GDT: 8/26/10 - DET (63-64) AT TOR (66-60) - 7:07 p.m. ET ---
AT ---
Detroit Tigers AT Toronto Blue JaysThursday, August 26, 2010Rogers Centre, Toronto, OntarioGame Time - 7:07 p.m. EDTThis season dedicated to the late, great Ernie Harwell.
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Scherzer leads climbing Tigers into TorontoBy Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com
When explaining his reasons for not accepting a move to the Red Sox with the Tigers' television crew recently, veteran outfielder Johnny Damon noted the following: None of Detroit's players were ready to throw in the towel.
The Tigers, with still a long climb ahead of them, took advantage of a weaker portion of their schedule recently to help prove that notion. And they'll have a scorching pitcher on the mound for the start of a four-game series on Thursday.
In the series opener against the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre, Max Scherzer gets the ball for a club that has won five of six games against the Indians and Royals but still trails the Twins in the American League Central by nine games.
Scherzer gives them a reason to feel good crossing the border.
The 26-year-old right-hander has a 1.35 ERA in his past five starts, and a 2.05 ERA if you go back all the way to June 10. Since June 4, in fact, his ERA has dropped from 6.66 to the 3.73 mark he sports heading into Toronto.
His last time on the mound, Scherzer gave up two runs (only one of them earned) in seven innings against the Indians.
So what's changed?
"Right now, I'm executing pitches," Scherzer said after his last start. "Everybody wants to look at the difference between now and then, but I'm not. I'm going out there pitching. Next start I have is against Toronto. I'm going to go out there and try to execute as many pitches as I can and hopefully give the team a chance to win."
If the Tigers want that chance, they'll have to better themselves on the road, where they sport a 20-39 record heading into a 10-game swing.
"We haven't played well on the road all year, Tigers catcher Gerald Laird said after a 4-3, 12-inning loss to Kansas City on Wednesday. "We have to bring it all together now."
The Blue Jays have been bolstered by the hot bat of Lyle Overbay over the last week. Overbay has three home runs and 10 RBIs in Toronto's last eight games, providing some support lower in the order for Jose Bautista.
It's the continuation of Overbay's resurgence from the start of the year. Hitting just .197 until May 29, the first baseman is 73-for-250 since, with 12 of his 16 home runs on the season.
"It's bad to go through, but it's nice to go through in the same token," Overbay said of his early-season slump. "You kind of think you've seen everything and done everything, and then all of a sudden that happens. It's something that I've learned from and hopefully I'll be able to take that learning experience and progress."
Tigers: Jackson continues to make historyOutfielder Austin Jackson already has 146 hits on the year, which is the most in a single season by a Tigers rookie since Jake Wood notched 171 in 1961.
The 23-year-old's streak of four consecutive games with at least two runs scored ended Wednesday. It was the longest streak in franchise history since Alan Trammell had four straight multirun games July 28-31, 1986.
Blue Jays: Romero solid while under the weatherDespite being bothered by strep throat, Blue Jays Thursday starter Ricky Romero kept his club in the game during his Saturday start against the Red Sox, one in which the 25-year-old left-hander gave up four runs in seven innings during an eventual 5-4 loss in 11 innings.
"I know if I pitch my game, I'm in good shape," Romero said that night. "That's what I did today -- I threw strikes."
Against the Tigers, Romero is 1-2 with a 4.26 ERA in three career starts. This year, he gave up three runs in seven innings against them on July 22, but suffered the loss.
Worth notingThe Tigers' 20 road wins remain second-lowest in the American League, ahead of the Orioles.
... Miguel Cabrera's 26 intentional walks more than double the next-highest total among AL hitters. Joe Mauer and Robinson Cano have 12 each. Albert Pujols leads the Majors with 28.
... Aaron Hill was dropped to eighth in the order on Wednesday, the lowest the second baseman has hit in a start since April 6, 2007. Hill made the move pay off by snapping his 0-for-20 with a solo homer in the fifth.
... Bautista celebrated the second anniversary of his arrival in Toronto on Wednesday. Bautista, who was traded to the Blue Jays by the Pirates for Robinzon Diaz, has batted .246 with 56 home runs and 145 RBIs in 258 games with the Jays.
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Pitching matchupTIGERS: RHP Max Scherzer (9-9, 3.73 ERA)No Tigers starter has been as stingy over the past month as Scherzer, who has a 1.35 ERA and 27 hits over 35 innings in his last five starts. He gave up an earned run over seven innings with eight strikeouts last Saturday against Cleveland.
BLUE JAYS: LHP Ricky Romero (10-7, 3.50 ERA)According to manager Cito Gaston, Romero was dealing with an acute case of strep throat in his last outing vs. Boston. Fully healthy, the left-hander should bounce back from a mediocre performance that saw him surrender four runs over seven innings.
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Tiger's MLB Game Notes
INJURY UPDATE: •
RHP Zach Miner (right elbow tendinitis,
60-day DL on March 26),
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OF Magglio Ordonez (right ankle fracture,
15-day DL on July 25),
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LHP Bobby Seay (left shoulder strain,
60-day DL on March 26),
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INF Danny Worth (bruised left heel,
15-day DL on August 4)
•
RHP Joel Zumaya (non-displaced fracture of the olecranon,
60-day DL on June 29).
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To track MLB play-by-play, to help post GDT outcomes: http://m.mlb.com/scores/On the Internet MLB.TV Gameday Audio•
Gameday•
Official Press Pass game notesOn television •
On radio•
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XM Channel Schedule•
Direct TV Extra Innings Schedule______________________________________
Up next (Probable Pitchers)• Friday, August 27, TIGERS (RHP
Justin Verlander (14-8, 3.65 ERA))
AT BLUE JAYS (RHP
Shaun Marcum (11-7, 3.70 ERA)),
7:07 p.m. ET (FS-D HD & / AM 1270 & 97.1 FM)• Saturday, August 28, TIGERS (RHP
Jeremy Bonderman (7-9, 5.27 ERA))
AT BLUE JAYS (RHP
Brandon Morrow (9-6, 4.39 ERA)),
1:07 p.m. ET (FS-D HD & / AM 1270 & 97.1 FM)• Sunday, August 29, TIGERS (RHP
Rick Porcello (6-11, 5.43 ERA))
AT BLUE JAYS (LHP
Marc Rzepczynski (1-2, 6.31 ERA)),
1:12 p.m. ET (FS-D HD & / AM 1270 & 97.1 FM)