GDT: 4/29/10 - DET (12-10) vs MIN (14-7) - 1:05 p.m. ET

Magglio sits just one hit shy of 2,000

By Spencer Fordin / MLB.com

Magglio Ordonez is one hit away from making history.

Ordonez had a three-hit night in Detroit's rout over Minnesota on Wednesday night, and if he can get a hit in Thursday's series finale, he'll become just the sixth Venezuelan to reach 2,000 hits. That would put Ordonez alongside Omar Vizquel, Luis Aparicio, Andres Galarraga, Dave Concepcion and Bob Abreu.

And to do so, he's going to have to overcome some pain. Detroit manager Jim Leyland said Wednesday that Ordonez has been nursing some tightness around his stomach muscles, an ailment that shouldn't keep him out of the lineup. Ordonez, a six-time All-Star, scored his 1,000th career run last week and drove in three runs on Wednesday night.

Detroit and Minnesota, the top two teams in the American League Central standings, have split the first two games of this series and will go into the finale with two competing strengths. The Twins, one of the most well-rounded teams in the league, have been mostly doing it with pitching and defense, while the Tigers have been using a dominant offense to great effect.

Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera form a fearsome core for the Tigers, but the Twins have a similar duo in Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer. The real difference so far has been pitching, and the Twins have thrived in both the rotation and relief. Minnesota made a costly error Wednesday night, but manager Ron Gardenhire said defense has been a huge factor in his team's success.

"Good defense, I'll guarantee a pitcher will tell you, will save your life," Gardenhire said. "You make pitches all you want to, but we pitch to contact a lot and that means somebody has to catch the ball. And we do a very good job of catching the ball."

Twins: Bullpen has rare poor outing
Minnesota, which has won each of its first six series, saw one of its major strengths take a hit on Wednesday night. The Twins went into the game with a 2.33 bullpen ERA, the second-best mark in the Majors. Minnesota's relief staff allowed five runs on Wednesday, but it still has the lowest walk-total (717) in the Majors since the start of the 2006 season.

The Twins will hand the ball to Carl Pavano in Thursday's series finale, and he'll hope to continue his recent success. Pavano's record is wholly indicative of how he's pitched, as he's allowed two earned runs or less three times and seven earned runs in his lone loss. Pavano took four of his 14 victories from Detroit last season, posting a 3.00 ERA in six starts.

Tigers: D-Train set to return to rotation
Dontrelle Willis is back from a stomach virus that shelved him from his last start, and he said Tuesday that all systems are go for his Thursday start. Willis wound up working an inning in relief last Saturday, and he pitched relatively well in his first three starts. The southpaw completed at least five innings each outing and allowed two earned runs in two of them.

And now, the former All-Star will be looking for some revenge against Minnesota. Willis -- who has many more walks (73) than strikeouts (44) since the outset of the 2008 season -- made his season debut against the Twins last year. Willis would end up nibbling a little too much, and the patient Twins offense worked him for eight hits and two walks in fewer than five innings.

Worth noting
The Tigers have doubled in 17 straight games and rank second in the AL with 57 two-baggers in the opening month. That April double total is the team's highest in more than 50 years.

... The Twins went into Wednesday night's game averaging the fewest pitches per inning (15.2) and per game (138.6) in the Major Leagues.

... Minnesota leads the league with 104 walks this season.

... Jim Thome homered Wednesday and has 1,627 walks, the 10th-highest total of all time.

... Austin Jackson had three hits for Detroit on Wednesday, and his hit total (30) is the highest for a Tigers rookie since 1952.



Pitching matchup

DET: LHP Dontrelle Willis (0-1, 5.00 ERA)
Willis missed Saturday's start against Texas with flu-like symptons. He came back still under the weather to pitch an inning in relief on Sunday, walking three and giving up a two-run single in an inning. Manager Jim Leyland wasn't going to make Willis go much further than that, wanting to get him a tuneup for Thursday. Willis' biggest problem in his comeback season this year has been his command. He has 10 walks in 18 innings. He also has allowed 21 hits, a recipe for having the 5.00 ERA that he takes into his start against a Minnesota team he's faced once in the last three-plus seasons, allowing two runs in six innings.


MIN: RHP Carl Pavano (2-1, 4.96 ERA)
Pavano got some redemption in his second straight start against the Royals. After giving up seven earned runs on 11 hits in just 3 1/3 innings against Kansas City at Target Field to pick up his first loss of the year, Pavano rebounded in the series opener at Kauffman Stadium. The right-hander allowed just two runs on four hits over seven innings, throwing first-pitch strikes to 21 of the 24 batters he faced. Still, Pavano was critical of himself after the contest, feeling he got into too many 2-1 and 3-2 counts. It's something he wants to work on his next time out. Pavano will next face the Tigers, a team he had a lot of success against in 2009. He was 4-1 with a 3.00 ERA in six starts vs. Detroit last season, three of those wins coming in four starts at Comerica Park.


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Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Friday, April 30:
Tigers (RHP Rick Porcello (1-2, 7.91 ERA)) vs Angels (RHP Joel Pineiro (2-2, 3.42 ERA)), 7:05 PM ET (FS-D HD / 1270 & 97.1)

• Saturday, May 1:
Tigers (RHP Jeremy Bonderman (1-1, 6.97 ERA)) vs Angels (LHP Scott Kazmir (2-1, 7.20 ERA)), 1:05 PM ET(FS-D HD / 1270 & 97.1)

• Sunday, May 2:
Tigers (RHP Justin Verlander (1-2, 5.53 ERA)) vs Angels (RHP Jered Weaver (3-0, 2.53 ERA)), 1:05 PM ET (FS-D HD / 1270 & 97.1)

STARTING LINEUPS:

Minnesota AVG
Span, CF .232
Hudson, O, 2B .279
Cuddyer, 1B .302
Thome, DH .282
Kubel, RF .212
Young, D, LF .246
Harris, B, SS .184
Hughes, L, 3B .250
Butera, C .167
Totals .268

Detroit AVG
Jackson, A, CF .322
Damon, DH .321
Ordonez, RF .301
Cabrera, M, 1B .341
Boesch, LF .313
Inge, 3B .265
Laird, C .152
Sizemore, 2B .255
Everett, SS .219
Totals .278

Inning 1
Top Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Denard Span on foul tip.


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


B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Michael Cuddyer walks.

B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Jim Thome called out on .

0-0 after .5 inning

Bottom Half

B:1 S:0 O:0 -
Austin Jackson singles on a ground ball to left fielder Delmon Young.


B:1 S:0 O:0 - With Johnny Damon batting, Austin
Jackson steals (4) 2nd base, . Austin Jackson advances to 3rd, on
throwing error by catcher Drew Butera.


B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Johnny Damon out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Delmon Young. Austin Jackson scores.

DET 1, MIN 0

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez grounds out, shortstop Brendan Harris to first baseman Michael Cuddyer.

B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera grounds out, pitcher Carl Pavano to first baseman Michael Cuddyer.

DET 1, MIN 0 after 1 inning

Inning 2
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Jason Kubel grounds out, second baseman Scott Sizemore to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Delmon Young lines out to right fielder Magglio Ordonez.


B:2 S:2 O:3 -
Brendan Harris pops out to catcher Gerald Laird in foul territory.


Bottom Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Brennan Boesch pops out to second baseman Orlando Hudson.


B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Brandon Inge swinging.


B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Gerald Laird pops out to second baseman Orlando Hudson.

DET 1, MIN 0 after 2 innings

Inning 3
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:0 -
Luke Hughes singles on a line drive to left fielder Brennan Boesch.


B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Drew Butera called out on .

B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Denard Span swinging and Luke Hughes caught stealing 2nd, catcher Gerald Laird to shortstop Adam Everett.

DET 1, MIN 0 after 2.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Scott Sizemore grounds out, third baseman Luke Hughes to first baseman Michael Cuddyer.


B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Adam Everett lines out to right fielder Jason Kubel.


B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Austin Jackson grounds out, shortstop Brendan Harris to first baseman Michael Cuddyer.

DET 1, MIN 0 after 3 innings

Inning 4
Top Half

B:3 S:1 O:1 -
Orlando Hudson flies out to center fielder Austin Jackson.


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


B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Jim Thome grounds out, shortstop Adam Everett to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

DET 1, MIN 0 after 3.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Johnny Damon flies out to left fielder Delmon Young.


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez singles on a line drive to left fielder Delmon Young.

(hit #2000 for Maggs!)

B:3 S:3 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera swinging. Magglio Ordonez steals (1) 2nd base.

B:4 S:1 O:2 -
Brennan Boesch walks.

B:3 S:1 O:3 -
Brandon Inge flies out to left fielder Delmon Young.

DET 1, MIN 0 after 4 innings

Inning 5
Top Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Jason Kubel called out on .


B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Delmon Young lines out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Brendan Harris singles on a ground ball to center fielder Austin Jackson.


B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Luke Hughes swinging.

DET 1, MIN 0 after 4.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Gerald Laird flies out to center fielder Denard Span.

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Scott Sizemore doubles (4) on a soft line drive to right fielder Jason Kubel.

B:2 S:0 O:2 -
Adam Everett pops out to shortstop Brendan Harris.

B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Austin Jackson singles on a line drive to center fielder Denard Span. Scott Sizemore scores.

DET 2, MIN 0



B:1 S:0 O:3 -
Johnny Damon grounds out, second baseman Orlando Hudson to first baseman Michael Cuddyer.

DET 2, MIN 0 after 5 innings

Inning 6
Top Half

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


B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Denard Span flies out to center fielder Austin Jackson.


B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Orlando Hudson singles on a ground ball to left fielder Brennan Boesch.


B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Michael Cuddyer singles on a line drive to right fielder Magglio Ordonez. Orlando Hudson to 2nd.

B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Jim Thome flies out to right fielder Magglio Ordonez.

DET 2, MIN 0 after 5.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez called out on .


B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera pops out to first baseman Michael Cuddyer.


B:1 S:3 O:3 -
Brennan Boesch swinging.

DET 2, MIN 0 after 6 innings

Inning 7
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Defensive Substitution: Don Kelly replaces left fielder Brennan Boesch, batting 5th, playing left field.


B:4 S:0 O:0 -
Jason Kubel walks.


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


B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Joel Zumaya replaces Dontrelle Willis.


B:3 S:1 O:2 - Delmon Young grounds into double play,
second baseman Scott Sizemore to shortstop Adam Everett to first
baseman Miguel Cabrera. Jason Kubel out at 2nd.


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

DET 2, MIN 0 after 6.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Brandon Inge flies out to center fielder Denard Span.


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


B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Scott Sizemore swinging.


B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Adam Everett grounds out to first baseman Michael Cuddyer.

DET 2, MIN 0 after 7 innings

Inning 8
Top Half

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Luke Hughes swinging.


B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Joe Mauer replaces Drew Butera.


B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Joe Mauer swinging.


B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Denard Span flies out to left fielder Don Kelly.

DET 2, MIN 0 after 7.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Joe Mauer remains in the game as the catcher.

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Austin Jackson bunt grounds out, third baseman Luke Hughes to first baseman Michael Cuddyer.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Johnny Damon grounds out, first baseman Michael Cuddyer to pitcher Carl Pavano.

B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez doubles (6) on a line drive to left fielder Delmon Young.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.

B:4 S:0 O:2 -
Carl Pavano intentionally walks Miguel Cabrera.


B:2 S:0 O:2 -
Don Kelly singles on a line drive to left fielder Delmon Young. Magglio Ordonez scores. Miguel Cabrera to 2nd.

DET 3, MIN 0


B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Brandon Inge flies out to center fielder Denard Span.

DET 3, MIN 0 after 8 innings

Inning 9
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Jose Valverde replaces Joel Zumaya.


B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Orlando Hudson walks.


B:1 S:2 O:2 - Michael Cuddyer grounds into double
play, second baseman Scott Sizemore to shortstop Adam Everett to first
baseman Miguel Cabrera. Orlando Hudson out at 2nd.


B:1 S:3 O:3 -
Jim Thome swinging.

DET 3, MIN 0 final score

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