GDT: 8/26/09 - DET (67-58) AT LAA (74-50) - 3:35 p.m. ET

ANAHEIM -- The Tigers already have their first road series win in 2 1/2 months. Now they can go for their first road sweep since early May, and their first road sweep of the Angels since 1993. Manager Jim Leyland has plenty of pieces to add to his lineup to try to do it.

With left-hander Joe Saunders on the mound for the Angels Wednesday afternoon in the finale of this big three-game series, Leyland will counter by inserting Ryan Raburn and Marcus Thames into the lineup alongside Magglio Ordonez. Gerald Laird will take his half of the catching platoon, and Adam Everett will be back at shortstop for the first time this series.

Thus, a Detroit lineup that had five left-handed hitters Tuesday could have only Curtis Granderson from the left side on Wednesday, and Leyland wasn't sure Tuesday night whether he'd start Granderson on Wednesday. With Clete Thomas available as a defensive replacement and Carlos Guillen on the bench as a potential pinch-hitter against a right-handed reliever, the Tigers have options galore.

It's what Leyland wanted when the Tigers decided to send down a reliever last week to make room for new acquisition Aubrey Huff, giving Detroit 14 position players and 11 pitchers. After fretting over whether they'd need the extra reliever, Leyland seems to have survived the road trip without one.

"I'm trying to play everybody," Leyland said. "I'm tickled with the way it's working out. It looks to me, looking at their lineup, we do a lot of things the same."

Through two games of this series, the Tigers are doing it better, something they've rarely done away from Comerica Park all summer. A switch in the order to bat Ordonez in between Placido Polanco and Miguel Cabrera resulted in eight runs among the trio Monday and Tuesday. Thomas provided a leaping catch at the fence in the eighth inning Tuesday to rob Kendry Morales of an extra-base hit and end an Angels comeback bid.

Come next week, the tradeoff of less relief pitching for more bench options won't matter, with rosters expanding Sept. 1 and more help coming from Triple-A Toledo. For now, however, the chance Leyland took seems to have paid off.

The interchangeable parts are particularly important Wednesday against Saunders, who has allowed a .296 batting average and .875 on-base-plus-slugging percentage to right-handed hitters compared with .248 and .695 respectively against left-handed batters.

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Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Edwin Jackson (10-5, 2.86 ERA)
Having surrendered seven runs on 18 hits in 10 innings over his previous two starts, Jackson bounced back against the A's on Friday, allowing two runs on six hits and striking out five to earn the win. The 25-year-old will look to keep rolling against the Angels. He's 1-1 with a 2.57 ERA in two starts against the Halos this year, including a one-run complete-game performance on June 6.

LAA: LHP Joe Saunders (9-7, 5.33 ERA)
Saunders is optimistic that a two-week trip to the disabled list after a dismal outing on Aug. 7, during which he lasted only 1 2/3 innings and gave up five runs against the Rangers, has restored the health of a left shoulder that had been tight with a knot. After a 17-7 breakthrough 2008 season with a 3.41 ERA in 31 starts, Saunders is 9-7 with a 5.33 ERA in 23 outings. He is hoping to recapture his All-Star form from last year with a healthy shoulder. Saunders clearly wasn't himself during a 13-start stretch after May, when his ERA was 7.29. He has had several excellent efforts, including a shutout of the Royals, but has struggled to find consistency. Looking for his first career win against the Tigers -- he's 0-1 with a 5.40 ERA in six starts -- Saunders is 4-3 with a 4.62 ERA at home this season.

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Tidbits

... Sitting Granderson would not be an easy decision for Leyland, given the leadoff man's success at Angel Stadium. He has eight home runs in 20 career games there, and has hit four homers against the Angels this year.
... Leyland said he'd like to give setup man Brandon Lyon one more day off Wednesday after he threw 37 pitches Monday night, but Lyon told him he'd be available.
... Leyland said Tuesday that when he first saw Jackson in a Dodgers uniform years ago, he saw a potentially dominant late-inning reliever, even though he was a 20-year-old starter. "I still think, to this day, he could be a great closer," Leyland said.
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Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 6-10, 5.05 ERA) vs. Rays (Matt Garza, 7-8, 3.74 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Tigers (Rick Porcello, 10-8, 4.39 ERA) vs. Rays (David Price, 6-6, 4.93 ERA), 4:05 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

TIGERS

1. Granderson, CF
   
2. Polanco, 2B
   
3. Ordonez, RF
   
4. Cabrera, 1B
   
5. Thames, DH
   
6. Raburn, LF
   
7. Inge, 3B
   
8. Laird, C
   
9. Everett, SS
   

P: Edwin Jackson

ANGELS

1. Chone Figgins, 3B
   
2. Bobby Abreu, RF
   
3. Torii Hunter, CF
   
4. Vladimir Guerrero, DH
   
5. Kendry Morales, 1B
   
6. Maicer Izturis, 2B
   
7. Erick Aybar, SS
   
8. Mike Napoli, C
   
9. Gary Matthews Jr., LF
   

P: Joe Saunders

4-2 Angels after 5

Inning 1
Top Half

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


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Placido Polanco flies out to center fielder Torii Hunter.


B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez singles on a line drive to right fielder Bobby Abreu.


B:3 S:1 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera grounds into a force out, fielded by second baseman Maicer Izturis. Magglio Ordonez out at 2nd.

Bottom Half

B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Chone Figgins walks.


B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Bobby Abreu flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:2 S:0 O:1 -
With Torii Hunter batting, Chone Figgins steals (38) 2nd base.


B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Torii Hunter homers (18) on a fly ball to left center field. Chone Figgins scores.
LAA 2, DET 0

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Vladimir Guerrero grounds out, shortstop Adam Everett to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Kendry Morales flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

LAA 2, DET 0 after 1 inning

Inning 2
Top Half

B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Marcus Thames walks.


B:1 S:2 O:2 - Ryan Raburn grounds into double play,
shortstop Erick Aybar to second baseman Maicer Izturis to first baseman
Kendry Morales. Marcus Thames out at 2nd.


B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Brandon Inge called out on .

Bottom Half

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


B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Erick Aybar singles on a line drive to left fielder Ryan Raburn.


B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Mike Napoli swinging.


B:3 S:2 O:2 -
With Gary MatthewsJr. batting, Erick Aybar steals (13) 2nd base.


B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Gary MatthewsJr. walks.


B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Chone Figgins grounds out, shortstop Adam Everett to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

LAA 2, DET 0 after 2 innings

Inning 3
Top Half

B:2 S:0 O:1 -
Gerald Laird flies out to left fielder Gary MatthewsJr.


B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Adam Everett swinging.


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

Bottom Half

B:4 S:1 O:0 -
Bobby Abreu walks.


B:3 S:2 O:0 -
With Torii Hunter batting, Bobby Abreu steals (27) 2nd base.


B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Torii Hunter walks.


B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Coaching visit to mound.


B:0 S:0 O:2 - Vladimir Guerrero grounds into double
play, third baseman Brandon Inge to second baseman Placido Polanco to
first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Bobby Abreu to 3rd. Torii Hunter out at
2nd.


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Kendry Morales singles on a ground ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson. Bobby Abreu scores.
LAA 3, DET 0




B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Maicer Izturis flies out to right fielder Magglio Ordonez.

LAA 3, DET 0 after 3 innings

Inning 4
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:0 -
Placido Polanco singles on a line drive to left fielder Gary MatthewsJr.


B:0 S:1 O:0 -
With Magglio Ordonez batting, Placido Polanco steals (5) 2nd base.


B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Magglio Ordonez walks.


B:3 S:3 O:2 - Miguel Cabrera swinging and
Placido Polanco caught stealing 3rd, catcher Mike Napoli to third
baseman Chone Figgins. Magglio Ordonez to 2nd.


B:3 S:3 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.


B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Marcus Thames flies out to center fielder Torii Hunter.

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Erick Aybar flies out to left fielder Ryan Raburn.


B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Mike Napoli on foul tip.


B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Gary MatthewsJr. doubles (14) on a fly ball to left fielder Ryan Raburn.


B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Chone Figgins singles on a soft fly ball to left fielder Ryan Raburn. Gary MatthewsJr. scores.
LAA 4, DET 0




B:2 S:0 O:2 -
With Bobby Abreu batting, Chone Figgins steals (39) 2nd base.


B:2 S:1 O:3 -
Bobby Abreu flies out to left fielder Ryan Raburn.


LAA 4, DET 0 after 4 innings

Inning 5
Top Half

B:1 S:0 O:0 -
Ryan Raburn doubles (9) on a fly ball to center fielder Torii Hunter.


B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Brandon Inge swinging, catcher Mike Napoli to first baseman Kendry Morales.


B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Gerald Laird flies out to left fielder Gary MatthewsJr.


B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Adam Everett homers (3) on a fly ball to left field. Ryan Raburn scores.
LAA 4, DET 2




B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Curtis Granderson grounds out to first baseman Kendry Morales.

Bottom Half

B:1 S:2 O:0 -
Torii Hunter singles on a line drive to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:2 S:0 O:0 -
Vladimir Guerrero singles on a fly ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson. Torii Hunter to 2nd.


B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Kendry Morales swinging.


B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Maicer Izturis flies out to right fielder Magglio Ordonez. Torii Hunter to 3rd.


B:3 S:1 O:3 -
Torii Hunter out at home, catcher Gerald Laird to third baseman Brandon Inge.


LAA 4, DET 2 after 5 innings

Inning 6
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Jason Bulger replaces Joe Saunders.


B:2 S:1 O:1 -
Placido Polanco flies out to left fielder Gary MatthewsJr.


B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez pops out to first baseman Kendry Morales.


B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera doubles (30) on a fly ball to right fielder Bobby Abreu.


B:2 S:0 O:2 -
Marcus Thames singles on a ground ball to third baseman Chone Figgins. Miguel Cabrera to 3rd.


B:1 S:3 O:3 -
Ryan Raburn swinging.

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Erick Aybar flies out to left fielder Ryan Raburn.


B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Mike Napoli grounds out, shortstop Adam Everett to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Gary MatthewsJr. grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

LAA 4, DET 2 after 6 innings

Inning 7
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Jose Arredondo replaces Jason Bulger.


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


B:2 S:0 O:2 -
Gerald Laird pops out to first baseman Kendry Morales in foul territory.


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Adam Everett singles on a line drive to left fielder Gary MatthewsJr.


B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Pitcher Change: Kevin Jepsen replaces Jose Arredondo.


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


B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Curtis Granderson grounds out, second baseman Maicer Izturis to first baseman Kendry Morales.

Bottom Half

B:2 S:2 O:0 -
Chone Figgins doubles (25) on a line drive to right fielder Magglio Ordonez.


B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Bobby Abreu grounds out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Chone Figgins to 3rd.


B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Pitcher Change: Ryan Perry replaces Edwin Jackson.


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


B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Torii Hunter swinging.


B:4 S:1 O:2 -
Vladimir Guerrero walks.


B:4 S:1 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.


B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Kendry Morales grounds out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

LAA 4, DET 2 after 7 innings

Inning 8
Top Half

B:2 S:1 O:1 -
Placido Polanco flies out to right fielder Bobby Abreu.


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez flies out to center fielder Torii Hunter.


B:1 S:3 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera swinging.

Bottom Half

B:4 S:0 O:0 -
Maicer Izturis walks.


B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Erick Aybar out on a sacrifice bunt, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Maicer Izturis to 2nd.


B:0 S:1 O:1 -
With Mike Napoli batting, Maicer Izturis steals (11) 3rd base.


B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Mike Napoli pops out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera in foul territory.


B:0 S:3 O:3 -
Gary Matthews Jr. swinging.

LAA 4, DET 2 after 8 innings

Inning 9
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Brian Fuentes replaces Kevin Jepsen.


B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Marcus Thames pops out to second baseman Maicer Izturis.


B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Ryan Raburn hit by pitch.


B:2 S:2 O:1 -
With Brandon Inge batting, wild pitch by Brian Fuentes, Ryan Raburn to 2nd.


B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Brandon Inge lines out to second baseman Maicer Izturis.


B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Gerald Laird hit by pitch.


B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Injury Delay.


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


B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Adam Everett pops out to shortstop Erick Aybar.

LAA 4, DET 2 after 9 innings

August 26, 2009

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Detroit	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0		2	7	0
LA Angels	2	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	X		4	8	0

Detroit AB- R- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB -AVG- Granderson, CF 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .256 Polanco, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 .273 Ordonez, RF 3 0 1 0 1 0 0 .276 Cabrera, M, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .343 Thames, DH 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .248 Raburn, LF 3 1 1 0 0 1 3 .275 Inge, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 3 2 .238 Laird, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 .221 Everett, SS 4 1 2 2 0 1 2 .239 Totals 32 2 7 2 2 9 13 BATTING 2B: Raburn (9, Saunders), Cabrera, M (30, Bulger). HR: Everett (3, 5th inning off Saunders, 1 on, 2 out). TB: Polanco; Ordonez; Cabrera, M 2; Thames; Raburn 2; Everett 5. RBI: Everett 2 (35). 2-out RBI: Everett 2. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Thames; Raburn; Everett. GIDP: Raburn. Team RISP: 2-for-9. Team LOB: 7. BASERUNNING SB: Polanco (5, 2nd base off Saunders/Napoli). CS: Polanco (2, 3rd base by Saunders/Napoli). FIELDING DP: (Inge-Polanco-Cabrera, M).		LA Angels AB- R-- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB- AVG Figgins, 3B 3 1 2 1 1 0 2 .308 Abreu, B, RF 3 1 0 0 1 0 3 .305 Hunter, CF 3 1 2 2 1 1 1 .318 Guerrero, DH 3 0 1 0 1 0 2 .304 Morales, K, 1B 4 0 1 1 0 1 4 .301 Izturis, M, 2B 3 0 0 0 1 0 3 .298 Aybar, E, SS 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 .313 Napoli, C 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .289 Matthews, LF 3 1 1 0 1 1 1 .246 Totals 29 4 8 4 6 5 18 BATTING 2B: Matthews (14, Jackson, E), Figgins (25, Jackson, E). HR: Hunter (18, 1st inning off Jackson, E, 1 on, 1 out). TB: Figgins 3; Hunter 5; Guerrero; Morales, K; Aybar, E; Matthews 2. RBI: Hunter 2 (70), Morales, K (85), Figgins (45). 2-out RBI: Morales, K; Figgins. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Figgins; Abreu, B; Morales, K; Matthews. S: Aybar, E. GIDP: Guerrero. Team RISP: 3-for-13. Team LOB: 8. BASERUNNING SB: Aybar, E (13, 2nd base off Jackson, E/Laird), Figgins 2 (39, 2nd base off Jackson, E/Laird, 2nd base off Jackson, E/Laird), Abreu, B (27, 2nd base off Jackson, E/Laird), Izturis, M (11, 3rd base off Perry/Laird). FIELDING DP: 2 (Aybar, E-Izturis, M-Morales, K, Napoli-Figgins).
Detroit IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA Jackson, E (L, 10-6) 6.1 8 4 4 4 3 1 2.96 Perry 1.2 0 0 0 2 2 0 3.74		LA Angels IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA Saunders (W, 10-7) 5.0 4 2 2 2 6 1 5.27 Bulger (H, 8) 1.0 2 0 0 0 1 0 3.54 Arredondo, Jo (H, 13) 0.2 1 0 0 0 1 0 5.86 Jepsen (H, 9) 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 5.11 Fuentes (S, 36) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.01
WP: Fuentes. HBP: Raburn (by Fuentes), Laird (by Fuentes). Pitches-strikes: Jackson, E 115-68, Perry 25-13, Saunders 89-52, Bulger 17-11, Arredondo, Jo 9-5, Jepsen 17-10, Fuentes 16-11. Groundouts-flyouts: Jackson, E 8-7, Perry 2-1, Saunders 4-4, Bulger 0-2, Arredondo, Jo 0-1, Jepsen 1-2, Fuentes 0-3. Batters faced: Jackson, E 29, Perry 7, Saunders 19, Bulger 5, Arredondo, Jo 3, Jepsen 4, Fuentes 5. Inherited runners-scored: Perry 1-0, Jepsen 1-0. Umpires: HP: Jim Wolf. 1B: Delfin Colon. 2B: Mark Carlson. 3B: Chad Fairchild. Weather: 97 degrees, sunny. Wind: 3 mph, Varies. T: 2:49. Att: 36,329. August 26, 2009

97 degrees and Jim Wolf wore a black short sleeve jacket over his chest protector? What da Fuck?


I guess wearing a Light Blue Shirt [ like the base umps were wearing] was out of the question

You know, I think Jackson has potential and is a decent pitcher...let's hope to see him keep getting better. and show him some love, guys!!