GDT31: 5/8/13 - DET (19-11) AT WSH (17-15) - 7:05 p.m. ET

Tigers: RHP Anibal Sanchez (3-2, 1.82 ERA)

Sanchez took the loss in his last start, last Wednesday vs. Minnesota. He surrendered five hits and three earned runs in six innings. He struck out 17 in an April 26 win over Atlanta and struck out nine against the Twins.



Nationals: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (5-1, 1.64 ERA)

Zimmermann carries an 18-inning shutout streak into this Interleague start. He's allowed eight runs in 44 innings all season.








Anibal, Zimmermann ready to go after rainout
Two of game's hottest pitchers highlight Tigers-Nats opener

By Adam Berry / MLB.com | 5/7/2013 7:23 PM ET

The Tigers' first visit to Nationals Park will officially start Wednesday night, and it's going to last a bit longer than expected.

Their two-game series with the Nationals was scheduled to begin Tuesday night, but that game was postponed due to rain and rescheduled for Thursday afternoon. So on Wednesday night, Detroit will kick off its first trip to the nation's capital since 2007, when it swept three games at RFK Stadium.

"Because of this being such a weird situation, just two games, and not coming back, I think you just have to do what you have to do," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.

Both clubs' rotations will remain on turn, however, so Tigers right-hander Anibal Sanchez will take the mound against Nationals righty Jordan Zimmermann in the series opener -- just a day later than they'd planned on it.

"I got out of my street clothes for 15 minutes and they canceled the game," Zimmermann said Tuesday. "It wasn't like I was in game mode. I'll come back here to tomorrow and do it all over again."

The Tigers come in hot, 4-0 on their road trip after a sweep of the Astros and with nine wins in their past 10 games. The Nationals have won two straight and come home off a 4-3 road trip.

Although the Tigers are new to Nationals Park, their starting pitcher on Tuesday is not. Sanchez, who played for the Marlins until his trade to Detroit last summer, is 3-0 with a 1.13 ERA in six career starts there. In 19 total games against the Nationals, he is 8-0 with a 1.97 ERA.

The Detroit right-hander is 3-2 with a 1.82 ERA this season. He hasn't allowed a home run and has held the opposition to three runs or fewer in each of his six outings. After a 17-strikeout performance against the Braves on April 26, he struck out nine more on Wednesday against Minnesota, overcoming a tough start to retire the last 11 batters he faced.

"He calmed himself down," catcher Brayan Pena said, "and he came back with me and said, 'Let's keeping attacking the strike zone. Let's not shy away from contact.' And that's exactly what he did. He kept us in the ballgame. He gave us a shot to come back."

Zimmermann is one of the few pitchers off to a stronger start than Sanchez this season. Zimmermann enters Tuesday with an 18-inning scoreless streak. The righty has logged two complete games, including a shutout, and opponents are batting .168 with a .446 OPS against him.

Zimmermann (5-1, 1.64 ERA), who will make his first appearance against the Tigers, allowed two hits, walked none and struck out eight Braves on May 1.

"They are swinging a good bat now. I have to bring my 'A' game, and we will see what happens," Zimmermann said. "I enjoy facing any lineup. I have a lot of challenges, a lot of lefty bats in there. I'm excited."

Tigers: A little more rest for the weary
Tuesday's rainout cost the Tigers an off-day on Thursday, but it's hardly going to have a huge impact on their players. Detroit has another day off May 20, in the middle of a road trip to Texas and Cleveland. And the Tigers had an off-day Monday, which means they're technically coming off two days of rest entering Wednesday's series opener.

Tuesday was the second time this season that the Tigers have had a series opener postponed immediately after an off-day, as their April 23 matchup with the Royals was scratched due to rain. Detroit played the final two games of that series as scheduled and postponed the rained-out game to a later date.

• Since the Tigers kept their rotation in line despite Tuesday's rainout, Doug Fister will start Thursday's 4:05 p.m. ET game at Nationals Park.

Nationals: Werth could play Wednesday
Nationals manager Davey Johnson said right fielder Jayson Werth (tight right hamstring) wouldn't have played Tuesday if the field was wet, but he could play Wednesday if the field is dry.

"He had his doctor put him through all kinds of tests. His hamstring is not pulled. He feels pretty good about that," Johnson said. "But I would not run him out there on this field. So he will have to wait until tomorrow."

• Right-hander Dan Haren, who was scheduled to pitch Wednesday's game, will get pushed back a day and start Thursday's series finale. Haren has gone 2-1 with a 2.84 ERA over his last three starts.

"You have to take it in stride. Today was pretty much an off-day anyway. You get so many off-days in a season. ... At least they called it early, so we can just relax," Haren said.

• Johnson said Tuesday that outfielder Bryce Harper won't be fined or suspended for his altercation with third-base umpire John Hirschbeck on Sunday.

Worth noting
• The Tigers have won all six games against the Nationals since the franchise moved to Washington from Montreal.

• Sanchez held most of the Nationals' key hitters in check during his days with the Marlins. Ryan Zimmerman is 10-for-42 (.238) with one home run against him, Adam LaRoche is 6-for-30 (.200) and Werth is 5-for-30 (.167) with one homer.

• Sanchez is one of three Tigers to have faced Zimmermann. Infante, another former Marlin, is the only one with more than three at-bats, going 3-for-14 with a homer.

Adam Berry is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.






INJURY UPDATE:


• RHP Octavio Dotel (Right elbow inflammation, 15-day DL retroactive to April 20, 2013).

• LHP Phil Coke (left groin strain, 15-day DL retroactive to April 26, 2013).






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• THU, May 9:
TIGERS: (RHP Doug Fister (4-0, 2.48 ERA)) AT
NATIONALS: (RHP Dan Haren (3-3, 5.01 ERA))
4:05 p.m. ET (FS-D / FM 97.1)


• FRI, May 10:
TIGERS: (RHP Max Scherzer (4-0, 3.43 ERA)) VS
INDIANS: (RHP Corey Kluber (2-1, 3.06 ERA))
7:08 p.m. ET (FS-D PLUS / WXYT 1270)


• SAT, May 11:
TIGERS: (RHP Justin Verlander (4-2, 1.55 ERA)) VS
INDIANS: (RHP Ubaldo Jimenez (2-2, 6.37 ERA))
7:08 p.m. ET (FS-D, MLBN / FM 97.1)


• SUN, May 12:
TIGERS: (RHP Rick Porcello (1-2, 7.52 ERA)) VS
INDIANS: (RHP Zach McAllister (3-3, 2.63 ERA))
1:08 p.m. ET (FS-D / FM 97.1)

STARTING LINEUPS:

TIGERS

Austin Jackson, CF
Torii Hunter, RF (0-for-3, K against Jordan Zimmermann)
Miguel Cabrera, 3B
Prince Fielder, 1B
Andy Dirks, LF
Jhonny Peralta, SS
Alex Avila, C
Omar Infante, 2B (3-for-14, triple, HR against Zimmermann)
Anibal Sanchez, P (0-for-2, 2 K’s against Zimmermann)


NATIONALS

Denard Span, CF (0-for-3 off Sanchez)
Ian Desmond, SS (8-for-25, 2 doubles, HR, 2 walks, 4 K’s off Sanchez)
Bryce Harper, RF (1-for-3, triple off Sanchez)
Ryan Zimmerman, 3B (10-for-42, double, HR, 5 walks, 6 K’s off Sanchez)
Adam LaRoche, 1B (6-for-30, walk, 9 K’s off Sanchez)
Tyler Moore, LF
Danny Espinosa, 2B (1-for-13, walk, 6 K’s off Sanchez)
Kurt Suzuki, C
Jordan Zimmermann, P (0-for-2 off Sanchez)

Detroit Tigers @tigers


RT @thompson_tigers: Nationals just announced a projected 8:00 p.m. first pitch. #tigers

DET - Top 1st
B:0 S:1 O:1
Austin Jackson lines out to right fielder Bryce Harper.

B:0 S:1 O:1
Torii Hunter reaches on a fielding error by first baseman Adam LaRoche.

B:2 S:2 O:3
Miguel Cabrera lines into a double play, shortstop Ian Desmond to first baseman Adam LaRoche. Torii Hunter doubled off 1st.


WSH - Bot 1st
B:1 S:1 O:0
Denard Span singles on a pop up to shortstop Jhonny Peralta.

With Ian Desmond batting, Anibal Sanchez picks off Denard Span at 1st on throw to Prince Fielder.

B:1 S:2 O:2
Ian Desmond grounds out, second baseman Omar Infante to first baseman Prince Fielder.

B:3 S:2 O:3
Bryce Harper grounds out, first baseman Prince Fielder to pitcher Anibal Sanchez.

0-0 AFTER 1 INNING

DET - Top 2nd
B:0 S:2 O:0
Prince Fielder doubles (7) on a fly ball to center fielder Denard Span.

B:0 S:1 O:1
Andy Dirks grounds out, shortstop Ian Desmond to first baseman Adam LaRoche.

B:2 S:1 O:2
Jhonny Peralta grounds out, shortstop Ian Desmond to first baseman Adam LaRoche.

B:4 S:2 O:2
Alex Avila walks.

B:0 S:1 O:3
Omar Infante grounds into a force out, fielded by third baseman Ryan Zimmerman. Prince Fielder out at 3rd.


WSH - Bot 2nd
B:3 S:2 O:1
Ryan Zimmerman flies out to left fielder Andy Dirks.

B:0 S:0 O:1
Adam LaRoche singles on a line drive to left fielder Andy Dirks.

B:1 S:2 O:2
Tyler Moore pops out to second baseman Omar Infante in foul territory.

B:0 S:0 O:2
Danny Espinosa singles on a bunt ground ball to catcher Alex Avila. Adam LaRoche to 2nd.

B:3 S:2 O:2
Kurt Suzuki singles on a soft ground ball to shortstop Jhonny Peralta. Adam LaRoche to 3rd. Danny Espinosa to 2nd.

B:0 S:2 O:3
Jordan Zimmermann grounds into a force out, shortstop Jhonny Peralta to second baseman Omar Infante. Kurt Suzuki out at 2nd.

0-0 AFTER 2 INNINGS

DET - Top 3rd
B:0 S:3 O:1
Anibal Sanchez called out on strikes.

B:2 S:3 O:2
Austin Jackson strikes out on a foul tip.

B:0 S:1 O:2
Torii Hunter doubles (10) on a ground ball to left fielder Tyler Moore.

B:2 S:2 O:2
Miguel Cabrera singles on a ground ball to left fielder Tyler Moore. Torii Hunter scores.
1 - 0

B:4 S:1 O:2
Prince Fielder walks. Miguel Cabrera to 2nd.

B:1 S:3 O:3
Andy Dirks strikes out swinging.


WSH - Bot 3rd
B:2 S:0 O:0
Denard Span triples (2) on a sharp line drive to right fielder Torii Hunter.

B:0 S:0 O:1
Ian Desmond lines out to first baseman Prince Fielder.

B:0 S:0 O:2
Bryce Harper out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Andy Dirks. Denard Span scores.
TIED 1 - 1

B:1 S:3 O:3
Ryan Zimmerman strikes out swinging.

TIED 1 - 1 AFTER 3 INNINGS

DET - Top 4th
B:0 S:0 O:0
Jhonny Peralta singles on a soft line drive to center fielder Denard Span.

B:0 S:0 O:2
Alex Avila grounds into a double play, second baseman Danny Espinosa to shortstop Ian Desmond to first baseman Adam LaRoche. Jhonny Peralta out at 2nd.

B:2 S:1 O:3
Omar Infante grounds out, third baseman Ryan Zimmerman to first baseman Adam LaRoche.


WSH - Bot 4th
B:0 S:2 O:0
Adam LaRoche singles on a line drive to left fielder Andy Dirks.

B:0 S:3 O:1
Tyler Moore strikes out swinging.

B:0 S:0 O:1
Danny Espinosa singles on a line drive to center fielder Austin Jackson. Adam LaRoche to 2nd.

B:2 S:1 O:2
Kurt Suzuki flies out to right fielder Torii Hunter. Adam LaRoche scores. Danny Espinosa to 3rd. Throwing error by right fielder Torii Hunter.
WSH 2 - 1

B:2 S:3 O:3
Jordan Zimmermann strikes out swinging.

WSH 2 - 1 AFTER 4 INNINGS

DET - Top 5th
B:0 S:3 O:1
Anibal Sanchez strikes out swinging.

B:2 S:2 O:2
Austin Jackson flies out to right fielder Bryce Harper.

B:3 S:3 O:3
Torii Hunter strikes out on a foul tip.


WSH - Bot 5th
B:3 S:2 O:1
Denard Span grounds out, shortstop Jhonny Peralta to first baseman Prince Fielder.

B:2 S:3 O:2
Ian Desmond strikes out swinging.

B:0 S:0 O:2
Bryce Harper homers (10) on a fly ball to right center field.
WSH 3 - 1

B:2 S:3 O:3
Ryan Zimmerman called out on strikes.

WSH 3 - 1 AFTER 5 INNINGS

DET - Top 6th
B:0 S:2 O:1
Miguel Cabrera grounds out, shortstop Ian Desmond to first baseman Adam LaRoche.

B:1 S:3 O:2
Prince Fielder strikes out swinging.

B:1 S:0 O:2
Andy Dirks singles on a ground ball to right fielder Bryce Harper.

B:0 S:1 O:2
Jhonny Peralta singles on a line drive to center fielder Denard Span. Andy Dirks to 2nd.

B:0 S:3 O:3
Alex Avila called out on strikes.


WSH - Bot 6th
B:1 S:3 O:1
Adam LaRoche called out on strikes.

B:1 S:3 O:2
Tyler Moore strikes out swinging.

B:1 S:3 O:3
Danny Espinosa strikes out swinging, catcher Alex Avila to first baseman Prince Fielder.

WSH 3 - 1 AFTER 6 INNINGS

DET - Top 7th
B:2 S:0 O:1
Omar Infante pops out to first baseman Adam LaRoche.

Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Don Kelly replaces Anibal Sanchez.

B:1 S:2 O:2
Don Kelly lines out softly to shortstop Ian Desmond.

B:0 S:2 O:2
Austin Jackson singles on a line drive to right fielder Bryce Harper.

B:0 S:2 O:3
Torii Hunter pops out to third baseman Ryan Zimmerman.


WSH - Bot 7th
Pitching Change: Jose Ortega replaces Anibal Sanchez, batting 9th, replacing Don Kelly.

B:3 S:1 O:1
Kurt Suzuki grounds out, shortstop Jhonny Peralta to first baseman Prince Fielder.

Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Steve Lombardozzi replaces Jordan Zimmermann.

B:2 S:1 O:2
Steve Lombardozzi flies out to right fielder Torii Hunter.

B:0 S:0 O:3
Denard Span lines out to right fielder Torii Hunter.

WSH 3 - 1 AFTER 7 INNINGS

DET - Top 8th
Defensive Substitution: Roger Bernadina replaces left fielder Tyler Moore, batting 6th, playing left field.

Pitching Change: Tyler Clippard replaces Jordan Zimmermann, batting 9th, replacing Steve Lombardozzi.

B:3 S:2 O:1
Miguel Cabrera flies out to center fielder Denard Span.

B:0 S:3 O:2
Prince Fielder strikes out swinging.

B:4 S:2 O:2
Andy Dirks walks.

B:4 S:2 O:2
Jhonny Peralta walks. Andy Dirks to 2nd.

Coaching visit to mound.

B:2 S:3 O:3
Alex Avila strikes out swinging.


WSH - Bot 8th
Pitching Change: Joaquin Benoit replaces Jose Ortega, batting 9th.

B:3 S:2 O:1
Ian Desmond pops out to second baseman Omar Infante.

B:2 S:3 O:2
Bryce Harper strikes out on a foul tip.

B:3 S:3 O:3
Ryan Zimmerman strikes out swinging.

WSH 3 - 1 AFTER 8 INNINGS

DET - Top 9th
Pitching Change: Rafael Soriano replaces Tyler Clippard, batting 9th.

B:0 S:2 O:1
Omar Infante lines out to left fielder Roger Bernadina.

Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Victor Martinez replaces Joaquin Benoit.

B:1 S:1 O:2
Victor Martinez flies out to left fielder Roger Bernadina.

B:3 S:2 O:3
Austin Jackson flies out to right fielder Bryce Harper.


TIGERS LOSE 1-3

CLICK HERE FOR BOX SCORE

• W: Zimmermann
  
  
  
• L: Sanchez, An
  
  
  
• S: Soriano, R (11)
  

Game Info

Pitches-strikes: Sanchez, An 98-69, Ortega, J 10-5, Benoit 25-17, Zimmermann 101-72, Clippard 34-21, Soriano, R 12-8.
Groundouts-flyouts: Sanchez, An 4-3, Ortega, J 1-1, Benoit 0-0, Zimmermann 7-1, Clippard 0-1, Soriano, R 0-2.
Batters faced: Sanchez, An 25, Ortega, J 3, Benoit 3, Zimmermann 29, Clippard 5, Soriano, R 3.
Umpires: HP: Hunter Wendelstedt. 1B: Jerry Layne. 2B: Alan Porter. 3B: Greg Gibson.
Weather: 59 degrees, cloudy.
Wind: 5 mph, Out to CF.
T: 2:47 (:57 delay).
Att: 34,893.