GDT: 9/6/11 - DET (79-62) AT CLE (70-68) - 7:05 p.m. ET ---
AT ---
Detroit Tigers AT Cleveland IndiansTuesday, September 6, 2011
Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH
Game Time - 7:05 p.m. EDT REMEMBERING SPARKYThe Tigers are wearing a patch on their right
sleeves this season in the shape of a home
plate emblazoned with the name SPARKY, to
honor Hall of Fame manager Sparky
Anderson who passed away on November 4,
2010. Anderson’s number 11 was retired
in a pre-game ceremony on June 26.
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Preview Desperate Tribe facing must win against TigersBy Joey Nowak / MLB.com | 9/5/2011 4:28 PM ET
Opportunity is staring the Indians straight in the face, but they're running out of time to take advantage of it.
With a 4-2 loss to the Tigers on Monday at Progressive Field, the Tribe fell to 7 1/2 games behind Detroit in the American League Central. The two teams have five more meetings this year -- including Tuesday night's matchup -- and the Indians certainly want their postseason fate to rest in their hands.
The first-place Tigers have won 13 of their last 17 games, boosting their lead over the Indians and White Sox in the division.
The Indians, who led the Central by as many as seven games in late May, have already eclipsed their win total from last season (69). Cleveland won its 70th game on Sunday. Still, manager Manny Acta said, it's not enough to come away satisfied.
"That wasn't the goal," Acta said. "The goal is to win the division, so we're not done yet."
The Tribe's next opportunity to gain ground on Detroit comes Tuesday against Rick Porcello.
In his last start in Cleveland, the young right-hander fell victim to the Indians' home dominance against the Tigers -- Monday's victory was only the Tigers' second in Cleveland this year. In that Aug. 10 start, Porcello allowed eight runs on 11 hits in 3 2/3 innings.
"It's not like we play any harder [in Detroit] than we do in Cleveland, or vice versa," Porcello said. "I don't know why the numbers and the records have turned out the way they have. That's just the way it's worked out. Maybe it's the momentum we get from being at home with our fans."
The Tribe will send right-hander Fausto Carmona to the hill on Tuesday, as he searches for his seventh win of the season.
Carmona has pitched well since returning from the disabled list on July 18, but the Indians haven't fared well in his starts. He's pitched at least six innings in all nine outings since his return, and has an ERA of 3.19 over that span, but he's just 2-3 in that stretch.
The Indians were shut out by the A's, 7-0, in Carmona's last start on Thursday. He allowed four runs (three earned) in six-plus innings, but left in the seventh after an array of defensive miscues.
Tigers: Stat-sheet stufferCenter fielder Austin Jackson is a home run shy of reaching double digits in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases this season. If the center fielder hits one more out of the yard, it will mark the 18th time in franchise history a Tigers player has posted a quadruple-double, and the first time since Curtis Granderson accomplished the feat in back-to-back seasons in 2007-08.
Indians: Hot hitter outActa said Monday that third baseman Jack Hannahan will miss 5-7 days with a strained left calf, which he suffered in the third inning on Sunday against the Royals.
Since Aug. 1, Hannahan is batting .375 with three home runs and 13 RBIs in 22 games.
• Acta expects second baseman Jason Kipnis -- on the 15-day DL with a right hamstring strain -- to return this week. Kipnis is hoping for a quicker return, even as soon as Tuesday.
"I'm hoping to return for this series," Kipnis said.
The rookie tweaked his hamstring while stretching before a game against the White Sox on Aug. 18. He had missed four games prior to that with an oblique injury.
Worth noting• The Indians have roughed up Porcello for 13 runs on 18 hits in 7 1/3 innings over their last two meetings. He was 4-0 lifetime against the Tribe before that, including seven innings of two-run ball with seven strikeouts at Progressive Field on April 30.
• After having surgery for a sports hernia on July 21, Grady Sizemore was activated from the disabled list on Monday in time for the series opener against the Tigers.
Sizemore, hitting .233 with 21 doubles, one triple, 10 homers and 29 RBIs, went 0-for-4 with an RBI on Monday.
Tigers: RHP Rick Porcello (12-8, 5.01 ERA)The Indians have pulverized Porcello pitches for 25 hits, 15 runs and four homers over 14 1/3 innings this year, about half that damage coming last month at Progressive Field. The 22-year-old has a challenge on his hands.
Indians: RHP Fausto Carmona (6-13, 4.84 ERA)Carmona yielded four runs (three earned) in six innings of a 7-0 loss to the Athletics on Thursday. The right-hander is 1-1 in two starts against the Tigers this season.
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Tiger's MLB Game Notes
Game InformationINJURY UPDATE: •
RHP Joel Zumaya (right elbow olecranon fracture surgery,
60-day disabled list on March 30).
•
LHP Brad Thomas (left elbow inflammation,
60-day DL on May 11)
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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•
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Official Press Pass game notesOn television•
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Direct TV Extra Innings ScheduleOn radio•
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XM Channel Schedule______________________________________
Up next (Probable Pitchers) • Wednesday, September 7: Tigers (RHP
Justin Verlander (21-5, 2.34 ERA))
AT Indians (RHP
Justin Masterson (11-8, 2.92 ERA)),
12:05 p.m. ET (FS-D HD / WXYT 97.1 FM & 1270 AM)• Thursday, September 8: OFF DAY