Larish to make big league debut

Larish to make big league debut
By Jason Beck / MLB.com

Jeff Larish's first taste of the Major Leagues is going to feel a little like one of his old Pac-10 Conference road trips, albeit in a little more stylish travel. It just took him a while to get there.

Larish's journey to California on Wednesday started with a drive from Toledo to Detroit Metro Airport to hop a flight. It included a homecoming, albeit a brief one, with a stopover in Phoenix. He traveled on from there to Anaheim, arrived in the visiting clubhouse at Angel Stadium in time for batting practice, then watched Wednesday's game from the dugout.

With a left-hander on the mound for the Angels, the lefty-hitting Larish wasn't going to be in the lineup. For that first big league at-bat, he had another trip coming -- this one all the way up the Pacific coast to Seattle.

Total travel: Nearly 3,000 miles. It might well be the longest path from Triple-A Toledo to the Tigers. It'll be worth all of it when he steps to the plate Friday night at Safeco Field.

"It's quite a lot," Larish said of the travel, "but I can't complain at all."

Manager Jim Leyland said Wednesday that he plans on using Larish, a first baseman at Toledo, in all three games at Seattle this weekend -- most likely all at designated hitter. Not only does the 25-year-old slugger add another power bat to a Tigers lineup that has been surprisingly punchless for stretches this season, he adds a left-handed bat to a heavily right-handed lineup.

As for what effect Larish and another lefty bat could have on Detroit's struggling offense, Leyland was frank.

"If he can hit, it helps a lot," Leyland said. "If he can't, it doesn't mean much. He's getting an opportunity."

He had a big effect on the Mud Hens' fortunes so far this season. His 16 home runs ranked third in the International League, while his 43 RBIs ranked second. The left-handed hitter owns a .274 batting average on the year to go with a .589 slugging percentage and .989 OPS.

He can have an impact on the Tigers, but he won't be a cure-all. Though the Tigers busted out for six runs in Wednesday's series finale against the Angels, it only widened the difference between their performances against left-handed and right-handed starters. It's a big enough gap that the Mariners pushed back lefty Jarrod Washburn from Saturday's scheduled start to send out right-handers in all three games of this upcoming series.

Marcus Thames, who homered twice Wednesday off Angels lefty Joe Saunders and barely missed a third, will likely start throughout the series regardless in order to add some punch. But Leyland knows Thames and Larish can't make all the difference. Their regulars have to carry a good share of the load.

"When push comes to shove, they've got to do it," Leyland said.

For the time being, Larish will be glad to help out, even if he has to cross the country to do it.

GO GET EM

he's got one day to get ready!

Hooray