GDT: 5/24/09 - DET (24-17) VS COL (17-25) - 1:05 p.m. ET

DETROIT -- Ever since Dontrelle Willis flustered the Rangers over 6 1/3 scoreless innings Tuesday, the Tigers have been careful not to play it up too much. Better to quietly appreciate what he did than to put too much pressure on him to live up to those standards. The way the Tigers have been playing lately, however, might be the best kind of pressure he could have.

Instead of wondering if Willis can ever live up to his contract or the grand expectations that followed -- or speculating on what comes next for him -- the question heading into Sunday's series finale against the Rockies is whether he can keep up with the rest of the Tigers' pitching staff. The questions about anxiety disorder have given way to a new comfort level on the mound.

The development in Willis' game from his return May 13 at Minnesota to his mastery Tuesday against Texas might best be seen in one category: Twins hitters swung and missed at only one of Willis' 87 pitches; the Rangers did it 10 times out of the 101 pitches Willis threw them.

"I was totally impressed," said manager Jim Leyland, who watched parts of Willis' last outing on video to make sure what he noticed was true. "It looked like his ball was diving and moving. He got extra velocity when he wanted to. He took some off. I was more impressed with the stuff and the control. The combination of the stuff and control was more than I expected, and I was tickled to death."

And if there's ever a situation for Willis to be comfortable in, it's being on the mound against a National League team, particularly the Rockies.

After a year and a half, Willis finally gets a chance at Interleague Play, facing the Senior Circuit for the first time since he arrived in Detroit from Florida in the Miguel Cabrera trade. He spent the Tigers' Interleague stretch last season in the Minor Leagues, trying first to find his old form and then to build a new one.

He'll resume his rivalry with the NL against a team that has never beaten him. Willis has three wins and a no-decision in his career against the Rockies, racking up 23 strikeouts over 26 innings while allowing 10 earned runs. He tossed seven shutout innings with 10 strikeouts against them May 6, 2005.

That, of course, was the younger form of Willis, which seemed lost until his last outing. Now, a large expected crowd at Comerica Park will be looking to see if he can repeat the effectiveness, let alone the numbers.

"I want to stay real low-key on it," Leyland said. "The performance was outstanding. What happens from here, I'm not smart enough to know. I hope that's the first step [towards] Dontrelle being the pitcher we want him to be and being the pitcher he wants to be. But I don't want to start doing a lot of talking about it and start putting a lot of pressure on Dontrelle. So I'm just going to let it ride."


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Pitching matchup

DET: LHP Dontrelle Willis (1-0, 3.27 ERA)
Willis finally recorded his first win as a Tiger on Tuesday, when he one-hit the Rangers through 6 1/3 innings, striking out five and retiring 17 straight batters at one point. Now the challenge will be finding some form of consistency.

COL: RHP Jason Hammel (0-3, 4.60 ERA)
Hammel has pitched better on the road than at home this season, and it's quite possible his last start, a loss to the Braves, could have gone differently. Hammel went six innings and gave up six runs, but three were earned. No runs were in when second baseman Clint Barmes committed his second-inning error. Two of the subsequent hits that inning were of the infield variety. Hammel has no record but a 7.88 ERA, in four career games, one start, against the Tigers.

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Tidbits

... The Tigers own a perfect 6-0 record on Sundays this season.
... Look for Ramon Santiago to get another start Sunday, this time at second base to give Placido Polanco a day of rest after Saturday's night game.
... Josh Anderson has been successful in his past seven steal attempts, including Saturday's ninth-inning swipe of second base off Yorvit Torrealba.
... Sunday's game will be broadcast on AM 1270 in Detroit in order to make room for Game 4 of the NHL's Western Conference finals on 97.1 FM.

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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 game notes

On television
• FS-D HD

On radio
• WXYT 1270 AM

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Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Monday: Tigers (Justin Verlander, 4-2, 3.99 ERA) at Royals (Gil Meche, 2-4, 4.42 ERA), 2:10 p.m. ET
• Tuesday: Tigers (Edwin Jackson, 4-2, 2.55 ERA) at Royals (Zack Greinke, 7-1, 0.82 ERA), 8:10 p.m. ET
• Wednesday: Tigers (Rick Porcello, 5-3, 3.55 ERA) at Royals (Kyle Davies, 2-3, 4.78 ERA), 2:10 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

Inning 1
Top Half

B:1 S:0 O:0 -
Dexter Fowler singles on a line drive to left fielder Josh Anderson.


B:1 S:2 O:2 - Troy Tulowitzki grounds into double
play, shortstop Adam Everett to second baseman Ramon Santiago to first
baseman Miguel Cabrera. Dexter Fowler out at 2nd.


B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Todd Helton grounds out, second baseman Ramon Santiago to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

Bottom Half

B:0 S:3 O:1 -
Josh Anderson swinging.


B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Ramon Santiago grounds out sharply to first baseman Todd Helton.


B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Clete Thomas walks.


B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera pops out to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki.

0-0 after 1 inning

Inning 2
Top Half

B:1 S:0 O:0 -
Matt Murton reaches on fielding error by right fielder Clete Thomas. Matt Murton to 2nd.

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Ryan Spilborghs flies out to right fielder Clete Thomas.

B:3 S:3 O:2 -
Garrett Atkins called out on .

B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Yorvit Torrealba grounds out, shortstop Adam Everett to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

Bottom Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson pops out to third baseman Ian Stewart.

B:4 S:2 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez walks.

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Brandon Inge singles on a ground ball to left fielder Matt Murton. Magglio Ordonez to 2nd.

B:4 S:2 O:1 -
Adam Everett walks. Magglio Ordonez to 3rd. Brandon Inge to 2nd.

B:4 S:2 O:1 -
Coaching visit to mound.

B:0 S:2 O:1 - Dane Sardinha singles on a fly ball to
center fielder Dexter Fowler. Magglio Ordonez scores. Brandon Inge to
3rd. Adam Everett to 2nd.

B:0 S:1 O:3 - Josh Anderson grounds into double play,
second baseman Clint Barmes to shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to first
baseman Todd Helton. Dane Sardinha out at 2nd.

1-0 after 2 innings

Inning 3
Top Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Clint Barmes swinging.

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Ian Stewart swinging.

B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Dexter Fowler doubles (9) on a ground ball to left fielder Josh Anderson.

B:4 S:0 O:2 -
Troy Tulowitzki walks.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
With Todd Helton batting, Dexter Fowler steals (11) 3rd base. Troy Tulowitzki steals (4) 2nd base.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.

B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Todd Helton called out on .

1-0

Bottom Half

B:0 S:3 O:1 -
Ramon Santiago swinging, catcher Yorvit Torrealba to first baseman Todd Helton.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Clete Thomas grounds out, first baseman Todd Helton to pitcher Jason Hammel.

B:2 S:1 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera flies out to left fielder Matt Murton.

1-0 after 3 innings

Inning 4
Top Half

B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Matt Murton pops out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:4 S:1 O:1 -
Ryan Spilborghs walks.

B:2 S:0 O:2 -
Garrett Atkins lines out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Yorvit Torrealba flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

1-0

Bottom Half

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson grounds out, second baseman Clint Barmes to first baseman Todd Helton.

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez (6) on a line drive to center fielder Dexter Fowler.

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

B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Adam Everett pops out to second baseman Clint Barmes.

1-0 after 4 innings

Inning 5
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Clint Barmes grounds out, shortstop Adam Everett to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Ian Stewart grounds out, second baseman Ramon Santiago to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:4 S:1 O:2 -
Dexter Fowler walks.

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Troy Tulowitzki singles on a ground ball to right fielder Clete Thomas. Dexter Fowler to 2nd.

B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Todd Helton doubles (9) on a line drive to right fielder Clete Thomas. Dexter Fowler scores. Troy Tulowitzki to 3rd.

B:1 S:0 O:3 -
Matt Murton grounds out, pitcher Dontrelle Willis to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

tied 1-1

Bottom Half

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Dane Sardinha grounds out, third baseman Ian Stewart to first baseman Todd Helton.

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Josh Anderson grounds out, second baseman Clint Barmes to first baseman Todd Helton.

B:2 S:2 O:3 -
Ramon Santiago grounds out, pitcher Jason Hammel to first baseman Todd Helton.

tied 1-1 after 5 innings

Inning 6
Top Half

B:4 S:1 O:0 -
Ryan Spilborghs walks.

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Garrett Atkins lines out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Yorvit Torrealba flies out to right fielder Clete Thomas.

B:2 S:1 O:3 -
Clint Barmes flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

tied 1-1

Bottom Half

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Clete Thomas strikes out swinging.


B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Miguel Cabrera singles on a line drive to center fielder Dexter Fowler.


B:2 S:0 O:2 -
Curtis Granderson flies out to left fielder Matt Murton.


B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Dexter Fowler. Miguel Cabrera to 2nd.


B:1 S:0 O:3 -
Brandon Inge flies out to right fielder Ryan Spilborghs in foul territory.

tied 1-1 after 6 innings

Inning 7
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:0 -
Ian Stewart singles on a soft line drive to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Dexter Fowler out on a sacrifice bunt, first baseman Miguel Cabrera to second baseman Ramon Santiago. Ian Stewart to 2nd.

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Troy Tulowitzki grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Todd Helton singles on a ground ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson. Ian Stewart scores.

B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Matt Murton doubles (3) on a fly ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson. Todd Helton scores.

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Pitcher Change: Brandon Lyon replaces Dontrelle Willis.

B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Ryan Spilborghs flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

Rockies 3-1

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Defensive Substitution: Seth Smith replaces left fielder Matt Murton, batting 4th, playing left field.

B:1 S:0 O:0 -
Adam Everett singles on a ground ball to left fielder Seth Smith.

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Jeff Larish replaces Dane Sardinha.

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

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Randy Flores replaces Jason Hammel.

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Gerald Laird replaces Jeff Larish.

B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Gerald Laird lines out to center fielder Dexter Fowler.

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Josh Anderson called out on strikes.

B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Ramon Santiago strikes out on foul tip.

Rockies 3-1 after 7 innings

Inning 8
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Gerald Laird remains in the game as the catcher.

B:2 S:0 O:0 -
Garrett Atkins doubles (6) on a line drive to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:1 S:1 O:1 - Yorvit Torrealba out on a sacrifice
bunt, third baseman Brandon Inge to second baseman Ramon Santiago.
Garrett Atkins to 3rd.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Clint Barmes pops out to catcher Gerald Laird in foul territory.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Pitcher Change: Bobby Seay replaces Brandon Lyon.

B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Ian Stewart strikes out swinging.

Rockies 3-1

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Ryan Raburn replaces Clete Thomas.

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

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Manuel Corpas replaces Randy Flores.

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Ryan Raburn grounds out, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to first baseman Todd Helton.

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera grounds out, shortstop Troy Tulowitzki to first baseman Todd Helton.

B:1 S:0 O:3 -
Curtis Granderson lines out sharply to second baseman Clint Barmes.

Rockies 3-1 after 8 innings

Inning 9
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Ryan Raburn remains in the game as the right fielder.

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Dexter Fowler flies out to right fielder Ryan Raburn.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Troy Tulowitzki grounds out, shortstop Adam Everett to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Todd Helton grounds out, second baseman Ramon Santiago to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Huston Street replaces Manuel Corpas.

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Magglio Ordonez pops out to second baseman Clint Barmes.

B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Brandon Inge strikes out swinging.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Placido Polanco replaces Adam Everett.

B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Placido Polanco flies out to right fielder Ryan Spilborghs.

Tigers lose 1-3

May 24, 2009

	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Colorado	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0	0		3	8	0
Detroit	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	6	1

Colorado AB- R- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB -AVG- Fowler, CF 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 .271 Tulowitzki, SS 4 0 1 0 1 0 2 .239 Helton, 1B 5 1 2 2 0 1 2 .342 Murton, LF 4 0 1 1 0 0 2 .269 --Smith, S, LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .266 Spilborghs, RF 2 0 0 0 2 0 2 .270 Atkins, DH 4 0 1 0 0 1 3 .190 Torrealba, C 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 .233 Barmes, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .235 Stewart, 3B 4 1 1 0 0 2 1 .190 Totals 33 3 8 3 4 5 17 BATTING 2B: Fowler (9, Willis), Helton (9, Willis), Murton (3, Willis), Atkins (6, Lyon). TB: Fowler 3; Tulowitzki; Helton 3; Murton 2; Atkins 2; Stewart. RBI: Helton 2 (31), Murton (4). 2-out RBI: Helton 2; Murton. Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Torrealba; Helton 2; Murton 2; Spilborghs; Stewart. S: Fowler; Torrealba. GIDP: Tulowitzki. Team RISP: 2-for-11. Team LOB: 9. BASERUNNING SB: Tulowitzki (4, 2nd base off Willis/Sardinha, D), Fowler (11, 3rd base off Willis/Sardinha, D). FIELDING DP: (Barmes-Tulowitzki-Helton).		Detroit AB- R- H- RBI- BB- SO- LOB- AVG Anderson, J, LF 4 0 0 0 0 2 4 .263 Santiago, 2B 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 .338 Thomas, RF 2 0 0 0 1 1 0 .258 --c-Raburn, PH-RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .222 Cabrera, M, 1B 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .367 Granderson, CF 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .240 Ordonez, DH 3 1 2 0 1 0 0 .266 Inge, 3B 4 0 1 0 0 2 3 .271 Everett, SS 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 .305 --d-Polanco, PH 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263 Sardinha, D, C 2 0 1 1 0 0 0 .095 --a-Larish, PH 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .239 --b-Laird, PH-C 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 .243 Totals 32 1 6 1 3 7 12 a-Batted for Sardinha, D in the 7th. b-Lined out for Larish in the 7th. c-Grounded out for Thomas in the 8th. d-Flied out for Everett in the 9th. BATTING 2B: Ordonez (6, Hammel). TB: Cabrera, M; Ordonez 3; Inge; Everett; Sardinha, D. RBI: Sardinha, D (2). Runners left in scoring position, 2 out: Everett; Inge. GIDP: Anderson, J. Team RISP: 1-for-5. Team LOB: 7. FIELDING E: Thomas (1, fielding). DP: (Everett-Santiago-Cabrera, M).
Colorado IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA Hammel (W, 1-3) 6.0 6 1 1 3 4 0 4.10 Flores, Ra (H, 2) 1.0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0.00 Corpas (H, 2) 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5.95 Street (S, 7) 1.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 3.44		Detroit IP-- H- R- ER- BB- SO- HR- ERA Willis (L, 1-1) 6.2 7 3 3 4 4 0 3.57 Lyon 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5.95 Seay 1.1 0 0 0 0 1 0 4.72
Hammel pitched to 1 batter in the 7th. Pitches-strikes: Hammel 86-55, Flores, Ra 13-9, Corpas 8-7, Street 9-7, Willis 105-61, Lyon 11-7, Seay 15-11. Groundouts-flyouts: Hammel 8-6, Flores, Ra 0-1, Corpas 2-1, Street 0-2, Willis 9-7, Lyon 1-2, Seay 2-1. Batters faced: Hammel 26, Flores, Ra 3, Corpas 3, Street 3, Willis 31, Lyon 4, Seay 4. Inherited runners-scored: Flores, Ra 1-0, Lyon 1-0, Seay 1-0. Umpires: HP: Marty Foster. 1B: D.J. Reyburn. 2B: John Hirschbeck. 3B: Wally Bell. Weather: 67 degrees, sunny. Wind: 8 mph, L to R. T: 2:39. Att: 34,606. May 24, 2009

71 degrees and sunny by the ninth inning [ 73 for a high]


Winds Northeast at 10mph


It was 57 and cloudy at 10am


Then the sun came out and it got warm

YUCK!

I was hot sitting in the bleachers



At least the umpires wore their blue shirts


2nd time this season at Comerica Park

And of course the Rockies wore their softball uniforms the entire series


I wish teams would just wear gray on the road and white at home


It looks at lot better


Yet so many teams wear colored shirts now

The A's wore green all three games the weekend before and I think Texas only wore gray once during the three game series last week at Comerica


And considering how warm it was the last few games of the homestand; you would think they be more cooler in lighter colors