GDT: 4/9/10 - DET (2-1) VS CLE (2-1) - 1:05 p.m. ET

Cool Porcello ready for home opener
Just 21 years old, righty has big-game experience

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

04/08/10 3:00 PM ET

KANSAS CITY -- Rick Porcello seemingly grew up in front of a national audience by pitching in the toughest of road environments. Six months later, he gets the flip side.

If Porcello could handle the roar of a packed crowd at the Metrodome and pitch well in the American League tiebreaker, the Tigers expect he can hold his own Friday amid the nonstop buzz and emotional outpour of Detroit's unofficial spring party, the Tigers' home opener. That's part of the reason this 21-year-old right-hander with a 28-year-old's maturity landed the next-best assignment to starting Opening Day.

"I don't think you ever know for sure, but I don't think he'll get hung up in that," manager Jim Leyland said. "I think he'll just go about his business."

That's what Porcello does. He kept his cool last year in situations that should've flummoxed many 20-year-olds. More importantly, he kept his sinker and his fastball, two pitches that flustered Indians hitters to no end last year. If he has those going Friday afternoon, Detroit fans should be in for quite a party, even if Porcello isn't reveling in it.

He does understand the significance, even if he has to keep it out of his mind. He remembers last year's home opener as a bystander, having made his Major League debut the previous day in Toronto, and watching all the activities. He had never been to an Opening Day game as a fan, so it was an experience on many levels that brought out a little bit of the kid in someone who did such a good job of keeping those emotions out of his game.

"I didn't realize how incredible it was, how big of a deal it was," Porcello said.

He knows it now, of course, and he knows the challenge that goes into channeling that. While the atmosphere might compare with what Porcello encountered at the Metrodome last October, the overwhelming difference will be who fans are pulling for. Not only will he have a dozen different family members in town from three different states, including his parents, he'll have the vast majority of a capacity crowd pulling for him.

That makes a difference to Porcello, even if he has to try to tune them out a little bit.

"You're out there and you've got an entire stadium, and you feel like they're cheering you on and they've got your back," Porcello said, "as opposed to pitching on the road and they want to see you just get rocked."

All those Twins fans couldn't get him rocked the last time he took the field in a regular-season game, a contest that was essentially a playoff elimination game. Facing a win-or-go-home scenario, Porcello did more than his part to try to turn the win scenario into reality.

He showed a pretty effective mix of the sinker that induced so many groundouts in the first half of last season and the four-seam power fastball that flustered hitters after that. With temperatures expected to approach 50 degrees Friday, it would not be a surprise to see Porcello try to jam hitters inside with more fastballs.

His ability to react and adjust to hitters in tandem with catcher Gerald Laird last year was another sign of his focus on the mound. No atmosphere is likely to change that.

"There's so much made about it," Leyland said of the home-opener atmosphere, "but I don't really think that pitchers think about that. He shouldn't be thinking about that. He should be thinking about Cleveland's hitters and how he's going to try to get them out, and I'm sure that's what Rick will be doing."



Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Rick Porcello (0-0, -.-- ERA)
Detroit's annual spring party, the home opener at Comerica Park, will feature the front-line starter who just recently turned 21. Porcello's Spring Training performance seemingly defied the idea of a sophomore slump looming. If anything, he looks physically bigger and stronger than he did as a rookie, and appears ready to use that to his advantage. He allowed just three runs on 11 hits over his 18 spring innings. More importantly, he showed an eagerness to find a middle ground between the sinkerball pitcher he was for the first half of last season, and the power pitcher who used a straight fastball to wear down hitters over the stretch run. Porcello went 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA in four starts against Cleveland last year.


CLE: LHP David Huff (0-0, -.-- ERA)
Huff was the Tribe's leader with 11 wins last season, but that didn't ensure him a rotation spot this year. He had to earn one in Spring Training. Huff had an inconsistent spring camp, at times struggling to find the strike zone, but he finished strong. The Indians see room for improvement from Huff, who, in his rookie year, had a 5.61 ERA, .301 average against and a 1.56 WHIP. But they also see big upside, as Huff went 4-1 with a 2.18 ERA over his last five starts of the 2009 season. Huff was in the Indians' rotation from mid-May through the end of last season, but he never came across the Tigers.



Tigers: Plenty of pageantry

Detroit will pull out all the stops for its home opener, bringing local native Tim Allen and American Idol finalist Matt Giraud to share in the pomp and circumstance. The Tigers will have a member of each branch of the U.S. military throw out the ceremonial first pitches, and Giraud will sing the national anthem before getting the game under way.

Detroit also expects a flyover from a military plane, and then Porcello will have to gather his nerves and pitch to the best of his abilities. Manager Jim Leyland doesn't think that will be a problem and is confident Porcello will keep his composure.

"There's so much made about it," Leyland said of the home opener atmosphere, "but I don't really think that pitchers think about that. He shouldn't be thinking about that. He should be thinking about Cleveland's hitters and how he's going to try to get them out, and I'm sure that's what Rick will be doing."

Worth noting

Jeremy Bonderman served the final game of his suspension during the series finale against Kansas City. ... The Tigers finished with 18 victories this spring, the most they've had since winning 21 games in 2001. ... Detroit has the youngest rotation in the Major Leagues, clocking in at an average age of 25.6 years old. Cleveland, meanwhile, has the second-youngest 25-man roster (27.97), trailing only Oakland. ... All 25 Indians have played in the Major Leagues prior to this season. Eight of the players on Cleveland's roster weren't in the organization at this point last season.


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Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Saturday, April 10:
Tigers (Jeremy Bonderman, RHP (0-0, --)) vs. Indians (Mitch Talbot, RHP (0-0, -.--)), 1:05 p.m. ET

• Sunday, April 11:
Tigers (Justin Verlander, RHP (0-0, 7.20)) vs. Indians (Jake Westbrook, RHP (0-1, 11.25)), 1:05 p.m. ET

• Monday, April 12:
Tigers (Max Scherzer, RHP (0-0, 0.00)) vs. Kansas City (To be announced), 1:05 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

Cleveland AVG
Cabrera, A, SS .308
Sizemore, CF .267
Choo, RF .167
Hafner, DH .154
Peralta, J, 3B .300
Kearns, LF .000
Valbuena, 2B .250
Marte, A, 1B .000
Redmond, M, C .000

Detroit AVG
Jackson, A, CF .333
Damon, LF .143
Ordonez, RF .500
Cabrera, M, 1B .571
Guillen, C, DH .357
Inge, 3B .250
Laird, C .000
Sizemore, 2B .000
Everett, SS .400

go tigers

Inning 1
Top Half

B:2 S:2 O:0 -
Asdrubal Cabrera singles on a ground ball to shortstop Adam Everett.

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

B:2 S:0 O:2 -
With Shin-Soo Choo batting, Asdrubal Cabrera caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Gerald Laird to shortstop Adam Everett.

B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Shin-Soo Choo called out on .


Bottom Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Austin Jackson called out on .

B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Johnny Damon swinging.

B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez singles on a soft line drive to center fielder Grady Sizemore.

B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera flies out to center fielder Grady Sizemore.

0-0 after 1 inning

still early...c'mon boys

c'mon dp....

ooooh - scary (Goooooo Tigers!!!!)

Inning 2
Top Half

B:2 S:2 O:0 -
Travis Hafner homers (1) on a fly ball to right center field.

CLE 1, DET 0



B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Jhonny Peralta walks.

B:1 S:1 O:2 - Austin Kearns grounds into double play,
second baseman Scott Sizemore to shortstop Adam Everett to first
baseman Miguel Cabrera. Jhonny Peralta out at 2nd.

B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Luis Valbuena flies out to left fielder Johnny Damon.


Bottom Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Carlos Guillen flies out to right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.

B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Brandon Inge grounds out, second baseman Luis Valbuena to first baseman Andy Marte.

B:2 S:2 O:3 -
Gerald Laird grounds out to first baseman Andy Marte.



CLE 1, DET 0 after 2 innings

msgol

I am so mad, I am blacked out of this game because they say I am in the Indians area, yet it is a 3 hour drive to CLEVELAND and the game is in Detroit plus our cable company won't provide STO (the indians network) since they say I am in the Pittsburgh market!

gogetem

Inning 3
Top Half

B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Andy Marte grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Mike Redmond grounds out, second baseman Scott Sizemore to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Asdrubal Cabrera singles on a ground ball to center fielder Austin Jackson.

B:2 S:1 O:3 -
Grady Sizemore grounds into a force out, fielded by shortstop Adam Everett. Asdrubal Cabrera out at 2nd.


Bottom Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Scott Sizemore lines out to right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Adam Everett flies out to left fielder Austin Kearns.

B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Austin Jackson grounds out, second baseman Luis Valbuena to first baseman Andy Marte.

CLE 1, DET 0 after 3 innings

wow gogetem - cable victim - - sheesh

Inning 4
Top Half

B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Shin-Soo Choo flies out to left fielder Johnny Damon.

B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Travis Hafner flies out to left fielder Johnny Damon.

B:1 S:0 O:3 -
Jhonny Peralta flies out to right fielder Magglio Ordonez.

CLE 1, DET 0 after 3.5 innings

msgol wrote:

wow gogetem - cable victim - - sheesh

I sure am!

hello, bats????

Bottom Half

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Johnny Damon grounds out, third baseman Jhonny Peralta to first baseman Andy Marte.

B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez pops out to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera walks.

B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Carlos Guillen flies out to right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.

CLE 1, DET 0 after 4 innings

ok guys, better start hitting or we are all coming after ya!

Come on Rick, keep that score low so maybe our batters can rally!

I can't believe this weather, warm while our guys are in FL, now cold... at least it should warm back up soon.

dag nab it Tigers...

Inning 5
Top Half

B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Austin Kearns grounds out softly, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Luis Valbuena flies out to center fielder Austin Jackson.

B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Andy Marte walks.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
With Mike Redmond batting, wild pitch by Rick Porcello, Andy Marte to 2nd.

B:2 S:0 O:2 -
Mike Redmond doubles (1) on a ground ball to right fielder Magglio Ordonez. Andy Marte scores.

CLE 2, DET 0
B:0 S:3 O:3 -
Asdrubal Cabrera swinging.

CLE 2, DET 0 after 4.5 innings

it's still not over...if the bats wake up.

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Brandon Inge singles on a ground ball to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera.

B:1 S:2 O:1 - Gerald Laird grounds into a force out,
third baseman Jhonny Peralta to second baseman Luis Valbuena. Brandon
Inge out at 2nd. Gerald Laird to 1st.

finally gets on base!

B:2 S:1 O:1 -
Scott Sizemore singles on a line drive to center fielder Grady Sizemore. Gerald Laird to 2nd.

gets his 1st MLB hit!

B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Adam Everett singles on a ground ball to left fielder Austin Kearns. Gerald Laird to 3rd. Scott Sizemore to 2nd.

B:2 S:2 O:1 - Austin Jackson singles on a ground ball
to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. Gerald Laird scores. Scott Sizemore to
3rd. Adam Everett to 2nd.
CLE 2, DET 1

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Johnny Damon pops out to second baseman Luis Valbuena on the infield fly rule.

B:2 S:0 O:2 - Magglio Ordonez reaches on throwing
error by third baseman Jhonny Peralta. Scott Sizemore scores. Adam
Everett scores. Austin Jackson scores. Magglio Ordonez to 2nd.

DET 4, CLE 2

call that boy "Jet" Jackson!!!


B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera flies out to right fielder Shin-Soo Choo in foul territory.

DET 4, CLE 2 after 5 innings

Inning 6
Top Half

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

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Phil Coke replaces Rick Porcello.

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

B:0 S:3 O:1 -
Shin-Soo Choo on foul tip.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Travis Hafner flies out to center fielder Austin Jackson.


B:1 S:1 O:2 -
With Jhonny Peralta batting, Grady Sizemore steals (1) 2nd base.

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

DET 4, CLE 2 after 5.5 innings