GDT: 9/20/10 - DET (75-74) VS KC (61-87) - 7:05 p.m. ET ---
VS ---
Detroit Tigers VS Kansas City RoyalsMonday, September 20, 2010Comerica Park, Detroit, MIGame Time - 7:05 p.m. EDTThis season dedicated to the late, great Ernie Harwell.
______________________________________
Porcello returns for matchup with GreinkeBy Joey Nowak / MLB.comWith all the potential in the right arm of Tigers pitcher Rick Porcello, manager Jim Leyland isn't taking any chances, as he held the starter out of his last outing for precautionary reasons. The youngster will be back at it, though, when the Tigers look to continue their success against the Royals on Monday in the opener of a three-game set at Comerica Park.
Porcello, the 27th overall selection in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, saw lingering problems in his right index finger, which compelled Leyland to scratch the pitcher from his scheduled start this week in Texas. Porcello injured a flexor tendon in the finger on his pitching hand during his previous outing, a victory against the reeling White Sox.
In that game, the 21-year-old worked eight innings, scattering three earned runs while striking out three. Furthermore, it was Porcello's fourth straight start in which he lasted at least seven frames without walking more than one batter.
"I feel a little more confident out there now," Porcello said that night. "I feel like I'm throwing the ball a lot better. It's a little easier to be calm when you are confident and you feel like your stuff is good."
Porcello is 3-1 with a 4.03 ERA against Kansas City in his blossoming career.
The last time the two teams met in Detroit, the Tigers outscored the Royals, 24-8, a three-game series in which Detroit took two out of three. Detroit also took two out of three when the clubs met up in Kansas City for a three-game set from Sept. 3-5.
One of the challenges Porcello will face is the hot-hitting Brayan Pena, who has been a bright spot for the Royals behind the plate recently. With veteran catcher Jason Kendall out of the lineup since Aug. 31 with a rotator cuff injury, Royals manager Ned Yost has had an opportunity to take a good look at Pena, who has shared time with rookie Lucas May.
In his last 15 games, Pena -- who has logged a hit in 14 of them -- is hitting .388 (21-for-54). May is just 1-for-12.
"You want to look at guys, but you want to win games too," Yost said. "We're struggling offensively a little bit so it's hard to take [Pena's] bat out of there."
Detroit has won three straight games, and Sunday's victory pushed them over .500 for the first time since Sept. 9. Prior to that stint -- which lasted all of one day -- the Tigers hadn't been over the break-even mark since July 31.
Royals: Greinke looking for new streakAfter breaking a four-game skid with a win last Tuesday, the Royals hurler is aiming to continue a new winning streak with a victory at Comerica Park, where the right-hander has typically been very successful. Greinke is 7-3 with a 2.32 ERA in 13 games in Detroit, and overall, he's gone 11-5 with a 2.62 ERA in 127 1/3 career innings against the Tigers.
Greinke, the league's reigning Cy Young Award winner, has struggled with run support on the road this season, notching a 2-7 record despite holding a 3.36 ERA. By contrast, Greinke is 7-5 with a 4.40 mark at home.
Tigers: Sizemore helps Tigers win finaleScott Sizemore homered for the second straight day on Sunday, helping the Tigers wind up with their eighth victory in their last nine games against second-place Chicago. Detroit needed to dig down and show some extra resolve to seal the series sweep, overcoming a four-run ninth inning comeback by Chicago with two decisive runs in the 11th.
Austin Jackson notched his 170th hit on Sunday, pulling within two runs of an impressive milestone. Jackson is on the verge of becoming just the ninth rookie since 1901 -- and the fourth since '60 -- to reach 170 hits, 100 runs, 30 doubles, 10 triples and 20 stolen bases. Juan Samuel '84), Nomar Garciaparra ('97) and Hanley Ramirez (2006) are also in that club.
Worth notingJoe Jackson (1911), Roy Johnson ('29), Evar Swanson ('29), Barney McCosky ('39) and Minnie Minoso ('51) are the pre-war members of the statistical club Jackson is trying to join. ... The Tigers have seven victories in their last 11 games. ... Yuniesky Betancourt's steal of home in the second inning on Sunday's game was the 33rd such instance in Royals franchise history. Done on a double steal, it was the first time a Royal stole home since Alex Gordon last August. ... After going yard just twice in his previous nine games, Mike Aviles has hit four homers in his last seven contests. ... Detroit starter Justin Verlander is the first pitcher since Dwight Gooden to win at least 17 games in four of his first five big league seasons.
______________________________________
Pitching matchupTIGERS: RHP Rick Porcello (9-11, 5.10 ERA)Porcello (finger) didn't makes his scheduled start Wednesday, but he will be back on the mound at home against K.C. He aggravated a tendon in his finger during his last outing, forcing manager Jim Leyland to push his start back.
ROYALS: RHP Zack Greinke (9-12, 3.90 ERA)Greinke snapped a four-start winless drought with seven strong innings last Tuesday night in a romp over Oakland. He's always done well at Comerica Park with a 7-3 record and a 2.32 ERA in 13 games.
______________________________________
Tiger's MLB Game Notes
RECENT RESULTS: The Tigers completed a three-game sweep of the White Sox with a 9-7 win in 11 innings last night. Robbie Weinhardt (2-2) picked up the win in relief for Detroit, while Daniel Schlereth closed out the game for his first major league save. Austin Jackson and Gerald Laird both finished with two hits and two RBI for the Tigers, while Scott Sizemore and Casper Wells both homered. The Tigers begin their final homestand of the season with the first game of a three-game series against Kansas City this evening. Following an off day on Thursday, Detroit concludes the homestand with a three-game series versus Minnesota beginning on Friday night.
HOME SWEET HOME: The Tigers begin a six-game homestand this evening against the Royals at Comerica Park, where the club has posted a 10-4 record in the club’s last 14 games. The Tigers are batting .306 (149x487) with 82 runs scored, 32 doubles, three triples and eight home runs during the 14-game stretch. Detroit pitchers have compiled a 2.35 ERA (130.0IP/32ER) during the stretch.
CENTRAL FOCUS: The Tigers continue a 12-game stretch this evening versus Kansas City in which all of the club’s games are against opponents from the American League’s Central Division. Detroit has posted a 16-6 record in the last 22 games against the division after the club compiled a 17-24 record in the first 41 games against the division this season.
LOOKING FOR A COMERICA PARK WIN RECORD: The Tigers have won 47 games at home this season, four wins shy of matching the Comerica Park record of 51 wins, established during the 2009 season.
STARTING WELL: Tigers starting pitchers have registered a quality start in 19 of the club’s last 28 games dating back to August 20. During the 28-game stretch, Detroit’s starting pitchers have compiled a 14-3 record and 2.95 ERA (192.1IP/63ER).
GETTING A GOOD START AT HOME: Tigers starting pitchers have recorded a quality start in 13 of the club’s last 15 games at Comerica Park dating back to August 10. Club starters have compiled a 10-2 record and 2.13 ERA (105.2IP/25ER) during the stretch.
OFFENSE ON THE UPTICK: Tigers hitters are batting .282 (302x1072) with 172 runs scored, 60 doubles, nine triples and 29 home runs over the club’s last 29 games dating back to August 19. Detroit leads all American League clubs with 172 runs scored, 302 hits and 60 doubles during that stretch, while the club is third with a .282 batting average.
JACKSON CLOSING IN ON RARE ROOKIE TERRITORY: With two more runs scored, Austin Jackson would become just the ninth player in major league history since 1901 to collect at least 100 runs scored, 170 hits, 30 doubles, 10 triples and 20 stolen bases as a rookie. Jackson would join Joe Jackson (1911), Roy Johnson (1929), Evar Swanson (1929), Barney McCosky (1939), Minnie Minoso (1951), Juan Samuel (1984), Nomar Garciaparra (1997) and Hanley Ramirez (2006) in accomplishing the feat.
RABURN ON A ROLL: Ryan Raburn enters tonight’s game versus the Royals hitting .347 (52x150) with 14 doubles, 11 home runs and 33 RBI over his last 40 games dating back to August 5. He is tops among all American League players with 25 extra-base hits during the stretch, while he is tied for the lead with 14 doubles and 33 RBI, is second with a .660 slugging percentage, tied for third with 11 home runs, tied for fourth with 52 hits and is fifth with a .347 batting average.
ROOKIE HIT PARADE: Tigers rookie hitters collected six hits last night against the White Sox, raising the season total to 475 hits by Tigers rookies. The 475 hits by rookies are the most by Tigers rookies since the rookies on the 1954 club posted 477 hits. Tigers rookies collected 590 hits in 1929 to establish the franchise record. (Source: STATS LLC)
PERALTA PICKING UP THE PRODUCTION: Jhonny Peralta is batting .311 (33x106) with six doubles, three home runs and 24 RBI over his last 28 games dating back to August 19. He is tied for third among all American League players with 24 RBI during the stretch.
CABRERA APPROACHES AL RECORD FOR INTENTIONAL WALKS: Miguel Cabrera enters tonight’s game versus Kansas City with 30 intentional walks to lead the American League. With four more intentional walks, Cabrera would match Ted Williams’ American League record of 34 intentional walks during the 1957 season. Intentional walks first became a recognized statistic in Major League Baseball during the 1955 season.
JACKSON PILING UP THE RUNS: Austin Jackson has scored 29 runs over his last 28 games and he leads all American League rookies with 98 runs scored this season. With two more runs scored, Jackson will become just the sixth rookie in Tigers history to score at least 100 runs and the first since Barney McCosky scored 120 runs in 1939.
INJURY UPDATE: •
RHP Zach Miner (Partial tear in right elbow,
60-day DL on March 26, Had successful Tommy John surgery May 28,
Out for Season),
•
LHP Bobby Seay (Torn rotator cuff,
60-day DL on March 26, surgery on September 15,
Out for Season),
•
OF Magglio Ordonez (right ankle fracture,
15-day DL on July 25, Had surgery surgery Aug. 25,
Out for Season),
•
INF Danny Worth (bruised left heel,
15-day DL on August 4,
Out for Season),
•
RHP Joel Zumaya (non-displaced fracture of the olecranon,
60-day DL on June 29, Underwent elbow surgery July 12,
Out for Season).
•
Carlos Guillen (Bruised left knee,
15-day DL on August 23,
Out for Season)
Out for Season
______________________________________
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•
,
•
XM Channel Schedule•
Direct TV Extra Innings Schedule______________________________________
Up next (Probable Pitchers)• Tuesday, September 21, TIGERS (RHP
Armando Galarraga (4-6, 4.27 ERA))
VS ROYALS (LHP
Bruce Chen (10-7, 4.70 ERA)),
7:05 p.m. ET (FS-D HD / AM 1270 & 97.1 FM)• Wednesday, September 22, TIGERS (RHP
Max Scherzer (11-10, 3.54 ERA))
VS ROYALS (RHP
Kyle Davies (8-10, 5.08 ERA)),
7:05 p.m. ET (FS-D HD / AM 1270 & 97.1 FM)• Friday, September 23, OFF DAY• Friday, September 24, TIGERS (RHP
Justin Verlander (17-8, 3.46 ERA))
VS TWINS (RHP
Nick Blackburn (9-10, 5.43 ERA)),
7:05 p.m. ET (FS-D HD / AM 1270 & 97.1 FM)