GDT85: 7/5/13 - DET (46-38) AT CLE (45-40) - 7:05 p.m. ET 
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Detroit Tigers AT Cleveland IndiansFriday, July 5, 2013
Progressive Field, Cleveland, OH
Game Time - 7:05 p.m. EDT ______________________________________
Pitching matchup 
Tigers: RHP Rick Porcello (4-6, 5.21 ERA)Porcello ended a struggling stretch with a quality start Sunday at Tampa Bay, but it wasn't enough in a pitching duel with Jeremy Hellickson. He has held Cleveland to three earned runs on seven hits over 12 innings this year.
Indians: RHP Justin Masterson (10-6, 3.48 ERA)Masterson threw a shutout last Sunday against the White Sox, becoming the first Tribe pitcher with three shutouts in one season since 1994. He had gone 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA in his previous seven starts.
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PREVIEW
Indians take on Tigers in critical AL Central matchupMasterson faces Porcello in opener of four-game seriesBy Bobby Nightengale / MLB.com | 7/4/2013 6:12 PM ET
The last time the Indians faced the Tigers, they were swept and fell 5 1/2 games back in the American League Central. Now, they have a chance for revenge, and an opportunity to climb atop the standings heading into the All-Star break with a four-game series beginning on Friday night.
Rick Porcello, who is appealing his six-game suspension for hitting the Rays' Ben Zobrist with a pitch on Sunday, will take the mound for the Tigers opposite of Justin Masterson. After back-to-back disastrous starts, Porcello only allowed three runs in six innings against the Rays on Sunday.
"I've made some adjustments, but I still need to keep making some more to avoid innings like the [two-run] fourth," Porcello said after his last start. "Six innings, three runs, kept us in the game. I'll take it."
Masterson went 3-1 with a 3.09 ERA in June, his lone loss coming against the Tigers. He tossed a six-hit shutout against the White Sox on Sunday, his third shutout this season.
"I think that's the challenge for us as starters -- try to go out there and get as much as we can and go as far as we can," Masterson said after his start on Sunday. "And it helped out the bullpen."
The Indians' bullpen may need more help from Masterson after pitching 9 2/3 innings over the past three days. Masterson, however, has a 2-7 record in his career against the Tigers, tied for the most losses he's had against any club.
Indians: Francona has a need for speed• Throughout the offseason, the Indians transformed into a faster team. Manager Terry Francona is happy with the results and wants to keep it that way.
The Indians are second in the Majors with 64 stolen bases, and have advanced from first to third base or further on a base hit a Major League-leading 61 times. As a result, it's led to pitchers going with slide steps more often, which can lead to better pitches for hitters.
"I'll take the trade-off," Francona said. "If a pitcher wants to slide step every pitch, [Jason Kipnis] or [Asdrubal] Cabrera is going to get one of those flattened-out fastballs or hanging breaking balls and do some damage."
• Right-hander Zach McAllister said he felt fine during his mound workout on Tuesday and plans another bullpen session on Friday.
McAllister was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right middle finger on June 8, retroactive to June 3. He's only thrown fastballs, changeups and cutters to this point, and is not sure when he will test out his breaking ball.
Tigers: Infante roughed up in Toronto• Blue Jays outfielder Colby Rasmus flared up the Tigers' emotions with his hard slide into Omar Infante to break up a potential double play on Wednesday. Infante suffered a bruised shin and X-rays on his leg came back negative.
"I was worried that it was cartilage or meniscus," manager Jim Leyland said, "But it's not. When I saw the area where [the bruise] was, I was relieved. Obviously, it's sore, and he got it pretty good, but it's not like torn cartilage or meniscus or anything like that."
It was unclear how much time Infante will miss. He left the game immediately and was walking around the clubhouse with crutches afterward.
"I know you come in to break up a double play, but not like that," Infante said. "That's too much. I know some players play hard and some players don't think about another player, but that slide, that's dirty. I mean, that's too much."
• Matt Tuiasosopo's first game of his rehab assignment at Triple-A Toledo went without a hitch. He singled, drew two walks, scored two runs and was hit by a pitch on Wednesday.
Tuiasosopo, who is recovering from an intercostal strain, is eligible to come off of the disabled list on Friday, but the team gave him the option of staying at Toledo over the weekend to get more at-bats. Avisail Garcia is expected to return to the Minors once Tuiasosopo is back with the team.
Worth noting• Carlos Santana has three career home runs against Porcello. Along with his three homers against Justin Verlander, it's the most homers Santana has off any pitcher.
• Kipnis has hit safely in 15 consecutive games, batting .462 over that stretch. He's also reached base through a hit, walk or hit-by-pitch in 35 straight games.
Bobby Nightengale is an associate reporter for MLB.com. Follow him on Twitter @nightengalejr. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.______________________________________
Tiger's MLB Game Notes
INJURY UPDATE:•
RHP Octavio Dotel (Right elbow inflammation, transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the 60-day disabled list on June 8, 2013.)
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RHP Anibal Sanchez (Right shoulder stiffness, placed on the
15-day disabled list retroactive to June 16, 2013.)
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LF Matt Tuiasosopo (Left strained intercostal, placed on the
15-day disabled list retroactive to June 20, 2013.)
On Rehab Assignment______________________________________
BROADCAST SCHEDULE:
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XM Channel Schedule______________________________________
Up next (Probable Pitchers) (RHP
Anibal Sanchez (6-5, 2.76 ERA))
ATINDIANS: (?HP
TBA (TBA ERA))
4:05 p.m. ET (FS-D / FM 97.1)• SUN, Jul 07:TIGERS: (RHP
Doug Fister (6-5, 3.80 ERA))
ATINDIANS: (RHP
Corey Kluber (6-5, 4.33 ERA))
1:05 p.m. ET (FS-D / FM 97.1)• MON, Jul 08:TIGERS: (RHP
Max Scherzer (13-0, 3.09 ERA))
ATINDIANS: (LHP
Scott Kazmir (4-4, 4.86 ERA))
7:05 p.m. ET (FS-D / FM 97.1)______________________________________
Fri Jul 05, 2013 1:12 am