GDT: 4/18/09 - DET (5-5) AT SEA (8-3) - 9:10 p.m. ET

SEATTLE -- Ramon Santiago is back in Seattle, where he played two seasons, and back in the starting lineup while Adam Everett recovers from a lingering flu bug. And when he's asked about his hot start this year, the Tigers utility man can't help but think back to the hot days of the tropical winter in his native Dominican Republic.

There, on the sands of the beach at the Boca Chica resort community not far from his hometown of the capital city of Santo Domingo, Santiago, who's hitting .316 (6-for-19) with a home run and six RBIs in five games, underwent a Friday workout ritual that has him in what he says is the best condition of his career.

"We run on the beach," Santiago said. "La playa."

When he says "we," he's referring to a pretty impressive group of joggers. Red Sox slugger David Ortiz and Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano are part of the group, along with a host of other big leaguers and even unsigned prospects. They put on tennis shoes and do sprints, distance running and resistance training, and attract quite a crowd of baseball-crazy sun-bathers on hand to witness the weekly All-Star parade.

For Santiago, it's a particularly difficult capper to a week full of weightlifting and cardiovascular work, but the pain pays off at the end of the morning workout. That's when the players gather at a nearby restaurant for a big lunch of local specialties such as rice and beans, plantains, chicken and fish, and "the big-money guys pay."

"It's my favorite day of the week," Santiago says. "I look forward to it."

Santiago also is looking forward to the birth of his first child, a boy who will be named Ramon Jr., due July 15. And he's looking forward to continuing to help the Tigers, something manager Jim Leyland seems more than willing to facilitate a few times a week.

"He's a good player," Leyland says. "He's a nice player to have. He's versatile, he's a switch-hitter, he's got good hands and an accurate arm. He's a nice little player for us."

Santiago, who will turn 30 in August, hit .282 for the Tigers in 58 games last year and is batting .287 (60-for-209) in 95 games since the start of the 2007 season. He says there's a clear correlation between the increased intensity of his offseason fitness regimen -- he also plays winter ball in the Dominican -- and his improved numbers.

"I think as I've gotten older and gotten more experience, I've matured and learned to get myself ready," he says. "It's a long season."


Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Edwin Jackson (0-0, 3.38 ERA)
Jackson couldn't repeat the dominance from his first Tigers start when he took the mound last Sunday against the Rangers, but he kept the Tigers close enough for a late-inning comeback. The Rangers roughed up Jackson for two-run homers in the first and third innings, but he not only held Texas scoreless from there, he lasted six innings in the process. His 13 innings through two starts have reinforced team hopes that he'll emerge as an innings-eater on the staff, not to mention a maturing young starter set to follow up on last year's success with Tampa Bay. Jackson won both of his previous career starts against the Mariners, allowing a lone run on nine hits over 15 combined innings.

SEA: LHP Erik Bedard (1-0, 2.02 ERA
The left-hander pitched the best game of his tenure with the Mariners in his previous outing, holding the Athletics to two hits over the first eight innings and three hits in 8 1/3 innings. He retired 11 of 12 batters during one stretch and 13 straight in another. His left shoulder obviously is healthy again, and he threw 102 pitches overall, 67 of them for strikes. He has 14 strikeouts in his first two starts.

Tidbits
... Reliever Joel Zumaya (sore right shoulder) was transferred from Class A Lakeland to Triple-A Toledo, where he'll continue to rehab out of the bullpen for the Mud Hens on Saturday. "It's exciting to me that he's healthy," Leyland said. "The biggest thing is health and strikes."
... Dontrelle Willis (anxiety disorder) will begin his rehab with Lakeland on Tuesday. Leyland said Willis pitched in an extended spring training game Thursday and the reports said he "looked fantastic." Leyland said the left-hander threw 62 pitches and that 48 of them were strikes. "They were legitimate strikes, too," added Leyland, who was encouraged by Willis' velocity being in the 90-92 mph range. "The younger kids weren't swinging at balls outside the strike zone."
... After allowing seven runs (five earned) in the first two games this season, Tigers relievers have posted a 2-0 record and a 1.90 ERA in the last seven games. Opponents are batting .146 (12-for-82) against Tigers relievers in that stretch.

To track MLB play-by-play: http://m.mlb.com/scores/

On the Internet
MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes

On television
• FS-D, FS-D+

On radio
• WXYT 1270

Up next
• Sunday: Tigers (Rick Porcello, 0-1, 7.20 ERA) at Mariners (Carlos Silva, 0-1, 6.00 ERA), 4:10 p.m. ET
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 2-0, 0.68 ERA) at Angels (Jered Weaver, 1-1, 3.09 ERA), 10:05 p.m. ET

Go Tigers

starting lineups

Detroit AVG
Granderson, CF .205
Polanco, 2B .282
Ordonez, RF .270
Cabrera, M, 1B .513
Guillen, LF .176
Thames, DH .286
Laird, C .321
Inge, 3B .265
Santiago, SS .333


Seattle AVG
Suzuki, RF .308
Chavez, LF .386
Griffey Jr., DH .231
Beltre, 3B .214
Sweeney, M, 1B .250
Lopez, J, 2B .206
Johnson, R, C .188
Betancourt, SS .333
Gutierrez, F, CF .212

Inning 1
Top Half

B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Curtis Granderson walks.

B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Placido Polanco pops out to first baseman Mike Sweeney in foul territory.

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez singles on a line drive to right fielder Ichiro Suzuki. Curtis Granderson to 2nd.

B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera called out on .

B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Carlos Guillen called out on .

0-0

Bottom Half

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Ichiro Suzuki called out on .

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Endy Chavez doubles (1) on a line drive to right fielder Magglio Ordonez.

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
With Ken GriffeyJr. batting, Endy Chavez steals (4) 3rd base.

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Ken GriffeyJr. pops out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera in foul territory.

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

0-0 after 1 inning

Inning 2
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Marcus Thames grounds out, third baseman Adrian Beltre to first baseman Mike Sweeney.

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Gerald Laird singles on a line drive to left fielder Endy Chavez.

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Brandon Inge called out on .

B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Ramon Santiago pops out to pitcher Erik Bedard.

0-0

Bottom Half

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Mike Sweeney grounds out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Jose Lopez pops out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera in foul territory.


B:1 S:0 O:3 -
Rob Johnson flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson

0-0 after 2 innings

Inning 3
Top Half

B:3 S:2 O:0 -
Curtis Granderson singles on a line drive to right fielder Ichiro Suzuki.

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Placido Polanco flies out to center fielder Franklin Gutierrez.

B:4 S:1 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez walks. Curtis Granderson to 2nd.

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera called out on .

B:2 S:2 O:3 -
Carlos Guillen grounds out, second baseman Jose Lopez to first baseman Mike Sweeney.

0-0

Bottom Half

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Yuniesky Betancourt grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Franklin Gutierrez called out on .

B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Ichiro Suzuki lines out to left fielder Carlos Guillen.

0-0 after 3 innings

Inning 4
Top Half

B:0 S:3 O:1 -
Marcus Thames called out on .

B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Gerald Laird grounds out, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt to first baseman Mike Sweeney.

B:2 S:1 O:3 -
Brandon Inge flies out to left fielder Endy Chavez.

0-0

Bottom Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Endy Chavez swinging, catcher Gerald Laird to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Ken GriffeyJr. singles on a line drive to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:0 S:1 O:3 - Adrian Beltre grounds into double play,
second baseman Placido Polanco to shortstop Ramon Santiago to first
baseman Miguel Cabrera. Ken GriffeyJr. out at 2nd.

0-0 after 4 innings

Inning 5
Top Half

B:0 S:3 O:1 -
Ramon Santiago called out on .

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Curtis Granderson flies out to left fielder Endy Chavez.

B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Placido Polanco doubles (5) on a line drive to left fielder Endy Chavez.

B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Magglio Ordonez grounds out, third baseman Adrian Beltre to first baseman Mike Sweeney.

0-0

Bottom Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Mike Sweeney swinging.

B:0 S:3 O:1 -
Jose Lopez strikes out swinging. Passed ball by catcher Gerald Laird. Jose Lopez to 1st.

B:2 S:1 O:1 -
Rob Johnson singles on a line drive to right fielder Magglio Ordonez. Jose Lopez to 3rd.

B:0 S:0 O:3 - Yuniesky Betancourt flies into double
play, center fielder Curtis Granderson to catcher Gerald Laird. Jose
Lopez out at home on the throw.

0-0 after 5 innings

Inning 6
Top Half

B:0 S:2 O:0 -
Miguel Cabrera singles on a line drive to center fielder Franklin Gutierrez.

B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Carlos Guillen flies out to right fielder Ichiro Suzuki.

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Marcus Thames swinging.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Gerald Laird singles on a line drive to center fielder Franklin Gutierrez. Miguel Cabrera to 2nd.

B:0 S:0 O:2 - Brandon Inge singles on a soft fly ball
to right fielder Ichiro Suzuki. Miguel Cabrera scores. Gerald Laird
scores. Brandon Inge to 3rd. Throwing error by right fielder Ichiro
Suzuki.

B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Ramon Santiago on foul tip.

2-0

Bottom Half

B:0 S:1 O:0 -
Franklin Gutierrez singles on a line drive to right fielder Magglio Ordonez.

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Ichiro Suzuki grounds out, shortstop Ramon Santiago to first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Franklin Gutierrez to 2nd.

B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Endy Chavez lines out to left fielder Carlos Guillen.

B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Ken GriffeyJr. flies out to right fielder Magglio Ordonez.

2-0 after 6 innings

Inning 7
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Roy Corcoran replaces Erik Bedard.

B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Curtis Granderson walks.

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Placido Polanco out on a sacrifice bunt, pitcher Roy Corcoran to first baseman Mike Sweeney. Curtis Granderson to 2nd.

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez singles on a ground ball to left fielder Endy Chavez. Curtis Granderson to 3rd.

B:1 S:0 O:3 - Miguel Cabrera flies into double play,
left fielder Endy Chavez to catcher Rob Johnson. Curtis Granderson out
at home on the throw.

2-0

Bottom Half

B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Adrian Beltre pops out to second baseman Placido Polanco.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Mike Sweeney flies out to left fielder Carlos Guillen.

B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Jose Lopez grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

2-0 after 7 innings

Inning 8
Top Half

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Carlos Guillen grounds out, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt to first baseman Mike Sweeney.

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Marcus Thames on foul tip.

B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Gerald Laird grounds out, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt to first baseman Mike Sweeney.

2-0

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Defensive Substitution: Josh Anderson replaces left fielder Carlos Guillen, batting 5th, playing left field.

B:1 S:2 O:0 -
Rob Johnson singles on a line drive to left fielder Josh Anderson.

B:0 S:3 O:1 -
Yuniesky Betancourt swinging.

B:0 S:1 O:2 - With Franklin Gutierrez batting, Rob
Johnson caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Gerald Laird to second
baseman Placido Polanco.

B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Franklin Gutierrez walks.

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

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Pitcher Change: Bobby Seay replaces Edwin Jackson.

B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Ichiro Suzuki called out on .

2-0 after 8 innings

Inning 9
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Sean White replaces Roy Corcoran.

B:0 S:2 O:0 -
Brandon Inge singles on a line drive to right fielder Ichiro Suzuki.

B:1 S:2 O:1 - Ramon Santiago grounds into a force out,
shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt to second baseman Jose Lopez. Brandon
Inge out at 2nd. Ramon Santiago to 1st.

B:1 S:1 O:2 - Curtis Granderson grounds into a force
out, shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt to second baseman Jose Lopez. Ramon
Santiago out at 2nd. Curtis Granderson to 1st.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
With Placido Polanco batting, missed catch error by Mike Sweeney on the pickoff attempt, Curtis Granderson to 2nd.

B:2 S:2 O:3 -
Placido Polanco grounds out, third baseman Adrian Beltre to first baseman Mike Sweeney.

2-0

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Fernando Rodney replaces Bobby Seay.

B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Endy Chavez walks.

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Ken GriffeyJr. pops out to shortstop Ramon Santiago.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Adrian Beltre lines out to left fielder Josh Anderson.

B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Mike Sweeney grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

WIN 2-0

April 18, 2009

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Detroit	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0		2	9	0
Seattle	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	5	2

Detroit AB- R- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB -AVG- Granderson, CF 3 0 1 0 2 0 1 .213 Polanco, 2B 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .279 Ordonez, RF 3 0 2 0 1 0 1 .300 Cabrera, M, 1B 4 1 1 0 0 2 6 .488 Guillen, LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 5 .158 --Anderson, J, LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .308 Thames, DH 4 0 0 0 0 3 1 .222 Laird, C 4 1 2 0 0 0 0 .344 Inge, 3B 4 0 2 1 0 1 1 .289 Santiago, SS 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .273 Totals 34 2 9 1 3 9 21 BATTING 2B: Polanco (5, Bedard). TB: Granderson; Polanco 2; Ordonez 2; Cabrera, M; Laird 2; Inge 2. RBI: Inge (10). 2-out RBI: Inge. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Guillen 2; Ordonez; Santiago; Polanco. S: Polanco. Team RISP: 2-for-10. Team LOB: 9. FIELDING PB: Laird (1). Outfield assists: Granderson (Lopez, J at home). DP: 2 (Polanco-Santiago-Cabrera, M, Granderson-Laird).		Seattle AB- R- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB- AVG Suzuki, RF 4 0 0 0 0 2 2 .235 Chavez, LF 3 0 1 0 1 1 1 .383 Griffey Jr., DH 4 0 1 0 0 0 3 .233 Beltre, 3B 4 0 0 0 0 0 3 .196 Sweeney, M, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 1 1 .214 Lopez, J, 2B 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 .189 Johnson, R, C 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 .263 Betancourt, SS 3 0 0 0 0 1 3 .308 Gutierrez, F, CF 2 0 1 0 1 1 0 .229 Totals 30 0 5 0 2 7 13 BATTING 2B: Chavez (1, Jackson). TB: Chavez 2; Griffey Jr.; Johnson, R 2; Gutierrez, F. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Beltre; Griffey Jr.. GIDP: Beltre. Team RISP: 0-for-5. Team LOB: 5. BASERUNNING SB: Chavez (4, 3rd base off Jackson/Laird). CS: Johnson, R (1, 2nd base by Jackson/Laird). FIELDING E: Suzuki (1, throw), Sweeney, M (1, pickoff). Outfield assists: Chavez (Granderson at home). DP: (Chavez-Johnson, R).
Detroit IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA Jackson (W, 1-0) 7.2 5 0 0 1 6 0 2.14 Seay (H, 4) 0.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0.00 Rodney (S, 3) 1.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.00		Seattle IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA Bedard (L, 1-1) 6.0 7 2 1 2 8 0 1.86 Corcoran 2.0 1 0 0 1 1 0 4.50 White 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0.00
Pitches-strikes: Jackson 98-71, Seay 6-3, Rodney 19-11, Bedard 100-68, Corcoran 24-16, White 16-12. Groundouts-flyouts: Jackson 7-9, Seay 0-0, Rodney 1-2, Bedard 4-6, Corcoran 3-1, White 3-0. Batters faced: Jackson 27, Seay 1, Rodney 4, Bedard 27, Corcoran 7, White 4. Inherited runners-scored: Seay 1-0. Umpires: HP: Dale Scott. 1B: Jerry Meals. 2B: Ron Kulpa. 3B: Mike DiMuro. Weather: 54 degrees, cloudy. Wind: 3 mph, In from LF. T: 2:38. Att: 31,966. April 18, 2009

Nice Win!