemingly spelled doom for the Tigers. They have their third four-game winning streak, this one by a combined 33-9 margin that has included double-digit runs in back-to-back road games for the first time since 2007. They're above the .500 mark for the first time since the start of that aforementioned losing streak.

Victor Martinez is centering nearly every ball he puts in play -- hard. He doubled to the wall in both outfield gaps, giving him five doubles in his last three games, on his way to three hits and four RBIs. He sent a two-run ground ball through the middle to make Twins starter Francisco Liriano pay for Miguel Cabrera's 10th intentional walk of the year.

The night was largely about payment for Liriano in his first start after no-hitting the White Sox last week. Control problems were his downfall Tuesday, starting with a 2-0 fastball that Jhonny Peralta lined into the left-field seats for his third home run of the year, a two-run shot, and Detroit's first hit of the game.

"Two balls, no strikes, that's what I'm looking for," Peralta said. "I knew he would throw his fastball."

Three hits, three walks in three innings for Liriano yielded four runs. An illness sapped his power, leaving him with trouble breathing. An opportunistic Tigers offense didn't give him any opportunity to catch his breath.

"I thought we had a very good night offensively," Leyland said. "We caught a little bit of a break. I think Liriano was having breathing problems or something. And they had a long game last night and had to use their bullpen again today. It was a little bit of a tough night that way for them. But I thought we swung the bats good."

With that kind of run support, not even a hailstorm was going to stop starting Rick Porcello. While some of the Tigers were in the clubhouse -- or in the dugout watching the hailstones fall -- Porcello was throwing simulated innings in the cage, trying to keep his arm fresh for whenever the game was going to resume.

He had finally started to settle down from first-inning control problems when what had started as a rain shower became more ominous skies creeping over downtown Minneapolis.

"I just tried to make sure that I stayed loose," Porcello said. "I'd throw some pitches every 10 or 15 minutes to make sure that I wasn't going to tighten up [so] I could go back out there."

Still, the delay was nearing the borderline on how long Leyland could wait and still send his young starter back to the mound. Porcello (3-2) threw five innings to pick up his third win in his last four starts, but the throws in the cage made it closer to seven innings of work.

"That's tough to do," Leyland said.

Once the weather cleared out in time, he still had to face the middle of the Twins order, a dangerous mix of hitters for a pitcher to face. With Jason Kubel on first base following a single leading off the fourth inning, Porcello set down the middle of Minnesota's lineup in order on a Justin Morneau flyout and back-to-back groundouts from Danny Valencia and Michael Cuddyer.

What could have been momentum lost in the weather instead became momentum quickly resumed.

"The biggest one was to get Morneau," Porcello said. "In my book, that was the out that I had to have right there, getting him out and not letting them gain some momentum after the rain delay. I think the way our offense was scoring runs, we had some momentum before that, but then with that break, you never know what's going to happen. Getting Morneau out there was big."

The offense kept pounding out runs from there. The Tigers were retired in order in just the first and ninth innings. They had four two-run innings, including Brennan Boesch's two-run single in the seventh. Casper Wells added a double and run scored in the eighth. They also had another game in which leadoff man Austin Jackson reached base safely three times.

The Tigers know better than to make too much of it. But they also know better than to let up.

"These guys are playing really good baseball," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They have a lot of good hitters, especially in the middle of their lineup. So you have to throw the ball and not walk people."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog, and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Inge's triple propels Tigers to fifth straight

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/11/2011 5:20 PM ET

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MINNEAPOLIS -- The Tigers were in and out of town in less than 48 hours. It only seemed like an eternity with every play at Target Field.

In the end, it was worth the wait, because the 9-7 victory over the Twins was a win that they felt they had to have.

"We needed this win," said Ramon Santiago, whose accidental swinging bunt set up the go-ahead run on Brandon Inge's ninth-inning triple. "It was important, the way we played the whole game. We battled them, and we battled back."

They battled back twice, actually.

"We never quit, man," said Victor Martinez. "We never quit. We play nine innings, 27 outs, and anything can happen. "

Hours after they watched hail pound Target Field, they saw Jason Kubel's seventh-inning drive seemingly hang in the air for hours on its 460-foot flight into the right-field upper deck, erasing what was once a three-run Tigers lead. Minutes later, they saw Jhonny Peralta do his best Miguel Cabrera impression on a line drive off the second deck in left field, while pinch-hitting in what was earlier Cabrera's spot before he was ejected.

"He said, 'Oh, you took my spot,'" Peralta said. "'That's my home run!'"

Following Inge's triple in the ninth inning, Austin Jackson laid down a suicide squeeze, as Inge and his soon-to-be 34-year-old knees headed in from third base.

"I don't know how Austin got that ball down," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "I hate [that play]. It feels like you're going to die before they throw the ball."

The Tigers and Twins combined for nine runs and seven relievers over the final three innings. And Detroit, which had lost three straight in Cleveland in the late innings on its last road trip, found some confidence.

"This game, the way we played today, I believe it's going to give us more confidence," Peralta said. "It's kind of good that we win this game. Now we go home with the same confidence we have right now."

They head home with five straight wins, their longest road winning streak since 2007. It began with Justin Verlander's no-hitter on Saturday afternoon in Toronto. It continued, amazingly, in a sudden slugfest that included Peralta's second homer in 24 hours, Martinez's third straight three-RBI game and eventually Jackson's squeeze.

Before the game, Leyland had talked with players about that road mark. They've had a good trip, Inge said Leyland was telling them, but don't give this one away.

They seemingly had given it away after Kubel's homer, the kind of shot that has sunk the Tigers in this city many times over the last several years. But they were hitting too well to pack up and head home.

"It's still early enough in the game," Inge said. "The way we've been swinging the bat the last three or four games, you could give up, but I don't see it happening, not the way we've been swinging lately."

Peralta came to bat in the eighth only because Cabrera was ejected in the sixth by home-plate umpire Vic Carapazza, who apparently didn't appreciate Cabrera's hand gesture after being called out on strikes. Don Kelly had replaced Cabrera at first base, but once lefty Jose Mijares took the mound for the inning, Leyland called it "a no-brainer" to call on his slugging shortstop.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire replaced Mijares with closer Matt Capps, hoping for a five-out save. Once Capps left his second pitch over the plate, the save chance was gone with the ball.

"It was a slider that I left up," Capps said. "I just left it up over the plate and he hit it."

He hit it despite looking for something else.

"I'm not looking for that pitch," Peralta said. "I'm looking for a sinker and he threw me a slider right there. I don't know how I made good contact."

Joaquin Benoit, who replaced Daniel Schlereth in the seventh to prevent the Twins from extending their lead, stayed on for his normal eighth-inning work. But a pinch-hit infield single put Ben Revere in position to score when right fielder Brennan Boesch booted Matt Tolbert's double in right.

Benoit (1-2) stranded Tolbert as the potential go-ahead run at third by striking out Denard Span and getting a fly out from Luke Hughes. Then came the dribbler from Santiago with one out in the eighth.

Inge battled Capps for 10 pitches, the last of them a 94 mph fastball that he drove off the right-field wall as Santiago sped around third. Inge landed on third, where Leyland decided to push for one more tally.

"We took a shot," Leyland said, "I hate the squeeze. I do. I don't do it very much. But it was the best chance to get that run in."

It was definitely a chance, and Leyland was feeling anxious as Capps delivered a fastball low and in.

"When I saw the pitch, I about passed out," Leyland said, "because it was a nasty pitch."

Jackson, currently leading the Majors in strikeouts, said he'd rather have it low than high. He put down a slow roller to third that left third baseman Danny Valencia with no play but at first base.

"In that situation, you don't really try to be perfect with it," Jackson said. "You just want to try to get it down and keep it in play."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog, and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Verlander's W sees him run at another no-no
Tigers run their season-high winning streak to six

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/13/2011 11:32 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Justin Verlander took another no-hit bid into the sixth inning and held the Royals to two hits over eight. Austin Jackson's first-ever home run at Comerica Park put the Tigers ahead from their first batter on while the Tigers made Luke Hochevar pay for badly-located fastballs. Jhonny Peralta homered for the third straight game.

And Tigers manager Jim Leyland was worried the whole way through the Tigers' 3-1 win on Friday night, for the same reason many others were probably still tuned in after Melky Cabrera broke up Verlander's no-hitter.

"That game did not have a real good feel," Leyland said. "If he had gotten five or six runs, it would've been a little bit different. But I've seen it happen: You're ahead 2-0, you get a no-hitter, and all of a sudden, a guy bloops one, the next guy hits a gapper and this guy hits a home run, and we're down 3-2.

"Everybody thinks that's an easy game, Verlander only gave up two hits. It wasn't an easy game. That was a tough game. [Closer Jose] Valverde did a heckuva job."

Keep in mind, this is the same Detroit club that lost four straight games in the eighth inning or later as part of their seven-game losing streak a couple weeks ago. That seems like last year by now, with the Tigers now on a six-game winning streak, their longest since their Interleague homestand last June. They're three games over .500 for the first time since last September, before Miguel Cabrera's final-week injury sent them tumbling back to break-even at season's end.

Their current winning streak started with his no-hitter last Saturday at Toronto, and the momentum seems to have carried through since. For five-plus innings on Friday night at Comerica Park, it was building again, the buzz in the crowd of 33,641 seemingly increasing with each out.

Encore -- Once More
Fewest hits allowed in consecutive starts
(17 or more innings) in Major League history

No. of Hits_ Pitcher___ Team___ Dates

0_____	Vander Meer__	CIN____	June 11-15, 1938
1	Tobin	BOS-N	April 23-27, 1944
	Vance	BRO	Sept. 8-13, 1925
	Ehmke	BOS-A	Sept. 7-11, 1923
2	Verlander	DET*	May 7-13, 2011
	Jones	NYY	Sept. 4-10, 1923
	Warneke	CC	April 17-22, 1934
	Cooper	STL-N	May 31-June 4, 1943
	Blackwell	CIN	June 18-22, 1947
	Ford	NYY	Sept. 2-7, 1955
	Spahn	MILW	April 28-May 3, 1961
	McDowell	CLE	April 25-May 1, 1966
	Bibby	TEX	July 26-30, 1973
	Ryan	CAL	June 1-6, 1975
	Stieb	TOR	Sept 24-30, 1988
	Nomo	LAD*	Sept. 12-17, 1996
	Gooden	NYY*	May 8-14, 1996

* 17 innings


They didn't have that buzz when Verlander no-hit the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre last weekend. They were seemingly feeding off of it Friday, starting with Saturday. It couldn't help them turn this into a runaway victory by the late innings, but it didn't allow them to let this game fall from their control once the prime attraction of the night -- Verlander's no-hit bid -- went away.

A walk to Billy Butler, 13-for-32 lifetime off Verlander entering the game, was the only runner Verlander allowed through five innings. A four-pitch walk to ninth hitter Alcides Escobar with one out in the sixth ended a string of 13 straight Royals retired.

Chris Getz's groundout on a hit-and-run play, on an 0-2 pitch, kept the no-hitter going but moved Escobar into scoring position. Once Melky Cabrera pounced on a changeup and drove it into right-center field for a triple, the shutout was gone with the no-hitter. A mistake to Alex Gordon would've sent the lead out with it.

"We're not thinking in the dugout like we're going to get no-hit or anything," Gordon said. "It was a close game anyway, so we were thinking we were going to win the game. We weren't thinking about no-hitter or anything like that."

Butler was on deck. Verlander, his chase of Johnny Vander Meer's standard of back-to-back no-hitters gone, and admittedly upset at himself for his pitch to Cabrera, now had to get his focus back on the game. Because the Royals certainly had their attention on it.

Verlander had that same feel Leyland had.

"That can be a momentum changer," Verlander said of the situation. "In the sixth inning, they get their first hit. How many times have you guys seen a pitcher go deeper into a game and give up a hit and then kind of the wheels come off a little bit, and they give up a few hits in a row? So I was really cognizant of that, just told myself to make my pitches and get this guy."

Verlander geared up three fastballs at 98 during the six-pitch at-bat, two of which Gordon fouled off. He fouled back a tough one up above his belt to stay alive with a 2-2 count. But after Verlander dropped a curveball on the outside corner earlier to put him in a two-strike count, Gordon wasn't going to take the next one over the plate.

Gordon swung and missed. Verlander took another standing ovation on his way off the mound, and raised his hand to acknowledge it. That's about as far out of focus as he gets in an outing lately.

"He really beared down on that at-bat, knowing that Butler's the next hitter," catcher Alex Avila said. "Butler's a dangerous hitter for whoever's pitching, and if you've got two guys on, it would be tough to pitch against him. He just beared down and threw his best stuff against Gordon."

Matt Treanor, whose block of Austin Jackson's hand prevented another Tigers run at the plate earlier, put the potential tying run back at bat in the eighth with his leadoff double. Verlander retired the side in order from there, leading to Valverde in the ninth.

"I was giving everybody in the city of Detroit a good reason to second-guess," Leyland said. "And you know what? It would've been legitimate. But I'll explain to you why I did it: He's had a little phobia about Butler, he's hitting .400 something against him, he's walked him twice tonight. If somebody gets on, you're going take him out anyway. That's why I made the move.

"The other part of the equation is, that's what the closer's there for. If it had been a different part of the lineup, I would've left him in. But with Butler coming up, I wasn't going to do it."

Valverde allowed a leadoff single to Gordon, bringing Butler up as the tying run, then retired him, Jeff Francoeur and Eric Hosmer in order. They'd lost the no-hitter, but they lost that bad feeling about the game, too.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog, and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Penny dominates as Tigers win seventh straight

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/14/2011 6:54 PM ET

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DETROIT -- The Tigers continued to ride stingy pitching on their seven-game winning streak, which is now tied for their longest since 2007 with Saturday's 3-0 victory over the Royals. Brad Penny, in turn, had some help from his defense on his way to eight scoreless innings -- his best outing in two years.

The result is a team that seems to be clicking in all facets of the game. What has at times been a club focused on power hitting and power pitching used small-ball offense to put up a three-run opening inning against Kansas City starter Jeff Francis.

Penny (4-3) picked up his fourth win in his last five starts by continuing to pitch to contact and letting his fielders convert balls put in play into outs, 15 of which were on ground balls. With no walks to go with five hits allowed, he never allowed more than one baserunner in an inning. The only two Royals to reach scoring position got there with extra-base hits.

Just about as important were a handful of defensive gems behind Penny. Casper Wells' sliding grab in right field to retire Jeff Francoeur and Austin Jackson's running grab in deep center field on Eric Hosmer's drive kept Billy Butler from scoring after his double in the fourth. Two innings earlier, Brandon Inge jumped onto the electronic advertising board behind third base to lean into the stands and snare Brayan Pena's foul ball for the final out of the second. A sliding stop and throw from Scott Sizemore kept Butler off the bases ahead of Francoeur's double in the seventh.

Penny has scattered six earned runs on 27 hits over 35 2/3 innings in his last five outings, despite just four strikeouts over his last three outings. That work made a winner out of the Tigers on a day when they had only one extra-base hit and didn't score after the opening inning.

Five singles in Detroit's first six batters provided all the run support needed. Two consecutive bunts -- one a single for Sizemore, the other a sacrifice for Ryan Raburn -- put Jackson on third after his leadoff single. Miguel Cabrera, Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta followed with consecutive RBI singles.

Martinez extended his hitting streak to 13 consecutive games, while Peralta stretched his to 10. His sixth-inning double marked his 1,000th career Major League hit.

Royals starter Jeff Francis (0-5) settled down from there to last eight innings, but remains winless as a Royal. Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his 10th save.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog, and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Royals-Tigers series finale washed out
Postponed game rescheduled for Sept. 1 at Comerica Park
By Chris Vannini / MLB.com | 05/15/11 11:24 AM ET

Sunday's series finale at Comerica Park between the Tigers and the Kansas City Royals was postponed due to steady rain, which was expected to continue throughout the day. The game has been rescheduled for Sept. 1 at 1:05 p.m.

It was the first postponement of a game this season for the Tigers, who were looking to sweep the Royals and increase their winning streak to eight games.

The Tigers had six games postponed last season, three of which were in May and two of which were at home.

The Royals will head back home to host a two-game set against the American League Central-leading Indians starting Monday night.

The Toronto Blue Jays come to Comerica Park for a two-game series beginning Monday.

Chris Vannini is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Scherzer, Tigers come up short vs. Blue Jays
Peralta's ninth-inning homer too little, too late

By Chris Vannini / MLB.com | 5/16/2011 10:41 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Looking for their eighth consecutive win, it was the eighth inning that did in the Tigers in a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday.

Pitcher Joaquin Benoit gave up three runs in the top of the inning after relieving starter Max Scherzer, who gave up one unearned run in seven innings but recorded a no-decision.

The Tigers had used only one relief pitcher -- Jose Valverde -- in the past three days, but a well-rested bullpen couldn't stop the Blue Jays from winning their sixth in a row.

The Tigers looked to break the game open early, after a single from outfielder Austin Jackson and back-to-back walks loaded the bases for first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

Cabrera hit a long fly to the warning track, which was caught a few feet from the wall, allowing Jackson to score. Designated hitter Victor Martinez then grounded into a 6-3 double play, ending the inning with the Tigers leading, 1-0.

The Blue Jays put runners on first and second with one out in the top of the fourth, but a dangerous lineout to outfielder Andy Dirks and a popout ended the threat.

Monday was Dirks' major league debut. With his parents in the crowd, Dirks walked and singled in his first two plate appearances, but was picked off at first in the third inning. He went 1-for-2 on the day.

In the seventh inning, Cabrera was unable to come up with two foul popups by Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia -- the second one dropping for an error -- and it came back to bite the Tigers. Arencibia singled and later scored on a sacrifice fly, tying the game at one.

In the eighth, Benoit gave up back-to-back singles to major league home-run leader Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion, then a double to Aaron Hill, as the Blue Jays took a 2-1 lead. Back-to-back sacrifice flies extended the lead to 4-1.

Jhonny Peralta blasted his sixth home run of the season in the bottom of the ninth, but Don Kelly lined out to end the game and the Tigers left Alex Avila on base.

The Tigers and Blue Jays finish up the two-game series Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. ET.

Chris Vannini is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers' finale with Blue Jays washed away
By Chris Vannini / MLB.com | 05/17/11 9:16 PM ET

DETROIT -- For the second time in three days, the Tigers were rained out, this time the weather postponing the finale of their two-game series against the Blue Jays. The game has been rescheduled for June 27 at 7:05 p.m. ET.

The Tigers will skip Rick Porcello in the rotation, sticking with Phil Coke on Wednesday and Justin Verlander on Thursday in a two-game series against the Red Sox in Boston.

After avoiding postponements in April, the Tigers now have two games to make up. Sunday's game against the Royals was moved to Sept. 1.

The Tigers had six games postponed last season, three of which were in May, and two of which were at home.

After going on a seven-game winning streak, the Tigers lost to the Blue Jays, 4-2, on Monday. Toronto is on a six-game winning streak of its own.

Chris Vannini is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Weather, bullpen spoil Coke's strong outing
Lefty hurls seven scoreless frames, but Schlereth stumbles in eighth

By Jason Mastrodonato / MLB.com | 5/19/2011 12:53 AM ET

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BOSTON -- Manager Jim Leyland opted to let Phil Coke make his scheduled start at Fenway Park on Wednesday -- skipping right-hander Rick Porcello after a rainout the day before -- because he wanted the left-handed Coke to get a shot against the Red Sox's lineup.

It might have worked, too, if it wasn't for that meddling Boston weather.

A 26-minute rain delay forced Coke out of the game after 78 pitches, and the Red Sox pounced on Detroit's bullpen as they snuck away with a 1-0 win.

"I was fine," said Coke, who allowed just three hits, while walking one and striking out four. "I could have gone back out there after the delay, but sometimes you see guys trying to do that and they go out there and they don't have the same stuff they did."

Leyland said there was no thought of bringing Coke back in the game following the stoppage, even though Coke said he was capable of pitching a couple more innings.

"He was fantastic tonight," Leyland said. "He pitched a great ballgame. And [Clay Buchholz] did, too. We had them on the ropes a couple times, we had a couple good situations really, but we just couldn't deliver a sac fly or a base hit."

With Joaquin Benoit freshly removed from his eighth-inning duties after posting a 21.60 ERA in his last six outings, Daniel Schlereth got a shot in the scoreless game. Schlereth entered with two outs in the eighth to face the left-handed-hitting Carl Crawford, but he walked Crawford and gave up the go-ahead double to Jarrod Saltalamacchia.

"Carl Crawford has been on base with a lot of guys, so it's not a problem if he gets a base hit," Leyland said. "The one thing you don't want to do is walk him. That's not good."

Schlereth wouldn't blame the heavy fog and rain in the eighth inning for missing his location on a sinker that Saltalamacchia cranked off the Green Monster.

"That was belt-high," said Schlereth, who was visited by Leyland on the mound before the at-bat, as Leyland wanted to make sure the 25-year-old didn't lose focus with the speedy Crawford on first base. "My grandmother could hit that pitch. That's just a bad spot. I wanted to get that one down obviously, but I made a mistake."

Coke stymied Boston's left-handed-hitting batters, holding them hitless as he worked through seven scoreless innings before the Boston weather took a turn for the worse.

It matched the longest start of the 28-year-old's career, after spending his first four years in the Majors as a reliever. Coke induced three double plays, including two off the bat of the hot-swinging Adrian Gonzalez.

"It seemed like everything [was working]," said Coke, who credited his ability to pitch to contact rather than try for strikeouts as the reason he's had success his last few starts. "My fastballs were good. My sinker, my changeup and my slider were all there."

The Tigers could never get to Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz, who entered Wednesday on a three-game winning streak.

After Buchholz hurled 100 pitches through six innings, Red Sox manager Terry Francona fearlessly sent him back out for a wild seventh.

"That needed to be his inning. He deserved that," Francona said. "I don't think he was tired. I know it was a lot and it was getting deep in the game. I think some of it was maybe the conditions -- again, he knows what the score was and what you can't give up. He stayed in his delivery all night."

Buchholz hit shortstop Jhonny Peralta before a single by Alex Avila put runners in scoring position with one out. Ryan Raburn fanned on three straight pitches before Buchholz plunked No. 9 hitter Brandon Inge to load the bases. But Austin Jackson lost a nine-pitch at-bat, getting called out on a check swing as Buchholz finished his night with a career-high 127 pitches.

Victor Martinez, making his return to Fenway for the first time since he played with the Red Sox last season, tried rallying his team with a leadoff double in the ninth, but the Tigers again couldn't capitalize against closer Jonathan Papelbon, who earned his eighth save. It was Martinez's only hit of the night in four at-bats.

"I wasn't thinking about just doing stuff against them, I always work hard to win no matter where I am," Martinez said. "I was only here for a year-and-a-half, but everything I did here was all thanks to my teammates and my fans here. I always say they're one of the best in sports."

Detroit's scoreless night marked the fourth straight game the Tigers put up less than four runs, as the bats have been dormant since putting up 29 runs in a three-game sweep of the Twins last week.

Jhonny Peralta went 0-for-3 to put an end to his 11-game hitting streak.

The loss ended Detroit's five-game road winning streak, the club's longest since 2007. The Tigers have now lost two straight. The last time they lost two in a row the club went on a seven-game losing streak through the end of April and first two days of May.

Jason Mastrodonato is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

After Verlander exits, Tigers stumble in ninth

By Jason Mastrodonato / MLB.com | 5/19/2011 10:49 PM ET

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BOSTON -- The Tigers' bullpen may need a few more adjustments.

Two days after manager Jim Leyland removed Joaquin Benoit from his setup duties, and one day after Daniel Schlereth gave up the game-winning hit in the eighth inning, Al Alburquerque took his turn with the game on the line in the ninth inning on Thursday.

Carl Crawford knocked in the go-ahead run with bases loaded to waste eight solid innings from Justin Verlander as the Red Sox took a 4-3 victory and completed a two-game sweep of the Tigers.

Detroit had a Major League-worst 5.54 ERA entering Thursday.

Verlander tossed 114 pitches through eight innings, striking out nine and allowing three runs.

J.D. Drew connected on a home run off Verlander in the fourth inning, and David Ortiz followed suit in the seventh. It was the first time in four games Verlander allowed a long ball, and just the second time this year he gave up multiple home runs.

After Josh Beckett held the Tigers to just one run over six innings, Brennan Boesch and Miguel Cabrera hit back-to-back home runs of reliever Daniel Bard in the eighth to tie the game.

The Tigers scrapped together just one run in six innings off Beckett, touching him up for a walk and three singles in the second inning, but reaching base just three times after that.

The run ended Beckett's scoreless streak at 19 1/3 innings, but he used 11 fly-outs to keep the Tigers at bay. He was forced to leave the game after 83 pitches due to neck tightness.

Matt Albers replaced Beckett and pitched a clean seventh, but the home runs from Boesch and Cabrera suddenly gave the Tigers new hope.

Alex Avila hit Jonathan Papelbon with a line drive in the first at-bat of the ninth inning, and the Tigers took advantage of the rattled closer. Brandon Inge and Austin Jackson singled, followed by a walk by Scott Sizemore to load the bases. Boesch struck out to leave the game in Cabrera's hands, but he struck out on a 97-mph fastball to kill the rally.

Alburquerque replaced Verlander in the ninth and promptly loaded the bases. Andy Dirks threw out pinch-runner Jose Iglesias at home from shallow left field to keep the game alive, but Crawford sent a base hit to deep center field as the Red Sox celebrated their sixth straight win.

The Tigers have lost three in a row and head to Pittsburgh for Interleague Play on Friday.

Jason Mastrodonato is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Penny scuffles as Tigers fall to Pirates

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/20/2011 10:05 PM ET

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PITTSBURGH -- For manager Jim Leyland, utilityman Don Kelly and most of the coaching staff, the Tigers' trip here began as a homecoming. By the time the Pirates were finished handing Detroit a 10-1 loss on Friday night, it looked more like a trap.

A Tigers team that suffered back-to-back one-run losses at Boston arrived in town early Friday morning, hoping for a Interleague-style recovery before beginning a 10-game homestand. But the Pirates returned home off a two-game sweep of the Reds in Cincinnati, playing better baseball this year than they have in a while.

Once this game turned, it turned big, with a six-run sixth inning. A Lyle Overbay leadoff homer off Brad Penny, a wide double-play throw from second baseman Scott Sizemore, back-to-back two-out walks from Penny and Brayan Villarreal and back-to-back two-run doubles from Garrett Jones and Neil Walker turned what was briefly a tie game into a runaway.

Pirates starter Jeff Karstens (2-2) sent down Detroit's first 14 batters in order until Andy Dirks hit a easy line drive into center field with two outs in the fifth. Andrew McCutchen's sliding grab on Pittsburgh native Don Kelly's sinking liner killed that rally, but Detroit's next hit tied it. Santiago turned on a hanging sinker from Karstens and sent it halfway up the right-field seats for his first home run since Sept. 26 and his fourth Interleague home run in the past three years.

Stranding Austin Jackson at second following his one-out double kept the Tigers from taking the lead. Once Overbay turned on Penny's first pitch in the bottom of the inning for a home run to left-center, Detroit was down for good, though they came close to keeping it at that.

A walk and a single put runners at the corners with one out, prompting Pirates manager Clint Hurdle to pull Karstens for pinch-hitter Matt Diaz. Penny induced a ground ball from Diaz that nearly became an inning-ending double play, but second baseman Scott Sizemore's throw went wide and in the dirt as Brandon Wood scored. While there was no guarantee that an on-target throw would've retired Diaz, it would have had a shot.

An ensuing four-pitch walk to McCutchen ended Penny's night, but Villarreal's full-count walk loaded the bases for Jones' liner to left-center and Walker's drive to the left-field fence.

Walker capped the Pirates' scoring with a three-run homer in the eighth, giving him a career-high five RBIs on the night.

Command overcame National League experience for Penny (4-4), who gave up five runs on six hits and five walks over 5 2/3 innings. Villarreal allowed two more runs on two hits with one batter retired. The deficit provided a low-pressure chance for Joaquin Benoit to work on his mechanics with a perfect inning on two strikeouts, but that was about it for the silver lining.

Santiago, meanwhile, turned in two of Detroit's six hits. Five of his 21 Major League home runs have come in Interleague Play.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers can't halt late rally from Pirates
Scherzer suffers his first loss of the season

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/22/2011 12:24 AM ET

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PITTSBURGH -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland had plenty to lament Saturday night, from another rough sixth inning to an inexplicable four-pitch walk to a relief pitcher at the plate to a rundown that resulted in an insurance run.

In the end, he couldn't get past the same concern he had before Saturday's 6-2 loss to the Pirates. The result didn't argue otherwise.

"We scored two runs again," Leyland said afterwards. "That's obviously a problem for us."

Before the game, after Leyland talked about all other topics, he came back to two main concerns: He had to get his key hitters producing again, and he had to get Joaquin Benoit back in form to put his bullpen back in order. The Benoit issue is going to take longer than a weekend. The Tigers can't survive long with a relatively dormant offense.

They came close to the big hit Saturday. Austin Jackson hit the kind of drive to the warning track in straightaway center that required an Austin Jackson-like effort for a center fielder to run down with two outs and two on in the seventh. But Andrew McCutchen is that kind of center fielder, and he made it look a lot easier than it actually was to keep the Pirates ahead.

"He's going to catch that ball every time with his speed," Leyland said.

The Pirates scored three more runs in their half of the seventh to take a 6-2 lead, but even after the add-on runs, three straight singles from the bottom half of the order brought the potential tying run to the plate in the ninth with nobody out and closer Joel Hanrahan looking for a pitch. But a called third strike off the outside corner sent Ryan Raburn back to the dugout, and a hard-hit ground ball from Jackson turned into a game-ending double play and an end to Jackson's career-best 12-game hitting streak.

Not only did consecutive doubles from Andy Dirks, Miguel Cabrera and Brennan Boesch in the fourth produce Detroit's only runs, they accounted for all the extra-base hits.

"I thought maybe we were going to get something going there," Leyland said. "We got three doubles in that one inning, got a couple runs. But we're obviously putting our starters under a lot of pressure because we're not getting runs to give them some breathing room."

It's far from the only concern for the Tigers during this five-game losing streak. Their bullpen appears to be showing more than simple rust from lack of work during the Tigers' dominant run of starting pitching before this weekend. Now that they've gone back-to-back nights without getting their starter through the sixth, the bullpen questions have had more time on display. They've had a couple defensive plays come back to haunt them in the series, from a missed chance at a double play Friday to the aforementioned rundown that allowed the Pirates to sneak in a runner from third.

When teams aren't hitting, those problems become magnified. So do mistake pitches. As a result, though this was far from Max Scherzer's worst outing of the year, it was his first loss, and the first time he had to truly go back to his standard line.

"I wish I would've executed better," said Scherzer (6-1), who missed out on a chance to become the first Tigers starter with a 7-0 record by the end of May since 1939.

For the Tigers, it was their fifth loss in a row, and it dropped them back below .500.

"Every inning is life or death, really, right now, because we're not swinging the bats and scoring runs," Leyland said.

For a while, Scherzer actually seemed to thrive on that. Once Detroit scored, Scherzer provided a shutdown early, overpowering Neil Walker and Lyle Overbay on 94 mph fastballs. He struck out the bottom third of Pittsburgh's lineup in order in the fifth inning, spotting fastballs on Brandon Wood and Ronny Cedeno.

He seemed set to do the same in the sixth, putting McCutchen in an 0-2 hole before he got a slider and laced a ground ball through the left side for his second leadoff single. Another 0-2 count became a Jose Tabata single on a 1-2 fastball he centered.

"I [had] two strikes on the first two batters there and I didn't execute," Scherzer said. "I didn't finish them off. I gave them a chance to get a hit, and they got the hit."

He never got the chance with Garrett Jones, who had taken first-pitch fastballs for strikes in his first two at-bats. Jones got a first-pitch changeup the third time, but he waited long enough to line into the right-field corner for an RBI double.

Overbay got out of an 0-2 count to line another sac fly to right, putting Pittsburgh ahead. Scherzer couldn't pitch for the strikeout in that situation, but was looking for better.

Ryan Perry finished out that inning and waited through the Tigers' potential rally in the top of the seventh. But once he came out for the bottom of the inning to see reliever Jose Veras at the plate for the first time in his big league career, he flinched, throwing four pitches that weren't particularly close to the strike zone.

"That was the first pitcher I've thrown to," Perry said, "and it definitely threw me for a loop."

He found the strike zone from there, but for back-to-back singles. Leyland went to Daniel Schlereth against Jones, but Pirates manager Clint Hurdle countered with pinch-hitter Matt Diaz, who hit a two-run single.

"It was a little bit [of a] disaster, the add-on runs," Leyland said. "You feel like at 3-2 after six, it's still anybody's game. And we still had a shot at the end. But we scored two runs again."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Porcello dominates as Tigers top Bucs

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/22/2011 7:01 PM ET

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PITTSBURGH -- The only opponent that has beaten Rick Porcello since mid-April is rain. On a sunny May Sunday afternoon at PNC Park, that didn't give the Pirates much hope, once Porcello found his form.

When the Tigers skipped Porcello's rotation spot following last Tuesday's rainout, the question immediately turned to what kind of rust he might battle in Pittsburgh on 11 days' rest. Eight innings of one-hit ball over just 84 pitches provided a pretty good answer. The resulting 2-0 win provided a stop to the Tigers' five-game losing streak.

The Tigers still have concerns about their offense heading back to Detroit for a 10-game homestand. They do not have to worry about their 22-year-old starting pitcher, however, who will gladly take his next two assignments on regular rest, weather permitting.

"We've got to hope that a good win gets us going a little bit, and we start relaxing a little more and swinging the bats a little bit better," manager Jim Leyland said. "Our starting pitching's been very, very good."

For this just-finished five-game road trip, Porcello was statistically the best of the bunch, though he hadn't pitched since the Tigers' last road trip in Minnesota. When Tuesday's game against Toronto was rained out, Leyland opted to keep Phil Coke and Justin Verlander on their regular turns the next two days. The pitching from Coke and Verlander backed up the decision, even though the Tigers didn't win.

It was the second time Porcello had been skipped over in an unbeaten streak that now spans six starts over a six-week stretch since he lost his first two starts of 2011. He started at Cleveland on 10 days' rest on April 30 and turned in seven innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts in settling for a no-decision.

Porcello topped that on Sunday, on rest as well as results. All that stopped him on Sunday was a two-run lead and Leyland's decision to go to closer Jose Valverde for the ninth, but more on that later.

"He's a smart guy and a good concentration guy," Leyland said of Porcello. "And he's always going to be prepared. He's like a position player. He's like Donnie Kelly; he's always ready."

For someone so young, it's a weighty compliment.

Porcello's Cleveland start on long rest was planned out well in advance, given the Tigers had two scheduled off-days in a five-day span. This one was more improvised. His approach, too, was a little different, given he was facing an opponent he hadn't seen in two years.

Porcello said he used the extra time to work on secondary pitches -- mainly a slider that he wanted to make more consistent, but also a curveball that he hasn't used often since last year.

Once the games started, Porcello said, he learned as much as he could from observation.

"I just tried to stay focused and stay locked into the games leading up to my start," Porcello said. "Especially a team like this that we haven't seen all year, [with] a lot of the hitters you don't really know that well, I was trying to watch those two games prior to see what Brad [Penny] did to them and see what Max [Scherzer] did to them and pick up as much as I can. The hardest part about that is just staying sharp, mentally."

Porcello saw a dangerous leadoff man in Andrew McCutchen, whom he wanted to avoid giving ground balls and chances to beat throws. He also saw power hitters -- notably Neil Walker and Garrett Jones -- who could punish offspeed pitches in the strike zone.

"They were swinging early," Porcello said.

So when Porcello and catcher Victor Martinez took the field for the first, they came out with a heavy dose of sinkers before they changed speeds.

"He definitely had all his pitches," Martinez said. "I knew when we left the bullpen, he was going to have a good day. His two-seam fastball, his sinker, it was unbelievable. It was big, heavy. When he's got that pitch, the rest of the pitches just keep the hitters off balance. He did a great job."

The only difficult ball Porcello faced the first time through Pittsburgh's lineup was one he caught himself, as he snared Walker's second-inning liner. After a fourth-inning leadoff walk to McCutchen, Porcello mixed pitches and retired the next six batters.

Ronny Cedeno broke up the no-hit bid by pouncing on a first-pitch fastball for a double leading off the sixth. Pinch-hitter Xavier Paul sacrificed Cedeno to third, but after another walk to McCutchen put the potential tying run on base, Porcello escaped with a double-play grounder from speedy Jose Tabata.

Porcello needed just 84 pitches to cruise through eight innings. He produced as many base hits at the plate as he allowed on the mound.

"He was just throwing a lot of strikes," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "You look at his pitch count after he went out after eight innings; you're not going to see many lower the rest of the season. When a guy is sinking the ball and has enough late life with the slider and changeup and throwing strikes with it, you can't sit there and take two strikes, hoping that he misses."

Casper Wells' opposite-field, two-out RBI single in the second inning and Jhonny Peralta's seventh home run of the year in the fourth built a lead for Porcello to protect. After that came a decision Leyland knew would be second-guessed, but one he said he didn't debate.

"This is worth a second guess for everybody in America, particularly starting pitchers, but to me, it's a no-brainer," Leyland said. "To me, unless it's some guy that's just totally lights-out, still overpowering, in my opinion, a top-notch closer is supposed to be better than your starter. After your starter pitches eight innings, if you've got a top-notch closer, he's supposed to be better.

"To me, we had the best guy out there for the ninth inning, no matter how it turned out."

Porcello got it, even if he hoped Leyland would decide otherwise.

"The competitive part of me definitely wanted to finish the game," Porcello said. "But I understand. You feel good about him coming in and closing the game out, for sure, and we needed this one bad."

After Paul's leadoff single and a McCutchen hit-by-pitch, it looked iffy. Valverde struck out Tabata on three pitches before Jones' groundout shifted the runners to second and third, moving the Pirates within a hit of a tie game. Valverde put Walker in an 0-2 hole before he grounded out, wrapping up his 11th save in as many chances.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Rookies pave way for Tigers' win over Rays

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/23/2011 11:00 PM ET

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DETROIT -- The Tigers prepared Charlie Furbush as a starting pitching prospect, but gave him his first Major League shot as a reliever. Once starter Phil Coke left with an injured ankle Monday night, Furbush stepped in with 3 2/3 scoreless innings to earn his first big league victory with a 6-3 duel over the Rays at Comerica Park.

The win pushed the Tigers back over .500 with their second straight win after a five-game losing streak briefly knocked them a game under.

Furbush arrived from Triple-A Toledo on Saturday once swelling in Brad Thomas' left elbow forced him onto the disabled list. The International League's strikeout leader hadn't made a Major League appearance, however, until Coke turned his right ankle slipping off the mound trying to field a Ben Zobrist bunt down the third-base line.

Coke had a perfect game going into the fourth, then gave up a walk, two hits and a run. Once he came up limping after Zobrist's bunt, manager Jim Leyland quickly called to the bullpen, but with no warmup limit as an injury replacement, Furbush took all the time he needed, warming up deliberately as a just-converted starter.

After a full-count pitch near the knees was ruled ball four by home-plate umpire Sam Holbrook to put two runners on with one out, Furbush escaped with back-to-back strikeouts of Felipe Lopez and Kelly Shoppach.

Once Furbush found his rhythm, he started hitting the strike zone with a variety of pitches, including a slow curveball that left Rays hitters off-balance. He used that for back-to-back groundouts from Zobrist and Sean Rodriguez on his way to retiring the side after Johnny Damon's leadoff double in the sixth.

By then, Furbush was pitching with a tie game after former Mud Hens teammate Andy Dirks hit his first Major League home run leading off the bottom of the fifth. Once Furbush ended the Rays' sixth-inning threat, Brennan Boesch's two-out double extended the bottom of the inning for Miguel Cabrera to deliver a ground ball through the right side.

Boesch, who tested former Tiger Matt Joyce's arm on the double, did it again coming home on Cabrera's hit. Joyce's throw beat him, but Boesch eluded catcher Shoppach's tag to put the Tigers in front.

That rally put Rays starter Jeremy Hellickson (5-3) on the hook for the loss despite just four hits allowed over 6 1/3 innings.

Detroit broke it open with a four-run eighth off Rays reliever Juan Cruz, all with two out. Victor Martinez delivered a two-run double and Jhonny Peralta followed with a two-run single.

Furbush's outing was the longest by a Tigers reliever in his Major League debut since Dave Haas in 1991.

Joaquin Benoit, just returned to the setup role, replaced Furbush in the eighth and retired his former team around one walk. Jose Valverde worked an eventful ninth to close it out -- giving up a two-run single to Sam Fuld with two out before getting Damon, the potential tying run, to line out to end the game.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Avila, Cabrera power Tigers over Rays

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/25/2011 12:42 AM ET

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DETROIT -- Justin Verlander was slamming his helmet against the dugout bench after his sixth and final inning, frustrated over a Rays rally that put his team behind again. He took a spot near the dugout railing and watched the rest of the game unfold.

Minutes later, Alex Avila had a look of quiet frustration after his second error of the night, a foul ball he couldn't track down in front of the visiting dugout at Comerica Park.

By game's end, they were all celebrating, mainly around Avila for his second homer of the night, a two-run shot in the eighth that powered the Tigers to a 7-6 win.

They've been streaky from one series to the next, but this is one of the rare times they've been streaky from one inning to another. They'll take it.

The way their streaks have been going, they'll take all the wins they can get.

"It wasn't a great night for me," Verlander said. "It was a great night for the ballclub. I couldn't be more happy. That was a big win to show the guts we showed."

After following up a seven-game winning streak with a five-game losing streak, the Tigers have now won three straight, with a chance for their fourth four-game winning streak if they can pull out Wednesday afternoon's series finale.

But Tuesday was different than a lot of their wins. They've tended to dominate opponents in their winning streaks, mainly on the strength of their starting pitching. By comparison, just two of their previous 24 wins in 2011 had come when trailing after seven innings.

This was an admittedly sloppy game they pulled out. They're not proud of the sloppiness, including two costly miscues in a three-run sixth inning that put the Rays ahead.

"It was kind of a sloppy game -- physical errors, mental errors, Justin wasn't pitching well," Avila said. "It could've been a lot worse, as far as the game could've gotten out of hand with more runs. We were able just to kind of harness it and not have it snowball."

The last time Verlander gave up six earned runs in a game was April 11 of last season, and he did that over five innings. They pulled that one out, too, overcoming what was a 5-0 first-inning deficit by scoring nine times over the final five innings.

Matt Joyce, one of Verlander's teammates in 2008 before Detroit traded him for Edwin Jackson, was 3-for-6 off Verlander going into the night. Joyce ended up with two more hits off Verlander, including a two-run homer as part of a 3-for-4 night, and it took a diving catch from left fielder Andy Dirks to retire the Rays right-fielder even once.

"Anytime you face a great pitcher like Justin, and put together a lot of good hits and a lot of good at-bats and score some runs on him, you're definitely confident going into the late innings of games," said Joyce.

B.J. Upton, whose dropped ball allowed Jhonny Peralta to score the game's first run, was 7-for-14 off Verlander before singling in Evan Longoria with the game-tying run in the sixth. Upton followed that with nearly as big of a play on the bases, taking off from first base on a steal attempt that brought an errant throw from Avila. Sizemore's throw home bounced past Avila and hit Joyce in his right elbow as he scored. Upton advanced to third, setting up Casey Kotchman's sacrifice fly for a 6-4 Rays lead.

"I didn't feel great," Verlander said. "My location wasn't great."

Tampa Bay's sixth inning killed the momentum the Tigers picked up from Miguel Cabrera's go-ahead home run in the fifth, the team's first three-run homer this season. Avila cut into the lead by jolting a solo homer into the right-field seats in the bottom of the sixth, but a strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play with Austin Jackson at the plate and Scott Sizemore caught stealing erased the potential tying run.

Avila's next error came in the next inning.

"You're going to make errors. That's kind of part of the game," he said. "My approach wasn't any different. I wasn't so mad that I wanted to do something. I always want to do something."

Rays manager Joe Maddon went back to his bullpen once Joel Peralta walked Jhonny Peralta with one out in the eighth. On Monday night, lefty Cesar Ramos had entered the game in a similar situation, and struck out Avila with two on in the eighth, one inning after J.P. Howell induced a double play from the Detroit catcher to end the seventh. This time, Ramos was on the job again.

Those Monday at-bats are what Avila remembers, at least for mental notes. He hasn't struggled nearly as badly against lefties this year as he had in the past, but only one of his first seven homers had come off southpaws.

"In that situation, you're just trying to hit the ball regardless of what the pitch is," Avila said. "Normally, when they bring in a lefty to face a lefty, you're seeing a lot of breaking balls. Yesterday, he got me out with a slider, and normally you try to get him with a fastball.

"Once he fell behind 1-0, I was just trying to hit the ball hard somewhere. He left a fastball out over the plate, and I just didn't miss."

Avila hit an opposite-field shot that sailed over the left-field fence and into the Tigers bullpen, where Joaquin Benoit was already warming up. He couldn't have expected a save situation, but he got it, and he ended up earning his first save as a Tiger against his old team.

"The one issue we don't have around here is not playing nine innings," Leyland said. "We play nine innings every night. When you play nine innings every night, you're going to sneak some now and then."

This one, they snuck. But they weren't apologizing for it.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers rained out of finale against Rays
By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 05/25/11 4:42 PM ET

DETROIT -- For the third time in 11 days, the Tigers have suffered a rainout. This time, they made it through 2 1/2 innings of their scheduled series finale against the Rays on Wednesday before heavy rain and thunderstorms led to a postponement.

The game was rescheduled for June 13 at 7:05 p.m. ET. It will be replayed in its entirety.

The Tigers had a 2-0 lead going into the bottom of the third inning when the umpires called the teams off the field. Rain had grown progressively heavier in the top of the inning.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers held in check after Scherzer struggles
Hurler allows seven runs in career-low two-plus innings vs. Boston

By Chris Vannini / MLB.com | 5/26/2011 7:20 PM ET

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DETROIT -- On Wednesday, the Tigers jumped out to an early lead against the Rays and hoped the incoming rain would hold off long enough for the game to become official. It did not.

On Thursday, early rain may have been the Tigers' best friend, but it didn't come until it was too late. A hot Red Sox offense jumped all over the Tigers, as Detroit fell, 14-1, in a game shortened by rain to 7 1/2 innings.

The Red Sox jumped on Tigers pitcher Max Scherzer early and often, as the right-hander gave up seven runs in two-plus innings -- the shortest start of his career.

"It just wasn't Max's day," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "When he threw it good, they hit it bad but got good results, and when he threw it bad, they hit it good and got real good results."

After starting the season 6-0, Scherzer has two losses and a no-decision in his last three outings. He threw six straight balls to open the game, but got out unscathed. But things unraveled for him right as the second inning began.

Back-to-back singles by designated hitter David Ortiz and outfielder Carl Crawford were followed by an RBI double from infielder Drew Sutton. An RBI single from outfielder Josh Reddick gave Boston a 2-0 lead, and two batters later, outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury blasted a three-run home run into the right-field seats to open up a 5-0 lead.

The third inning was much of the same for Scherzer. A single by first baseman Kevin Youkilis and a walk to Ortiz were followed by a two-run triple for Crawford, ending Scherzer's day.

"He just kind of struggled getting command of his pitches, falling behind a lot of guys," Tigers catcher Alex Avila said. "When he did make his pitches, it seemed like it was a bloop single or an infield single or something like that. He didn't catch any breaks, where sometimes if those turn into outs, you can get rolling a little bit and kind of gain some momentum. But that didn't happen."

Scherzer has given up 14 earned runs on 22 hits over 13 1/3 innings in three career starts against the Red Sox.

"The hope is, every game you play, you get to him," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Some days, it doesn't work. We got a lot of work and we're glad. I don't know that you expect to do that, especially with the way he's been throwing."

With the early deficit and clouds moving in, heavy rain and postponement would have seemingly been the best thing to happen for Detroit. But the early rain never came -- though the Tigers never admitted to wanting to slow the game down.

"You're never hoping for the rain," Avila said. "You want to be able to play out the games. To kind of cancel a game during the game, you never want that to happen. ... You either want to play it through or get it canceled right at the beginning before starting the game, or at least have the delay at the beginning of the game so you don't have to waste any pitchers."

The Tigers have had back-to-back outings ended early by rain. On Wednesday, the Tigers led the Rays, 2-0, in the bottom of the third inning before the game was delayed and eventually postponed. Four of the Tigers' last seven appearances at home have either been postponed or cut short.

"It's definitely frustrating, but you really can't do anything about the weather; you can't control that," outfielder Austin Jackson said. "We understand that, but we're definitely looking forward to better weather."

Scherzer was replaced by Adam Wilk, who was making his Major League debut after being called up Tuesday. Wilk retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced before finding himself in a little trouble.

Back-to-back singles by Reddick and catcher Jason Varitek led off the sixth inning for Boston. But Wilk found his composure and struck out Ellsbury and second baseman Dustin Pedroia. A fielding error by Tigers second baseman Scott Sizemore allowed an unearned run to score, but Wilk was a bright spot in an otherwise ugly game for the Tigers.

"He did fine," Leyland said. "It was his first Major League outing, and I thought he did well."

Wilk gave up just the two hits in 3 2/3 innings. A Major League debut is always a memory for players, but performing well makes it that much more special.

"It was pretty awesome running out there from the bullpen," said a grinning Wilk. "It was kind of surreal. It's always breathtaking."

The Tigers' offense put a couple rallies together, but couldn't generate many runs. Outfielder Brennan Boesch was hit by a pitch to lead off the fourth inning, and first baseman Miguel Cabrera followed with a single. Boesch advanced on a forceout at second base, and he scored two batters later on a single by Avila, as the Tigers cut the deficit to 7-1.

Detroit put runners on second and third with one out in the fifth, but a Boesch popout and Cabrera strikeout ended the closest threat the Tigers assembled the rest of the way.

Pitcher Ryan Perry came on to relieve Wilk, but his recent struggles continued.

Perry gave up four runs on four hits over 1 1/3 innings, moving his ERA on the season to 12.19. Perry's replacement, Enrique Gonzalez, also continued his struggles, giving up two runs in one inning to push his ERA up to 12.79 on the year.

The rain, which began in the top of the sixth inning, came down harder as the remaining fans watching from the concourse saw Boston score five runs in the eighth before the tarp came out. The game was called 55 minutes later.

"It's just one of those games you want to put behind you as fast as possible and try to get to the next day," Jackson said.

Chris Vannini is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Furbush a bright light in loss to Boston

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 5/28/2011 12:41 AM ET

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DETROIT -- The Tigers have to be feeling encouraged with each scoreless inning Charlie Furbush tosses. The situations that bring him into these games are another matter.

The last time manager Jim Leyland decided to pull Rick Porcello, he had controversy on his hands, and he spent the next couple of days answering questions about it. There was none of that when Leyland brought in Furbush to begin the fourth inning on Friday night, only the damage of a five-run Red Sox third inning en route to a 6-3 Tigers loss.

Furbush's five scoreless innings prevented Boston from having a third straight double-digit-scoring game. His work also left the Tigers a sliver of an opportunity late against Boston closer Jonathan Papelbon, but the damage was too much.

After Porcello's last meeting against the Red Sox two years ago ended with a takedown of Kevin Youkilis and the benches clearing, the rematch ended in a knockout punch.

"They're professional hitters," Porcello said of the Red Sox. "All the way through, they've got guys that know how to play. They'll make you work, and they don't miss pitches. That's the biggest thing -- the mistakes that you throw, they make you pay for them."

The Tigers brought up Furbush as a long reliever, to enter when the Tigers need to fill innings. His 3 2/3 scoreless innings against the Rays on Monday, however, changed the course of that game, allowing the Tigers to mount a comeback and overcome Phil Coke's injury.

Coke's bruised foot created a starting opportunity for Andy Oliver -- who will take the hill on Saturday -- not Furbush, who instead was given three days off of throwing to rest his arm. Friday was his first game available.

Furbush's presence wasn't looking quite as necessary, as Porcello worked through the Red Sox order with little incident. The second time around was a different story.

"Rick was just all over the place," Leyland said.

Jacoby Ellsbury hit a leadoff bloop single, stole second and eventually scored on a wild pitch. He rounded the bases the easy way in the third by hitting his second homer in as many nights. Dustin Pedroia's walk and Adrian Gonzalez's single put two on for Youkilis, who drove a double to the wall in right-center.

Two batters later came Carl Crawford, coming off back-to-back four-hit games. He had only one hit on Friday, but it was a two-run homer off Porcello, and it completed the damage.

"Some of our lefties, they got pitches a little out over the plate and up, and [Crawford] put good swings on them," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "He's got good stuff. He's going to be fine."

Porcello finished his three innings at 75 pitches, nine shy of his pitch count over eight scoreless innings at Pittsburgh last Sunday. He gave up six runs on six hits.

"Last start, I commanded my pitches," Porcello said. "That was the biggest thing. I was able to keep guys off-balance, getting ahead of guys, throwing strikes [with the] fastball, slider, changeup. This time around it wasn't the case. I was falling behind guys, putting them in counts where they were going to get good pitches to hit."

Furbush began the fourth inning by facing the bottom of the Boston batting order and got on a roll, beginning with a strikeout of Jarrod Saltalamacchia. In the fifth, he overcame Gonzalez's leadoff single by recording back-to-back strikeouts of David Ortiz and Crawford, then he retired six straight batters from the sixth into the eighth.

Included in that roll were called third strikes on Gonzalez and Youkilis. The first was an offspeed pitch he dropped on the inside corner. The second was a belt-high fastball that he used to freeze Youkilis.

"I was just throwing all my pitches for strikes," Furbush said, "trying to attack the zone and keep the ball down and keep the team in the game for as long as I could."

Add together Furbush's two appearances, and he has nine strikeouts over 8 2/3 scoreless innings. He has the longest scoreless streak by a Tiger to begin his Major League career since Chris Mears lasted 10 1/3 innings in 2003.

When Furbush arrived, Leyland said that he wanted to see his ability to retire hitters on pitches in the strike zone. Friday was a demonstration of that. And with Detroit's bullpen in flux between David Purcey's arrival and Ryan Perry's demotion, Leyland hinted that he could find some more specialized situations for Furbush.

The way the Red Sox are hitting lately, though, the Tigers' long relief is getting a workout. Boston's big lead left Detroit hitters swinging early and often against knuckleballer Tim Wakefield.

Nearly 20 years after Wakefield helped Leyland's Pirates to the postseason, his rare pitch continues to confound hitters when it's on. He has given up six home runs in a game in Detroit and pitched eight scoreless innings. His seven innings of two-run ball on Friday fell somewhere in between.

"He's a knuckleball pitcher. You either hit him really well, or you don't," catcher Alex Avila said. "We hit a lot of balls hard today and made some really nice plays. It was just one of those days where we needed to come through as an offense. We hit a lot of balls hard, but just had nothing to show for it."
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers' game vs. Red Sox rained out
Clubs will play split doubleheader Sunday at Comerica Park
By Chris Vannini / MLB.com | 05/28/11 9:20 PM ET

DETROIT -- The third game of a four-game series between the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox was postponed Saturday due to rain. The teams will play a split doubleheader Sunday, with the first game at 1:05 p.m. ET and the second at 7:05 p.m.

Tickets for Saturday's game will count for Sunday's night game. The day game tickets remain the same. The pitching matchups will remain the same, as the Tigers' Andy Oliver will pitch against Boston's Clay Buchholz in the day game, and Justin Verlander will go against Josh Beckett in the nightcap.

The night game will not be televised due to the Major League Baseball national network windows of exclusivity, as ESPN has the rights for the Sunday night slot and local television for game telecasts beginning after 5:05 p.m. are not allowed.

It was the fourth time in nine scheduled home games that a game was postponed. Thursday's 14-1 loss to the Red Sox was also called after 7 1/2 innings due to rain.

The previous three postponements this season came in series finales, so they were rescheduled for later in the season. The Tigers will host the Rays on June 13, the Blue Jays on June 27 and the Royals on Sept. 1 in makeup games. Unlike those series, this is Boston's only trip to Detroit this season. According to Stats, the Tigers are the first team with four rainouts in this short of a span since the White Sox in September 2008.

The Tigers had six games postponed last season, three of which were in May, and two of which were at home.

As a result of the split doubleheader, Kids Run the Bases has been canceled for this Sunday. Additionally, there will be no fireworks following the 7:05 p.m. game.

Chris Vannini is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers' Game 1 rally undone in the ninth

By Chris Vannini / MLB.com | 5/29/2011 6:21 PM ET

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DETROIT -- For the first time in six days, an opposing pitcher had a quality start against the red-hot Boston Red Sox.

The Tigers' Andy Oliver was that pitcher, and though he left trailing, he came away with a no-decision after Detroit rallied to tie the game.

But David Ortiz hit a pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning to break the tie and give the Red Sox a 4-3 win Sunday in the first game of a day-night doubleheader. It was the Sox's fifth straight win and their fifth against the Tigers this season.

After the previous two Tigers starters in the series were knocked out in the third inning, it appeared Oliver would go the same way in his first start of the season. But the lefty got out of a rough first inning and finished his day giving up three runs and five hits over six innings, while walking three and striking out three.

"I thought he did a heck of a job," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said of Oliver. "I thought he got better as the game went on, obviously. Had better command of his pitches, needs to get a little better command of his fastball. ... A little shaky early with the command, but he did a great job."

Oliver had location problems early, as a 3-1 pitch to outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury was ripped into the gap for a leadoff double. The Red Sox took advantage of Oliver's slow delivery, as Ellsbury stole third base before Dustin Pedroia walked.

Pedroia stole second before Ellsbury scored on a sacrifice fly by Adrian Gonzalez for a 1-0 Red Sox lead. Kevin Youkilis was then hit by a pitch, and the Red Sox pulled off a double steal with Pedroia and Youkilis, giving Boston four stolen bases in the inning.

"I think my slide step was going a little too slow to the plate so they were taking advantage of it," Oliver said. "They were pretty aggressive."

But Oliver recovered and escaped with minimal damage after two popouts ended the inning.

The best way for Oliver to prevent the stolen bases was to not put runners on the bases, which he accomplished by limiting Boston to just four baserunners in his final five innings.

But the Red Sox didn't need men on base to do some damage, as Mike Cameron hit a solo homer in the second inning and Pedroia added a solo homer in the third as Boston opened up a 3-0 lead.

The Tigers began to rally against Red Sox starter Clay Buchholz in the fourth inning, as outfielder Andy Dirks led off with a solo home run. But they stranded Miguel Cabrera at second base.

Designated hitter Brennan Boesch homered in the fifth inning to cut the deficit to 3-2, and Cabrera followed with a double. Jhonny Pertalta then drove him in with a single with two outs to tie the game at 3.

Oliver wasn't overly proud of his performance, but was happy with how it ended. After the first two innings, Oliver was able to get ahead in the count and get quicker outs as a result.

"It comes down to trying to make pitches," Oliver said. "In the first two innings, I was behind in the count, and when you get ahead of the count, you can manage the game pretty well."

Oliver went 0-4 with a 7.36 ERA in five starts for Detroit last season. The 23-year-old has improved his breaking ball and had a 3.31 ERA in nine starts at Triple-A Toledo this year prior to getting the call for Sunday's game.

"He's really a good-looking prospect, there's no question about that," Leyland said. "He's a keeper. He's a really good-looking young pitcher. He's got some things yet to learn and do, but he's going to be fine."

The game remained tied until the ninth inning, as closer Jose Valverde came on for the Tigers. After getting pinch-hitter J.D. Drew to fly out, Ortiz came to the plate.

After a splitter was thrown for a ball, Ortiz fouled off three straight fastballs on the outside of the plate. Two more pitches were thrown low, loading the count. In a battle of strengths, Valverde's fastball in the middle of the plate was hit 412 feet into right-center field for the decisive blow.

"David Ortiz is a good hitter, there's nothing you can do," Valverde said. "This guy has a lot of power. He's [done it] for Boston a lot of times in the World Series."

It was Ortiz's second career at-bat against Valverde. The previous was a grand slam in Boston.

"I know Valverde, he's got a good fastball, he's got a split-finger," Ortiz said. "It's not like I have too many options when you come off the bench to pinch-hit, so I just went for one pitch, and he gave it to me."

The Tigers went down in order in the bottom of the inning, with second baseman Ryan Raburn striking out for the third time to end the game.

Chris Vannini is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.