GDT: 4/14/12 - DET (5-2) AT CWS (4-2) - 4:10 p.m. ET 
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Detroit Tigers AT Chicago White SoxSaturday, April 14, 2012
U.S. Cellular Field, Chicago, IL
Game Time - 4:10 p.m. EDT ______________________________________
Preview Tigers' Wilk ready for first Major League startRookie lefty opposes White Sox right-hander FloydBy Spencer Fordin / MLB.com | 4/13/2012 6:00 PM ET
It's never too early for a contingency plan. Detroit rookie Andy Wilk will make his first big league start Saturday against the White Sox, an opportunity born out of an injury to Doug Fister. Wilk, 24 years old, will be matched against veteran Gavin Floyd in a clash of division rivals.
Friday's series opener saw Jake Peavy hold down the electric Detroit offense, and the White Sox pulled within a half-game of the first-place Tigers in the early standings with a 5-2 victory. Fister, who had been on turn to make this start, was placed on the disabled list with a strained left rib muscle.
Wilk, an 11th-round selection in the 2009 First-Year Player Draft, steadily moved through the ranks in the Minor Leagues and made five relief appearances for the Tigers last year. And now that he's making his first start for the Tigers, he thinks that he'll be able to savor the experience.
"It helps that this isn't my first game and it isn't my first couple days up here in the Majors," he said. "Last time, I was here for a couple days and I got my first outing in on my third day, so now I'm coming up with some experience under my belt. I'm not so nervous like I was last year."
The White Sox have won three straight games and have scored at least four runs in each of those victories, but Floyd will be hoping to rebound from a tough debut. Floyd pitched to a 4-7 record with a 5.66 ERA at home last season compared to an 8-6 record and a 3.41 mark on the road.
Wilk went 24-12 with a 2.58 ERA in 60 career Minor League starts, and he's struck out (263) more than five times as many batters as he's walked (46). The southpaw threw five one-hit innings in his first start for Triple-A Toledo this season, priming him for a chance to step in for Fister.
"It's special to come up either time. Obviously, last year was my debut and the first time I got up as a Major League player," said Wilk. "So that was a lot of fun for me, and that was a great time. This year it'll be a little bit more organized, obviously, because I have a start. So my mom's coming out so she can see me [pitch] for the first time. She's actually seen me in L.A. and Anaheim in uniform but I've never pitched there, so this is actually the first time she's seen me pitch professionally."
Tigers: Jackson's homecoming streak endsThe White Sox managed to keep Austin Jackson off the scoreboard for the first time this season, snapping the Tigers' longest streak in more than two decades. Detroit's leadoff man had scored in each of his first six games, the best streak since Darrell Evans did it in eight games in 1986.
Jackson made it to third base with one out in the eighth inning on Friday -- and he represented the tying run at the time -- but the threat was extinguished on a double play. The center fielder went hitless in the series opener, but he's a career .306 (44-for-144) hitter against the White Sox.
White Sox: Captain steering the shipPaul Konerko has been his usual steady presence in the middle of the lineup thus far, notching a hit in each of Chicago's first six games. Konerko delivered a key run-scoring single off Max Scherzer in the sixth inning on Friday, and he's batting .435 with six RBIs and four runs scored.
Konkero has had at least two hits in four of his first six games, and he's four home runs away from No. 400 for his career. He'll break a tie with Joe Carter -- 51st all-time -- with his next home run, and he's 21 hits from tying Eddie Collins for the fourth-most hits in franchise history.
Worth noting• Detroit and Chicago combined to strike out 25 times in the series opener, including four by White Sox DH Adam Dunn.
• Konerko has started in 12 consecutive Opening Day games for Chicago, the second-longest active streak in baseball.
• The Tigers will likely activate veteran utility man Brandon Inge (sore left groin) from his Minor League injury rehab stint in time for Saturday's game.
Tigers: LHP Adam Wilk (0-0, 0.00 ERA)After Tigers officials watched two other starters struggle at Triple-A Toledo, they decided on Wilk, who pitched five scoreless innings on one hit with six strikeouts in his season debut for the Mud Hens. He'll be making his first Major League start.
White Sox: RHP Gavin Floyd (0-1, 6.35 ERA)Home runs from Josh Hamilton, Adrian Beltre and David Murphy did in the White Sox right-hander in his season debut Sunday night in Arlington. Floyd allowed five hits, but they were good enough to produce four earned runs.
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Tiger's MLB Game Notes
RECENT RESULTS: The Tigers suffered a 5-2 loss to the White Sox yesterday afternoon at U.S. Cellular Field. Max Scherzer (0-1) took the loss for Detroit, allowing three runs in six innings of work as he fanned 11 batters. Delmon Young belted a two-run home run for the Tigers, while Brennan Boesch collected two hits. The Tigers continue the club’s first road trip of the season this afternoon with the second game of a three-game series at Chicago. The trip concludes with a three-game series at Kansas City beginning on Monday. Detroit returns home for a seven-game homestand with Texas and Seattle beginning on April 19.
INGE REINSTATED FROM DL; WILK RECALLED FROM TOLEDO: The Tigers today have recalled the injury rehabilitation assignment of infielder Brandon Inge from Triple A Toledo and reinstated him from the disabled list. Additionally, the club has recalled the contract of lefthanded pitcher Adam Wilk from Toledo. To create room on the club’s 25-man roster for both Inge and Wilk, the Tigers optioned the contracts of righthanded pitcher Brayan Villarreal and infielder Danny Worth to Toledo following yesterday’s game at Chicago.
WINNING AGAINST THE WHITE SOX: The Tigers enter this afternoon’s game at Chicago having won 21 of the club’s last 28 games versus the White Sox dating back to August 14, 2010. Detroit has won 11 of the club’s 15 games at Chicago’s U.S. Cellular Field during that stretch. The Tigers are hitting .307 (313x1018) with 177 runs scored, 55 doubles, seven triples and 37 home runs during the 28-game stretch against Chicago.
DELMON DOES DAMAGE VERSUS CHICAGO: Delmon Young enters today’s game at Chicago hitting .346 (82x237) with 15 doubles, a triple, 11 home runs and 42 RBI in 64 games during his career against the White Sox. He is fourth among all active major league players with a .346 batting average versus the White Sox, while he is seventh with a .392 on-base percentage and eighth with a .557 slugging percentage.
JACKSON IN ACTION AGAINST THE WHITE SOX: Austin Jackson enters today’s game at Chicago hitting .306 (44x144) with 27 runs scored, six doubles, three triples, three home runs and 10 RBI in 34 games during his career versus the White Sox. He is 11th among all active major league players with a .387 on-base percentage against Chicago.
PILING UP THE PUNCHOUTS: Tigers pitchers combined to fan 15 batters yesterday against the White Sox. It marks the most strikeouts by Tigers pitchers in a nine-inning game since the club finished with 17 strikeouts on May 30, 2010 versus Oakland.
SCHERZER POSTS DOUBLE-DIGIT STRIKEOUT TOTAL: Max Scherzer finished with 11 strikeouts yesterday afternoon at Chicago. It marked the seventh time during his career he has finished with 10-or-more strikeouts in an outing, and the first time he has done so since fanning 10 batters on August 13, 2011 at Baltimore.
MIGGY HEADED TOWARDS 1,000 RBI: Miguel Cabrera enters this afternoon’s game at Chicago with 993 RBI during his major league career, seven RBI shy of 1,000 in his career. He would become the 21st active major league player with at least 1,000 RBI.
CABRERA, FIELDER FORM POWERFUL COMBO: Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder are among the leaders in the major leagues in home runs and RBI since the start of the 2006 season. Fielder is third in the major leagues with 230 home runs during that stretch, while Cabrera is sixth with 202 home runs. Cabrera is third in the major leagues with 703 RBI since the start of the 2006 season, while Fielder is sixth with 650 RBI.
DOTEL CLOSING IN ON HIS 700TH APPEARANCE: Octavio Dotel enters today’s game against the White Sox having appeared in 698 games during his major league career, two appearances shy of 700 in his career. He would become the 93rd pitcher in major league history to appear in at least 700 games.
INJURY UPDATE:•
RHP Doug Fister (left costochondral strain,
15-day disabled list on April 7),
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RHP Luis Marte (strained left hamstring,
15-day disabled list on April 4).
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RHP Al Alburquerque (right elbow surgery,
15-day disabled list on April 4).
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C Victor Martinez (left knee surgery,
60-day disabled list on March 12).
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Up next (Probable Pitchers) (RHP
Rick Porcello (0-0, 2.57 ERA))
AT White Sox (LHP
Chris Sale (1-0, 1.35 ERA)),
2:10 p.m. ET (FS-D HD, / WXYT 97.1 FM)• MONDAY, April 16: Tigers (RHP
Justin Verlander (0-1, 2.20 ERA))
AT Royals (LHP
Danny Duffy (1-0, 0.00 ERA)),
8:10 p.m. ET (FS-D HD, / WXYT 97.1 FM)• TUESDAY, April 17: Tigers (LHP
Drew Smyly (0-0, 2.25 ERA))
AT Royals (LHP
Bruce Chen (0-0, 1.64 ERA)),
8:10 p.m. ET (FS-D HD, / WXYT 97.1 FM)• WEDNESDAY, April 18: Tigers (RHP
Max Scherzer (0-1, 10.38 ERA))
AT Royals (RHP
Luke Hochevar (1-1, 7.84 ERA)),
8:10 p.m. ET (FS-D HD, / WXYT 97.1 FM)______________________________________
Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:46 pm
out swinging.
