GDT: 9/1/09 - DET (69-61) VS CLE (58-72) - 7:05 p.m. ET

DETROIT -- Carlos Guillen ranks among the longest-tenured Tigers on the team. Technically, he arrived in Detroit before Ivan Rodriguez did after the 2003 season. Yet of all the trades and moves the Tigers have done this summer to try to maintain their playoff hopes, Guillen has been their biggest addition.

He didn't go anywhere, except for a brief stay in Lakeland, Fla. It's that he came back.

Given how much his right shoulder was bothering him early in the year, his return was never an assumption. Now, at least from the left side, he's showing glimpses of the Guillen of old, rather than simply an old Guillen.

"I feel comfortable," Guillen said. "I have to try to stay consistent. I can't give too many at-bats away. Sometimes it happens when you try to do too much."

He has talked often about the risk of players and teammates putting too much pressure on themselves to do too much. He believes that's one reason why the Tigers struggled so much offensively during the 2 1/2 months he was out. Now that he's back, he seems to be doing as much as anybody.

With his two-homer, four-hit game Monday against the Rays, Guillen is batting .287 with a .530 slugging percentage, eight homers and 23 RBIs in 33 games since he came back from the DL. As the Tigers prepare to meet the rebuilding young Indians and fellow Venezuelan Carlos Carrasco, Guillen is a major cog in their offense, whether he's batting in front of Miguel Cabrera or behind him.

Guillen rejoined the Tigers in late July under the conditions that he couldn't yet play the field and he couldn't switch-hit. Now that he has played left field for the last two weeks, he has given the Tigers more flexibility to use hitters such as trade acquisition Aubrey Huff.

Yet while Huff's August slump has dropped his batting average 10 points in the past two weeks and prompted manager Jim Leyland to rest him for the next day or two, Guillen's average is now on the cusp of the .250 mark at .249, despite batting .200 in April and early May.

What pleased Guillen so much about his performance Monday, besides the four-hit game, was the nature of his two homers. He took a James Shields fastball to the opposite field in the first inning, depositing it into the corner in left for a two-run homer, before jumping another Shields fastball and pulling it to right.

"I like the two balls I hit over the fence," Guillen said. "The first one, I had to stay with the pitch, a fastball away. That's the way you're supposed to hit."

Until early August, it was a way he hadn't been hitting since the first half of the 2007 season. Though he hasn't shown much extra-base power yet besides home runs, the ability to hit to both sides of the field with authority is a big step for him and a sign of his health.

He isn't ruling out the possibility that he could switch-hit again before the season is over.

"I don't know," Guillen said. "I was trying last week and I was still feeling it. I want to feel 100 percent."

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Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Edwin Jackson (10-6, 2.96 ERA)
Before Jackson gets a matchup with his old employers, the Tampa Bay Rays, he'll have another meeting with a Cleveland offense he has handled well this year, giving him a chance at a late-season rebound heading into September. Though he battled blistering temperatures last Wednesday afternoon at Angel Stadium to hit the high 90s on his fastball, it was his secondary stuff that gave reason for encouragement, particularly a nasty biting slider. He took the loss nonetheless with four runs allowed over 6 1/3 innings, including a two-run homer to Torii Hunter.


CLE: RHP Carlos Carrasco (Major League debut)
The right-hander will make his Major League debut for the Indians against the Tigers. Cleveland got Carrasco in the Cliff Lee trade with the Phillies earlier this summer, and now it will get its first look at him. He'll come up from Triple-A Columbus, and the Indians won't have to make a corresponding move since on Sept. 1, teams can expand their rosters to 40.

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Tidbits

... The Tigers will welcome reinforcements from Triple-A Toledo on Tuesday, when rosters expand. Right-handers Jeremy Bonderman, Eddie Bonine and Casey Fien will be activated from the DL and called up from Toledo, respectively, to join the Tigers bullpen. Catcher Dusty Ryan, outfielder Wilkin Ramirez and infielder Brent Dlugach will make the trip up, too, and add depth to the Tigers bench.
... Curtis Granderson said he misplayed a line drive to center that seemingly knuckled on him in part because he couldn't track the ball well. He said it looked off the bat like it was going to fall in for a single to left-center, so he was trying to cut it off before it swerved back toward straightaway center. "I've never seen that happen before," Granderson said. "I don't know what happened."
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Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Wednesday: Tigers (Rick Porcello, 11-8, 4.27 ERA) vs. Indians (Aaron Laffey, 7-3, 3.40 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Tigers (Nate Robertson, 1-1, 6.84 ERA) vs. Indians (Fausto Carmona, 3-9, 6.20 ERA), 1:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Tigers (Justin Verlander, 15-7, 3.38 ERA) at Rays (Jeff Niemann, 12-5, 3.80 ERA), 7:38 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

INDIANS

1. Grady Sizemore, CF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
3. Shin-Soo Choo, DH
4. Jhonny Peralta, 3B
5. Luis Valbuena, 2B
6. Matt LaPorta, RF
7. Andy Marte, 1B
8. Kelly Shoppach, C
9. Michael Brantley, LF (just called up)

SP: Carlos Carrasco (also just called up)

TIGERS

1. :curtis: Curtis Granderson, CF
2. :placido: Placido Polanco, 2B
3. Carlos Guillen, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Magglio Ordonez, RF
6. :huff: Aubrey Huff, DH
7. Brandon Inge, 3B
8. Gerald Laird, C
9. Adam Everett, SS

SP: :jackson: Edwin Jackson

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

STARTING LINEUPS:

INDIANS

1. Grady Sizemore, CF
2. Asdrubal Cabrera, SS
3. Shin-Soo Choo, DH
4. Jhonny Peralta, 3B
5. Luis Valbuena, 2B
6. Matt LaPorta, RF
7. Andy Marte, 1B
8. Kelly Shoppach, C
9. Michael Brantley, LF (just called up)

SP: Carlos Carrasco (also just called up)

TIGERS

1. :curtis: Curtis Granderson, CF
2. :placido: Placido Polanco, 2B
3. Carlos Guillen, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Magglio Ordonez, RF
6. :huff: Aubrey Huff, DH
7. Brandon Inge, 3B
8. Gerald Laird, C
9. Adam Everett, SS

SP: :jackson: Edwin Jackson

Why do we keep playing Huff? Perhaps I could go strike out for him!!!!!!

Current Conditions

Comerica Park

Sunny 71 F

Humidity: 38 %

Wind: from the ESE at 5 mph

Barometer: 30.29 in

last updated: 9/1/09 6:05 PM EDT

Pudgerocks wrote:

Why do we keep playing Huff? Perhaps I could go strike out for him!!!!!!

I thought Leyland was going to rest him to let him clear his head???

Inning 1
Top Half

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Grady Sizemore swinging.


B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Asdrubal Cabrera doubles (34) on a line drive to right fielder Magglio Ordonez.


B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Shin-Soo Choo singles on a ground ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson. Asdrubal Cabrera scores.
CLE 1, DET 0

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

B:0 S:3 O:3 -
Luis Valbuena swinging.

CLE 1, DET 0 after .5 inning

Bottom Half

B:3 S:2 O:1 - Curtis Granderson doubles (17) on a line
drive to right fielder Matt LaPorta. Curtis Granderson out at 3rd,
right fielder Matt LaPorta to second baseman Luis Valbuena to third
baseman Jhonny Peralta.


B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Placido Polanco homers (9) on a line drive to left field.
CLE 1, DET 1

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Carlos Guillen homers (9) on a fly ball to right field.
DET 2, CLE 1

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Miguel Cabrera singles on a line drive to center fielder Grady Sizemore.

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

B:3 S:2 O:1 -
With Magglio Ordonez batting, Miguel Cabrera steals (4) 2nd base.

B:4 S:2 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez walks.

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Aubrey Huff singles on a ground ball to center fielder Grady Sizemore. Miguel Cabrera scores. Magglio Ordonez to 2nd.
DET 3, CLE 1

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Brandon Inge swinging.


B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Gerald Laird doubles (20) on a line drive to left fielder Michael Brantley. Magglio Ordonez scores. Aubrey Huff to 3rd. (just missed a homer)

DET 4, CLE 1




B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Adam Everett lines out to center fielder Grady Sizemore.

DET 4, CLE 1 after 1 inning

Inning 2
Top Half

B:3 S:2 O:0 -
Matt LaPorta doubles (8) on a fly ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:3 S:3 O:1 -
Andy Marte swinging.

B:4 S:2 O:1 -
Kelly Shoppach walks.

B:1 S:2 O:3 - Michael Brantley grounds into double
play, second baseman Placido Polanco to shortstop Adam Everett to first
baseman Miguel Cabrera. Kelly Shoppach out at 2nd.

DET 4, CLE 1 after 1.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:2 O:0 -
Curtis Granderson singles on a line drive to center fielder Grady Sizemore.

B:2 S:2 O:2 - Placido Polanco lines into double play,
second baseman Luis Valbuena to first baseman Andy Marte. Curtis
Granderson doubled off 1st.

B:4 S:1 O:2 -
Carlos Guillen walks.

B:3 S:0 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera pops out to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

DET 4, CLE 1 after 2 innings

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

B:3 S:0 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera pops out to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

DET 4, CLE 1 after 2 innings

Looks like someone returned our offense! Way to threaten them into submission!!!!!!!!!!!!

GoGetEmTigers wrote:

Pudgerocks wrote:

Why do we keep playing Huff? Perhaps I could go strike out for him!!!!!!

I thought Leyland was going to rest him to let him clear his head???

I think Leyland needs to clear his head!!!!!!!!!!

Inning 3
Top Half

B:4 S:1 O:0 -
Grady Sizemore walks.

B:1 S:2 O:0 -
Asdrubal Cabrera singles on a ground ball to right fielder Magglio Ordonez. Grady Sizemore to 3rd.

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Shin-Soo Choo swinging.


B:0 S:0 O:3 - Jhonny Peralta grounds into double play,
third baseman Brandon Inge to second baseman Placido Polanco to first
baseman Miguel Cabrera. Asdrubal Cabrera out at 2nd.

DET 4, CLE 1 after 2.5 innings

wow, Jackson getting Double Play support tonight!

I want Polly back next year!

Bottom Half

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez called out on .

B:4 S:0 O:1 -
Aubrey Huff walks.