2009 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

DET. TIGERS 2009 REG SEASON SCHEDULE & SCORES



ESPN Tiger Game Link

All times Eastern Time

All home games will be on FS-D in HD except those listed as FS-D , FS-D and FOX.
All away games will be shown on FS-D non-HD unless otherwise indicated.

Click Score for ESPN RECAP and box score.

Mon, 4/6 at Blue Jays - Lose 5-12 (LP:Verlander)
Tue, 4/7 at Blue Jays - Lose 4-5 (LP:Lyon)
Wed, 4/8 at Blue Jays - WIN 5-1 (WP:Miner)
Thu, 4/9 at Blue Jays - Lose 2-6 (LP:Porcello)
Fri, 4/10 Rangers - WIN 15-2 (WP:Galarraga)
Sat, 4/11 Rangers - WIN 4-3 (WP:Robertson)
Sun, 4/12 Rangers - WIN 6-4 (WP:Lyon)
Mon, 4/13 White Sox - Lose 6-10 (LP:Miner)
Tue, 4/14 White Sox - Postponed: Rain
Wed, 4/15 White Sox - WIN 9-0 (WP:Galarraga)
Thu, 4/16 - OFF
Fri, 4/17 at Mariners - Lose 3-6 (LP:Verlander)
Sat, 4/18 at Mariners - WIN 2-0 (WP:Jackson)
Sun, 4/19 at Mariners - WIN 8-2 (WP:Porcello)
Mon, 4/20 - OFF
Tue, 4/21 at Angels - Lose 3-4 (LP:Lyon)
Wed, 4/22 at Angels - WIN 12-10 (WP:Rincon)
Thu, 4/23 at Angels - Lose 5-10 (LP:Jackson)
Fri, 4/24 at Royals - Lose 1-6 (LP:Porcello)
Sat, 4/25 at Royals - WIN 9-1 (WP:Miner)
Sun, 4/26 at Royals - WIN 3-2 (WP:Galarraga)
Mon, 4/27 Yankees - WIN 4-2 (WP:Verlander)
Tue, 4/28 Yankees - Lose 0-11 (LP:Perry)
Wed, 4/29 Yankees - Lose 6-8 (LP:Porcello)
Thu, 4/30 - OFF
Fri, 5/1 Indians - Lose 5-6 (LP: Galarraga)
Sat, 5/2 Indians - WIN 9-7 (WP: Zumaya)
Sun, 5/3 Indians - WIN 3-1 (WP:Verlander)
Mon, 5/4 Twins - Lose 2-7 (LP: Jackson)
Tue, 5/5 Twins - WIN 9-0 (WP:Porcello)
Wed, 5/6 at White Sox - Postponed: Rain
Thu, 5/7 at White Sox - Lose 0-6 (LP: Galarraga)
Fri, 5/8 at Indians - WIN 1-0 (WP:Verlander) (CG-SHO)
Sat, 5/9 at Indians - WIN 4-0 (WP:Jackson) SHO
Sun, 5/10 at Indians - WIN 5-3 (WP:Porcello)
Mon, 5/11 - OFF
Tue, 5/12 at Twins - Lose 2-6 (LP: Galarraga)
Wed, 5/13 at Twins - Lose 10-14 (13 innings) (LP: Lyon)
Thu, 5/14 at Twins - Lose 5-6 (LP: Seay)
Fri, 5/15 Athletics - WIN 14-1 (WP:Jackson)
Sat, 5/16 Athletics - WIN 9-1 (WP:Porcello)
Sun, 5/17 Athletics - WIN 11-7 (WP:Miner)
Mon, 5/18 - OFF
Tue, 5/19 Rangers - WIN 4-0 (WP:Willis)
Wed, 5/20 Rangers - WIN 5-3 (WP:Verlander)
Thu, 5/21 Rangers - WIN 4-3 (WP:Jackson)
Fri, 5/22 Rockies - WIN 4-3 (WP:Porcello)
Sat, 5/23 Rockies - Lose 3-4 (LP: Galarraga)
Sun, 5/24 Rockies - Lose 1-3 (LP:Willis)
Mon, 5/25 at Royals - WIN 13-1 (WP:Verlander)
Tue, 5/26 at Royals - Lose 1-6 (LP: Jackson)
Wed, 5/27 at Royals - WIN 8-3 (WP:Porcello)
Thu, 5/28 at Orioles - Lose 1-5 (LP: Galarraga)
Fri, 5/29 at Orioles - Lose 2-7 (LP:Willis)
Sat, 5/30 at Orioles - WIN 6-3 (WP:Verlander)
Sun, 5/31 at Orioles - WIN 3-0 (WP:Jackson)
Mon, 6/1 - OFF
Tue, 6/2 Red Sox - Lose 1-5 (LP:Porcello)
Wed, 6/3 Red Sox - Lose 5-10 (LP: Galarraga)
Thu, 6/4 Red Sox - Lose 3-6 (LP:Willis)
Fri, 6/5 Angels - Lose 1-2 (LP: Rodney)
Sat, 6/6 Angels - WIN 2-1 (WP:Jackson)
Sun, 6/7 Angels - WIN 9-6 (WP: Zumaya)
Mon, 6/8 at White Sox - WIN 5-4 (WP: Zumaya)
Mon, 6/8 at White Sox - Lose 1-6 (LP: J. Bonderman)
Tue, 6/9 at White Sox - WIN 7-6 (10 innings) (WP: Lyon)
Wed, 6/10 at White Sox - WIN 2-1 (WP: J. Verlander)
Thu, 6/11 at White Sox - Lose 3-4 (LP: J. Zumaya)
Fri, 6/12 at Pirates - WIN 3-1 (WP: R. Porcello)
Sat, 6/13 at Pirates - Lose 3-9 (LP: Galarraga)
Sun, 6/14 at Pirates - Lose 3-6 (LP: Willis)
Mon, 6/15 - OFF
Tue, 6/16 at Cardinals - Lose 2-11 (LP: J. Verlander)
Wed, 6/17 at Cardinals - Lose 3-4 (LP: E. Jackson)
Thu, 6/18 at Cardinals - WIN 6-3 (WP: R. Porcello)
Fri, 6/19 Brewers - WIN 10-4 (WP: Z. Miner)
Sat, 6/20 Brewers - WIN 9-5 (WP: A. Figaro)
Sun, 6/21 Brewers - WIN 3-2 (WP: J. Verlander)
Mon, 6/22 - OFF
Tue, 6/23 Cubs - WIN 5-4 (WP: Lyon)
Wed, 6/24 Cubs - WIN 5-3 (WP: Z. Miner)
Thu, 6/25 Cubs - WIN 6-5 (WP: A. Galarraga)
Fri, 6/26 at Astros - Lose 4-5 (LP: J. Zumaya)
Sat, 6/27 at Astros - Lose 1-8 (LP: A. Figaro)
Sun, 6/28 at Astros - WIN 4-3 (WP: B. Seay)
Mon, 6/29 at Athletics - Lose 1-7 (LP: R. Porcello)
Tue, 6/30 at Athletics - WIN 5-3 (WP: A. Galarraga)

DET. TIGERS 2009 REG SEASON SCHEDULE & SCORES

WINS - 86 ; LOSES - 77

ESPN Tiger Game Link

All times Eastern Time

All home games will be on FS-D in HD except those listed as FS-D+, FS-D and FOX.
All away games will be shown on FS-D non-HD unless otherwise indicated.

Click Score for ESPN Recap and box score.

Wed, 7/1 at Athletics - Lose 1-5 (LP: J. Verlander)
Thu, 7/2 - OFF
Fri, 7/3 at Twins - WIN 11-9 (WP: F. Dolsi) 16 innings
Sat, 7/4 at Twins - Lose 3-4 (LP: B. Lyon)
Sun, 7/5 at Twins - Lose 2-6 (LP: R. Porcello)
Mon, 7/6 Royals - Lose 3-4 (LP: F. Rodney)
Tue, 7/7 Royals - WIN 8-5 (WP: J. Verlander)
Wed, 7/8 Royals - WIN 3-1 (WP: L. French)
Thu, 7/9 - OFF
Fri, 7/10 Indians - WIN 5-1 (WP: E. Jackson)
Sat, 7/11 Indians - Lose 4-5 (LP: A. Galarraga)
Sun, 7/12 Indians - WIN 10-1 (WP: J. Verlander)
Mon, 7/13 - All-Star break - 2009 State Farm Home Run Derby 8:00 PM
Tue, 7/14 - 80th All-Star Game - STL- AL 4 - NL 3
Wed, 7/15 OFF
Thu, 7/16 OFF
Fri, 7/17 at Yankees - Lose 3-5 (LP: J. Zumaya)
Sat, 7/18 at Yankees - Lose 1-2 (LP: J. Verlander)
Sun, 7/19 at Yankees - Lose 1-2 (LP: E. Jackson)
Mon, 7/20 - OFF
Tue, 7/21 Mariners - WIN 9-7 (WP: R. Porcello)
Wed, 7/22 Mariners - Lose 1-2 (LP: B. Seay)
Thu, 7/23 Mariners - Lose 1-2 (LP: L. French)
Fri, 7/24 White Sox - WIN 5-1 (WP: J. Verlander)
Fri, 7/24 White Sox - WIN 4-3 (WP: B. Lyon)
Sat, 7/25 White Sox - WIN 4-3 (WP: F. Rodney)
Sun, 7/26 White Sox - Lose 1-5 (LP: R. Porcello)
Mon, 7/27 at Rangers - Lose 2-5 (LP: A. Galarraga)
Tue, 7/28 at Rangers - Lose 3-7 (LP: L. French)
Wed, 7/29 at Rangers - WIN 13-5 (WP: J. Verlander)
Thu, 7/30 - OFF
Fri, 7/31 at Indians - Lose 5-6 13 innings (LP: C. Fien)
Sat, 8/1 at Indians - WIN 4-3 12 innings (WP: B. Seay)
Sun, 8/2 at Indians - Lose 1-11 (LP: A. Galarraga)
Mon, 8/3 Orioles - WIN 6-5 (WP: F. Rodney)
Tue, 8/4 Orioles - Lose 2-8 (LP: J. Washburn)
Wed, 8/5 Orioles - WIN 4-2 (WP: E. Jackson)
Thu, 8/6 Orioles - WIN 7-3 (WP: R. Porcello)
Fri, 8/7 Twins - WIN 10-8 (WP: A. Galarraga)
Sat, 8/8 Twins - Lose 0-11 (LP: J. Verlander)
Sun, 8/9 Twins - WIN 8-7 (WP: B. Lyon)
Mon, 8/10 at Red Sox - Lose 5-6 (LP: Z. Miner)
Tue, 8/11 at Red Sox - Lose 5-7 (LP: C. Lambert)
Wed, 8/12 at Red Sox - Lose 2-8 (LP: Z. Miner)
Thu, 8/13 at Red Sox - WIN 2-0 (WP: J. Verlander)
Fri, 8/14 Royals - WIN 1-0 (WP: B. Lyon)
Sat, 8/15 Royals - WIN 10-3 (WP: E. Jackson)
Sun, 8/16 Royals - Lose 2-3 (LP: F. Rodney)
Mon, 8/17 - OFF
Tue, 8/18 Mariners - WIN 5-3 (WP: B. Seay)
Wed, 8/19 Mariners - Lose 1-3 (LP: J. Verlander)
Thu, 8/20 Mariners - WIN 7-6 (WP: B. Seay)
Fri, 8/21 at Athletics - WIN 3-2 (WP: E. Jackson)
Sat, 8/22 at Athletics - Lose 2-3 (LP: Z. Miner)
Sun, 8/23 at Athletics - Lose 4-9 (LP: R. Porcello)
Mon, 8/24 at Angels - WIN 10-7 (WP: J. Verlander)
Tue, 8/25 at Angels - WIN 5-3 (WP: J. Washburn)
Wed, 8/26 at Angels - Lose 2-4 (LP: E. Jackson)
Thu, 8/27 - OFF
Fri, 8/28 Rays - WIN 6-2 (WP: R. Porcello)
Sat, 8/29 Rays - Lose 1-3 (LP: N. Robertson)
Sun, 8/30 Rays - WIN 4-3 (WP: J. Verlander)
Mon, 8/31 Rays - Lose 7-11 (LP: J. Washburn)
Tue, 9/1 Indians - WIN 8-5(WP: E. Jackson; SV: RODNEY #30)
Wed, 9/2 Indians - WIN 4-2 (WP: R. Porcello; SV: RODNEY #31)
Thu, 9/3 Indians - WIN 4-3 (WP: Z. Miner)
Fri, 9/4 at Rays - WIN 4-3 (WP: J. Verlander; SV: RODNEY #32)
Sat, 9/5 at Rays - WIN 8-6 (WP: B. Seay)
Sun, 9/6 at Rays - WIN 5-3 (WP: E. Jackson)
Mon, 9/7 - OFF
Tue, 9/8 at Royals - Lose 5-7 (LP: B. Seay)
Wed, 9/9 at Royals - Lose 1-5 (LP: J. Verlander)
Thu, 9/10 at Royals - Lose 4-7 (LP: Z. Miner)
Fri, 9/11 Blue Jays - Lose 4-6 (LP: N. Robertson)
Sat, 9/12 Blue Jays - Lose 6-8 (LP: F. Rodney)
Sun, 9/13 Blue Jays - WIN 7-2 (WP: R. Porcello)
Mon, 9/14 Blue Jays - WIN 6-5 IN 10 INNINGS (WP: B. Seay)
Tue, 9/15 Royals - Lose 1-11 (LP: J. Washburn)
Wed, 9/16 Royals - WIN 4-3 (WP: Z. Miner; SV: RODNEY #33)
Thu, 9/17 Royals - Lose 2-9 (LP: E. Jackson)
Fri, 9/18 at Twins - Lose 0-3 (LP: R. Porcello)
Sat, 9/19 at Twins - Lose 2-6 (LP: J. Verlander)
Sun, 9/20 at Twins - WIN 6-2 (WP: N. Robertson)
Mon, 9/21 - OFF
Tue, 9/22 at Indians - WIN 3-1 (WP: E. Jackson; SV: RODNEY #34)
Wed, 9/23 at Indians - WIN 11-3 (WP: R. Porcello)
Thu, 9/24 at Indians - WIN 6-5 (WP: J. Verlander; SV: RODNEY #35)
Fri, 9/25 at White Sox - Lose 0-2 (LP: E. Bonine)
Sat, 9/26 at White Sox - WIN 12-5 (WP: A. Figaro)
Sun, 9/27 at White Sox - Lose 4-8 (LP: E. Jackson)
Mon, 9/28 Twins - 7:05p - RAIN OUT
Tue, 9/29 Twins - 12:05p - Lose 2-3 (LP: B. Lyon)
Tue, 9/29 Twins - 7:05p - WIN 6-5 (WP: J. Verlander; SV: RODNEY #36)
Wed, 9/30 Twins - 7:05p - WIN 7-2 (WP: E. Bonine)
Thu, 10/1 Twins - 1:05p - Lose 3-8 (LP: N. Robertson)
Fri, 10/2 White Sox - Lose 0-8 (LP: E. Jackson)
Sat, 10/3 White Sox - Lose 1-5 (LP: A. Figaro)
Sun, 10/4 White Sox - WIN 5-3 (WP: J. Verlander; SV: RODNEY #37)
Tue, 10/6 Twins - Lose tie breaker 5-6 in 12 innings (LP: F. Rodney)

the season is about to begin!

Verlander's early woes sink Tigers
Righty gives up eight runs; Inge, Granderson go deep

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

04/06/09 10:13 PM ET

Box >

TORONTO -- Justin Verlander's progress in Spring Training dissipated under the lights of Rogers Centre on Opening Night. Adam
Lind and Lyle Overbay drove in two runs apiece in a four-run opening
inning before Lind's three-run homer in the fourth sent the Tigers on
their way to a 12-5 loss to the Blue Jays Monday.

A combination of mechanical adjustments and better tempo by Verlander in Spring Training set him up for a turnaround season. Monday, however, showed he has more work to do to stay consistent under regular-season action. While he made a point to work his curveball early and often for strikes,
his fastball deserted him at times. In the case of the opening inning,
it left him after he retired Toronto's first two batters.

Once
Verlander (0-1) lost Alex Rios to a full-count walk, Vernon Wells
doubled to set up Lind's soft liner into right field to open the
scoring. A hit-by-pitch to Scott Rolen extended the inning for Overbay,
who lined a double into the gap in left-center field for two more runs.

After
Travis Snider homered and Marco Scutaro tripled with one out in the
fourth, a Rios double and Wells walk brought out manager Jim Leyland to
end Verlander's night. Lind greeted reliever Eddie Bonine with a drive
over the fence in center.

The 12 runs were the most the Tigers surrendered on Opening Day since a 15-8 loss to the White Sox in 1908.

Curtis Granderson's
fourth-inning solo homer marked Detroit's lone tally through six
innings off Blue Jays starter Roy Halladay (1-0) before the Tigers
tried to slug their way back into the game in the seventh. Carlos Guillen and Gerald Laird drove in a run each before Brandon Inge hit an opposite-field two-run homer.

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

Tigers suffer walk-off loss
Relievers give away Jackson's solid debut

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

04/07/09 9:56 PM ET

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TORONTO -- Edwin Jackson's stellar Tigers debut fell to a Jays rally off Detroit's bullpen. Aaron Hill's two-run homer in the eighth inning brought Toronto back from what was at one point a three-run deficit, then Rod Barajas' game-winning sacrifice fly in the ninth sent Detroit to a 5-4 loss Tuesday night at Rogers Centre.

One night after Justin Verlander used 35 pitches in a four-run opening inning and failed to get out of the fourth, Jackson set up his bullpen for what should've been a short night and gave Toronto hitters fits with 7 1/3 innings of two-hit ball. Vernon Wells' double leading off the second inning was Toronto's lone hit against Jackson until Scott Rolen homered leading off the eighth.

After Rolen put the Jays on the scoreboard, Brandon Inge's throwing error on Lyle Overbay's ensuing ground ball brought the potential tying run at the plate. Jackson retired Rod Barajas before giving way to Bobby Seay, who got the second out on a close play at second base for a fielder's choice.

That set up Brandon Lyon for his own Tigers debut, which proved to be much more of a struggle. Marco Scutaro's single through the middle not only extended the inning for Hill, it made him the go-ahead run. Hill reached for a first-pitch breaking ball and lofted it over the left-field fence for a lead that didn't last long.

Two outs shy of defeat, Inge slugged the Tigers back into it with his second home run in as many nights, this one a game-tying solo shot off Jays closer B.J. Ryan (1-0). Given another inning, however, Lyon's one-out walk to Adam Lind put him back into trouble once Rolen singled him into scoring position.

Lyon (0-1) intentionally walked Overbay to set up the force play, but Barajas worked out of a 1-2 count to loft a fly ball to deep left-center field, easily scoring Lind.

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

Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Blue Jays 5, Tigers 4
New reliever spoils new starter's debut; Tigers stay winless
Tom gage / The Detroit News

Toronto-- Seasons are sometimes made by the games you shouldn't have won, but did. They're broken by those you shouldn't have lost.

But did.

In just their second game, the Tigers had their first encounter with the ugly reality of the latter.

On a night that starting pitcher Edwin Jackson was in full command because of full control, the Tigers ended up losing 5-4 to the Toronto Blue Jays. Aaron Hill's three-run home run in the eighth off Brandon Lyon, in Lyon's first appearance as a Tiger, put the Jays in front for the first time.

Rod Barajas' sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the ninth, also off Lyon, ended the game.

"I feel like I let the team down," said Lyon. "It's about how you bounce back, though. It builds character."

The way Jackson pitched was an absolute positive. The former Devil Ray, acquired in the off-season for outfielder Matt Joyce, was outstanding while holding the Blue Jays scoreless until Scott Rolen's leadoff home run in the eighth.

"He was tremendous," said manager Jim Leyland.

He was tremendous because he threw strikes. Through five innings, for instance, Jackson threw just 51 pitches, but only 11 balls.

"That's is the definition of pounding the zone," said catcher Gerald Laird.

The Tigers didn't capitalize on a bases loaded chance in the eighth, but with a 3-0 lead, they seemed to be in charge all the same. It's what happened after Rolen's home run that did them in, however.

Brandon Inge, who doubled and scored the Tigers' first run in the third and whose home run in the ninth briefly tied the game, made a throwing error on Lyle Overbay's hard grounder to third.

"The ball was in front of me and I had time to get him," said Inge. "I didn't panic. I just made a bad throw."

Two outs later, with a runner still on first and the inning looking like it was losing steam for the Jays, Marco Scutaro singled up the middle, just of the reach of shortstop Adam Everett, who dove but couldn't make the play.

Hill was up next.

"We knew he'd be aggressive," said Laird. "The pitch just caught too much of the plate."

"I wasn't positive it was going out," said Inge. "I thought he might have hit it off the end of his bat."

"I'm not sure even Hill thought it had enough," Laird added.

Carlos Guillen gave it his best at-the-fence leap at the wall in left, but the ball cleared his glove.

Inge's one-out home run in the ninth tied it, though, and if the Tigers had been able to shut the Jays down in the bottom of the inning, they would have had the middle of their lineup coming up, including Miguel Cabrera, who, with a single, double and two walks, reached base in all four of his at-bats.

The Tigers never got to the 10th inning, however thanks to the bullpen.

With one out in the bottom of the 10th, Lyon walked Adam Lind. Rolen singled pinch-runner Jose Bautista to third, an intentional walk loaded the bases, and on a 2-2 pitch, Barajas lofted his fly ball to center that won it for the Jays.

And lost it for the Tigers

tom.gage@detnews.com

Miner, power performance net first win
Cabrera's two homers, Inge's long ball too much for Jays

By Jason Beck / MLB.com
04/08/09 9:35 PM ET

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TORONTO -- Miguel Cabrera hit two home runs, including a tape-measure shot to the depths of Rogers Centre, and Brandon Inge set a franchise record with his third home run in as many games this season, powering the Tigers to a 5-1 win over the Blue Jays on Wednesday night.

Cabrera, who needed two weeks to get his second home run after homering on Opening Day last season, needed just a couple at-bats once he finally slugged his way onto the home run roll. After Placido Polanco and Magglio Ordonez hit back-to-back singles in the opening inning off Jays starter Jesse Litsch (0-1), Cabrera pounced on Litsch's first-pitch fastball and sent it screaming over the left-field fence for a three-run shot.

Litsch contained the Tigers' offense from there until Cabrera came up with two outs in the fifth. Cabrera centered another fastball and sent it deeper than the first homer, driving it off the facing of the Windows Restaurant along the second deck in straightaway center. An unofficial estimate from Blue Jays later placed it at about 440 feet.

Cabrera has reached base safely in nine out of 12 plate appearances this season, but he hadn't rounded the bases with a homer until Wednesday. Inge, on the other hand, had a homer streak going. His sixth-inning solo shot continued that streak into what is believed to be record territory. No Tiger had homered in the club's first three games of the season since at least 1954, which is as far back as records are available.

Most consecutive games with HR to start season since 1990
Player	Season	Games
Mark McGwire	1998	4
Brandon Inge	2009	3
Grady Sizemore	2007	3
Charles Johnson	2004	3
Lance Berkman	2002	3
Derrek Lee	2002	3
Gary Sheffield	2002	3
Chris Truby	2001	3
Fernando Tatis	1999	3
Dean Palmer	1992	3
Kevin Mithcell	1991	3

The combined power display provided the run support for Tigers starter Zach Miner (1-0) to put his sinker to work for 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball. He allowed the first four batters to reach base safely, including back-to-back doubles from Marco Scutaro and Aaron Hill to start the game and score Toronto's lone run off Miner.

After Bobby Seay retired all four batters he faced, Ryan Perry made his Major League debut with a scoreless eighth, setting up Fernando Rodney for his first save of the year.

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

DETROIT 5, TORONTO 1
Inge homers again, Tigers pitching steps up in first win

FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES • April 8, 2009

TORONTO — Miguel Cabrera and the Tigers showed off their power in their first victory of the season.

Cabrera homered twice, Brandon Inge connected for the third consecutive game and the Tigers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-1 on Wednesday night.

“We were kidding (Cabrera) before the game, asking him if he was going to hit one and he hit two,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.

Zach Miner allowed one run and six hits in 5 2-3 innings for Detroit, which lost its first seven games last year and finished last in the AL Central.

The Tigers were beaten 12-5 on opening day this year and absorbed a difficult 5-4 loss Tuesday in a game they led 3-0 through seven innings.

Cabrera made sure the slump would not continue, hitting a three-run drive in the first and a solo shot in the fifth that bounced off the center-field restaurant at Rogers Centre.

“It was kind of neat,” Leyland said of Cabrera’s fifth-inning drive. “There was a (fan) out in center field that looked like he was getting ready to catch it. All of a sudden he turned his head and looked up. You don’t see many like that.”

Cabrera added a single in the eighth and finished 3-for-4. He is 7-for-10 with two walks this season.

Cabrera led the AL with 37 homers last season but Leyland expects him to do even better this year.

“He came over here last year and there was a lot of pressure on him,” Leyland said. “He was with a new team, it took him time to settle in. Once he did, you saw what happened. Now he’s off to a great start. He’s a great player, he’s much more comfortable. I know he likes it here, he’s settled in more. There’s no telling what he can do. He’s that good.”

Learning how AL pitchers try to handle him has made life easier on Cabrera.

“I had to learn the league, you know,” he said. “I had to make a lot of adjustments. Right now I feel more comfortable because I know the league better, I know how they’re going to pitch me. I feel more relaxed. I’m not thinking a lot at home plate, I make my adjustments and that’s it.”

Inge added a solo shot in the sixth for the Tigers, who have six homers in three games. Inge is the first Tiger in more than 50 years to homer in the first three games of the season.

“It’s an honor, a big honor,” he said.

Bobby Seay followed Miner (1-0) with 1 1-3 innings, Ryan Perry tossed a perfect eighth in his major league debut and Fernando Rodney finished for Detroit. Curtis Granderson crashed into the wall in center to snare Lyle Overbay’s drive for the final out.

The Tigers jumped on Jesse Litsch in the first. Placido Polanco and Magglio Ordonez singled to bring up Cabrera, who drilled the first pitch over the wall in left for his first homer of the season.

“When he hits the ball, usually they’re asking for a new ball,” Miner said.

The Blue Jays got one back in the bottom half when Marco Scutaro and Aaron Hill hit back-to-back doubles. Alex Rios followed with a single and Vernon Wells walked to load the bases for Adam Lind, but Toronto couldn’t sustain the rally. Hill was forced out at the plate on Lind’s grounder and Rios was thrown out at home by Josh Anderson on Scott Rolen’s fly to shallow right.

“Sometimes the biggest play of the game is in the first inning or the second inning, it’s not just in the ninth inning, the last out of the game,” Leyland said. “That was probably the biggest play of the game, as it turned out.”

Litsch (0-1) surrendered five runs and seven hits in six innings for Toronto.

Notes: Thursday’s series finale will mark the first time since baseball’s draft began in 1965 that two first-round picks will face each other in their respective major league debuts. Toronto will start left-hander Ricky Romero, the sixth-overall pick in 2005, while Detroit counters with right-hander Rick Porcello, taken 27th in 2007. ... Wednesday’s loss denied the Blue Jays the third 3-0 start in club history. Toronto started 3-0 in 1992 and 1996.


Free Press sports writer Mike Brudenell will live-blog the Tigers’ home opener against the Rangers on Friday at freep.com/sports. If you’re stuck at work, be sure to drop by and follow along.

Homers hurt Porcello in debut
Rookie starter taken deep twice in five-plus innings

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

04/09/09 3:20 PM ET

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TORONTO -- The first-ever meeting of two first-round Draft picks making their Major League debuts as opposing pitchers went against Rick Porcello. The 20-year-old battled his nerves and the Blue Jays before Adam Lind's go-ahead home run sparked a four-run sixth inning, sending the Tigers on their way to a 6-2 loss Thursday afternoon at Rogers Centre.

Not only did the dueling rookies dominate the attention leading into the finale to this four-game series, they pretty much commanded the game itself until the later innings. While Romero (1-0) recovered from a pair of Detroit third-inning runs, one of them on Curtis Granderson's second home run of the series, Porcello recovered from several hitters' counts to keep Toronto from big hits.

Porcello's nasty breaking ball to Michael Barrett stranded runners at the corners in the second inning with a called third strike. His two-seamer induced a swing and miss from Travis Snider to strand two in the fourth after Barrett singled in Toronto's first run.

Porcello (0-1) rebounded from Aaron Hill's game-tying solo homer in the fifth to rack up back-to-back strikeouts on Alex Rios and Vernon Wells. But with a 1-2 count on Lind leading off the sixth, Porcello lost a curveball high and away, allowing Lind to send it deep to center for his seventh RBI of the series.

Jose Bautista's ensuing infield single brought out manager Jim Leyland to make the pitching change, but it didn't contain the damage. Nate Robertson recorded back-to-back outs and nearly sent down Snider before the Jays rookie belted Robertson's full-count delivery off the right-field fence for an RBI double. Marco Scutaro followed with a two-run homer to put Toronto comfortably ahead.

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

Galarraga shines in home opener
Righty allows one run in seven innings vs. former team

By Jason Beck / MLB.com
04/10/09 4:04 PM ET
Updated: 04/10/09 6:22 PM ET

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DETROIT -- It couldn't have been a much better day for the Tigers to return to Comerica Park. It was as even better day for Armando Galarraga.

After worrying all week about snow and cold for his home-opener assignment, he arrived at the ballpark Friday to find sunny skies and 50-degree temperatures awaiting him. The Tigers offense that struggled to put up big numbers in Toronto found its stride back on this side of the border and almost matched its scoring total from its previous four games combined. The sellout crowd that could've been tough on a struggling squad came to the park ready for a win.

Galarraga also watched Miguel Cabrera put up a grand slam, three hits and six more RBIs.

And with seven innings of solid pitching in the 15-2 victory over the Rangers, Galarraga not only became the first pitcher to shut down the mighty Texas offense, he gave the Rangers another reminder that they made a bad move in trading him.

OK, maybe he's past the last part.

"No, this is over," Galarraga said after the game. "Last year was probably more special, because I wanted to show the guys they lost something good. It's over."

It might be over, but it isn't forgotten. Galarraga, however, chooses to remember it now in a good way.

For all the fireworks Detroit's offense provided in its first double-digit outburst of the year, erasing the bitter taste of three losses in four games to the Jays, Galarraga's performance was arguably as big of a statement. He earned the home-opener assignment partly as a reward for his 13-win season last year, but he entered the year facing questions over whether he could do it again, or whether his season was a fluke.

It's one start and nothing is guaranteed to come, but at least the fluke part seems to be answered. A Rangers team that scored 29 runs over a three-game sweep of Cleveland managed a one run off Galarraga on a bloop single, and he was disappointed he gave up that much.

"That's one of the better offenses in baseball, there's no question about that," manager Jim Leyland said. "That's not easy to do what he did today. It was a tremendous, tremendous performance, and that's pitching. That's what we call pitch-ability."

By pitch-ability, Leyland means the ability to execute pitches that hitters that don't expect and never allow them to get their balance. The fact that it was Galarraga doing it is something few would've expected out of the young starter a year ago.

None of the Rangers' five hits went for extra bases, and nothing they hit was particularly hard. Making contact was tough enough over the first five innings, with six strikeouts among 17 batters, including stars Ian Kinsler and Michael Young. Galarraga threw sliders with enough bite that few were hit solidly, and he used the inside part of the plate liberally.

Galarraga sent down 10 Rangers in an 11-batter stretch from the second inning through the fifth. Five went down by strikeout. Only Young got the ball out of the infield in that stretch. Not until Hank Blalock's blooper to center with two outs in the sixth did the Rangers finally get on the scoreboard, plating Elvis Andrus.

"He used all his pitches," Leyland said. "He threw changeups in fastball counts. He threw breaking balls in fastball counts. He threw fastballs in breaking-ball counts. He had command of the strike zone. That was a stellar pitching performance. That's what a pitcher's supposed to look like."

That's what Galarraga wants his pitches to look like. It was the best he thinks he has ever thrown his breaking ball, and it was another step of improvement for his changeup.

"The changeup is better and better," Galarraga said, "and it's going to be the key to this year, making it better than last year."

He worked on it in the offseason. For that matter, he worked quite a bit, trying to duplicate his work from last year. That's the legacy he thinks the Rangers have left him.

Galarraga won't forget the brief stint he had with the Rangers down the stretch in 2007, struggling in a couple relief appearances and one start. The Rangers took him off the 40-man roster that winter for Jason Jennings, prompting the trade to the Tigers just before Spring Training last year. By then, however, Galarraga had long since been working to prove a point.

"When I got called up and worked in the bullpen and didn't throw for five days -- and threw one inning and got hit -- when the season [was] over, I said, 'If I want to keep going in baseball, I need to work to get a hundred times better, to make me a better pitcher,'" Galarraga said. "That's what I did. Actually, I have to say, 'Thank you' to Texas."

The Tigers are certainly thankful.

Not only did the Tigers score early on Texas starter Kris Benson (0-1) thanks to Gerald Laird's second-inning RBI sacrifice fly and Carlos Guillen third-inning sacrifice fly, they added on in bunches.

The crushing blow came after Benson gave up three straight singles and hit Placido Polanco. Benson briefly recovered to strike out Magglio Ordonez, but left his first pitch to Cabrera up enough for Cabrera to hit out on a line to left-center field, an estimated 424-foot blast.

Cabrera has reached base safely 14 times in 20 plate appearances this year, including a two-run double off the left-field fence to cap a six-run seventh inning.

"We know we're a good offensive club," Leyland said. "We got into a little bit of a funk, and we broke out of it."

Galarraga, by contrast, simply picked up where he left off last year.

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

Tigers hurlers stymie Rangers in win
Led by Verlander, Detroit pitchers give up just two hits

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

04/11/09 5:45 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Justin Verlander made the adjustment he needed. So did the Tigers.

"I think those were the games that we were losing last year," Verlander said of Saturday's 4-3 win over the Rangers.

He meant the games where a mistake or two come back to haunt them -- in Saturday's case, errors from Brandon Inge and Adam Everett that set up Josh Hamilton's two-run single to pull Texas ahead in the fifth inning. Last year, those games usually wrapped up with the opposition taking the momentum and running away with the game.

Instead, the Tigers answered the Rangers' rally by tying the game in the bottom of the inning, then pulling ahead for good in the sixth. It was Everett who scored the go-ahead run. The bullpen combined for four perfect innings to make sure Texas couldn't get back in the game.

Last year, it would often take just one thing to go wrong for the rest of the game to fall apart. Saturday, the entire team seemingly picked up the effort once they fell behind.

"I think we showed a lot of guts today," Verlander said. "A lot of teams could've folded after an inning like that. A lot of players could've folded. I don't feel like any of our guys did, especially Inge and Everett.

"There was a turning point in the game where guys could've shut it down, and we didn't. We continued to battle. We came back. It was a group effort. It really was."

Verlander certainly didn't fold. His popout on Nelson Cruz in the fifth stranded the bases loaded and kept it a one-run game for his bullpen. Instead of regretting not getting the victory on his record, he valued the win for what it means to the team.

Robertson hasn't folded since his disappointing move to the bullpen. His two perfect innings earned him his first Major League win in relief. And after the game, he said nothing about a starting job.

"Everybody has to get the job done in order for this team to win, regardless of where you're at, starting of relieving," Robertson said.

Fernando Rodney didn't fold after the Tigers signed Brandon Lyon to be a late-innings reliever this spring and compete for the closer's job. By the time he got his second out on the way to striking out the side in order, many of the fans from the crowd of 28,693 were chanting his name.

"He's in a good mindset," manager Jim Leyland said.

So was Verlander.

Leyland suggested after Verlander's Opening Day defeat that Verlander could be more effective throwing at 92-93 mph rather than 96, that pitching without maximum effort could give him better movement on his pitches and stronger stamina for the later innings.

Verlander took Leyland's suggestions and ran with them.

Verlander threw without maximum effort, yet still hit 96 mph, topping out at 98 on several pitches in his fifth and final inning. The run on his fastball backed it up, even if Verlander didn't always control it.

Verlander walked four batters over five innings, but struck out eight. The two hits were the Rangers' only hits of the day and accounted for all of their runs. Hank Blalock hit a solo home run in the second, then Hamilton singled, fisting one of Verlander's breaking balls and putting it into left field.

"There's a difference between throwing 94 [with maximum] effort and 94 easy," Leyland said. "And today, he threw a lot of them easy."

Verlander credited sound mechanics to his adjustments from Spring Training and an extra tweak to change the position of his glove.

"Today, maybe 10 pitches were max effort. The rest of them were just [easy]. I know a few of them were just good, clean mechanics and not trying to overthrow, just trying to make a quality pitch, and I'd look back [at the radar gun] and it's 96, 97. And that's what I worked on getting back to."

Verlander threw 21 pitches in his third inning thanks to back-to-back, two-out walks, forcing him to strike out Hamilton for the third out. He came back with an easy fourth and nearly had an inning-ending double play to end the fifth until Inge's errant throw to second base. After Verlander struck out Ian Kinsler, he seemingly got an inning-ending grounder from Michael Young, but Everett struggled to get the ball out of his glove, allowing just enough time for Elvis Andrus to beat his throw to second. Hamilton's single followed.

The first of two Placido Polanco doubles put him in scoring position to lead off the bottom of the inning, setting up Marcus Thames' sacrifice fly. After Robertson (1-0) shut down the Rangers in the sixth, Everett rebounded from a hit-and-run play gone awry with his second single of the day, putting him in place to score on Polanco's second double. This one was a two-out hit down the left-field line as Everett took off for home. Everett slid in safely.

"Fortunately, we won," said Everett, who singled in Detroit's first two runs in the second inning off starter Matt Harrison (0-1). "But unfortunately for Justin, it cost him some extra pitches, and he had too many to go out the next inning. He was throwing the ball very well, obviously."

Verlander threw eight extra pitches after Everett's error, pushing him to 97 pitches after five instead of 89. Robertson's effectiveness took care of that, and Verlander wasn't worried about it afterward.

His point was that they got the win, and a good win at that.

"It's nice to see us win ballgames like that," Verlander said. "I don't think I've seen us win too many like that in the recent past."

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

Inge starts, finishes Tigers' comeback
Infielder leads off eighth with homer, then drives in winning runs

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

04/12/09 6:00 PM ET

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DETROIT -- The Tigers had already been shut out twice at this point last season. The way Kevin Millwood handled them Sunday, they were six outs away from their first blanking of this season. Even if they scored, overcoming a four-run deficit was another challenge.

Three outs, six runs and two Brandon Inge hits later, they were on their way to a victory. They didn't need the ninth inning.

"They have to make 27 outs," said Carlos Guillen, whose two-run double in the eighth tied the game ahead of Inge's go-ahead, two-run single for a 6-4 win over the Rangers at Comerica Park.

Twenty-one outs were about the limit for Millwood with his pitch total. Once he left, the Tigers pounced.

When Inge took left-hander C.J. Wilson deep for his fourth home run of the season to lead off the eighth, he merely ended the shutout bid. Little could he have known that he would be back up for another critical at-bat in the same inning, having a chance to put Detroit on top.

In between was a combination of timely hits, a critical Rangers error, a Guillen injury and a pair of intentional walks. One of those walks went to Miguel Cabrera, who became the eventual go-ahead run. Cabrera scored on Inge's second hit of the inning, which concluded an opening-week offensive surge that has confounded scouting reports.

"I'm very appreciative and happy the way things are turning out," Inge said, "and I feel like I'm just scratching the surface on this. I feel that I can help out a lot more."

Inge homered in Detroit's first three games, but the Tigers won only one of them. He was 1-for-10 since then, including two groundouts during Millwood's seven scoreless innings, until he stepped up to the plate leading off the eighth. He hadn't abandoned his revamped approach -- he just wasn't getting results.

When he jumped on Wilson's slider and drove it deep to right, he tied Tampa Bay's Evan Longoria for the Major League lead with his fourth homer. The Tigers, however, were still three runs down.

"It's very easy to try to do too much," Inge said. "I was trying to actually not do a lot, and that was the home run. I was just trying to take the ball to right field, a nice little base hit to right, and ended up hitting the home run."

All the hits that followed were nice, little ones. Adam Everett escaped an 0-2 count with an opposite-field liner on an offspeed pitch. After an Elvis Andrus error put Curtis Granderson on base, Placido Polanco bounced a chopper over third baseman Michael Young and down the right-field line to make it a 4-2 game with the tying run on base.

Once Wilson recovered to strike out Magglio Ordonez, the Rangers walked Cabrera rather than give him a chance to put Detroit on top with one swing.

"Nobody wants to face Cabrera," said an understanding Guillen, who followed him to the plate.

With Guillen in an 0-2 count, it seemed like shrewd strategy. But Guillen laid off two high fastballs, then fought off a nasty breaking ball to stay alive for one more slider, which he snuck inside the left-field line to drive in the game-tying run.

"Unbelievable," manager Jim Leyland said. "Great at-bat."

That was it for Guillen, whose sore Achilles' heel flared up on his way into second before Josh Anderson pinch-ran for him. He's considered day-to-day.

Warner Madrigal came in and intentionally walked Marcus Thames, then struck out Gerald Laird with the bases loaded for the second out. Then back came Inge, this time against a pitcher who struggled with his command on Friday and looked difficult to hit on Sunday.

"I watched what he did to Laird," Inge said. "It was a matter of staying in and making sure I got a strike from him, because he seemed kind of wild at that point. He throws the ball hard, so you have to be ready."

Madrigal nearly hit Inge with his first pitch, then came back to the fastball like Inge expected. Again, Inge didn't try to pummel it, simply lining it back through the middle as the Easter crowd roared.

Inge ended up as the bookends of the comeback, and Sunday was the cap to an incredible opening week. And the team that came home from Toronto seemingly struggling has a sweep of a Rangers club that was hot heading into the weekend.

"If today was the ending, it would be about as happy of an ending as I could get as far as the turnaround," Inge said. "There's a lot of ups and downs in my career here."

The Tigers, meanwhile, are on a huge upswing.

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

Gonna be in 1st place after Sunday!

Monday, April 13, 2009
Tigers 6, Rangers 4
Tigers rally for stunner, sweep
Lynn Henning / The Detroit News

Detroit -- A season as upside-down as 2008 proved to be for the Tigers is shifting to more of a right-side-up angle a week into the schedule.

Sunday brought on the latest flip-flop for manager Jim Leyland's team as the Tigers, who appeared primed for a setback against the Texas Rangers and starter Kevin Millwood, instead produced a six-run eighth inning that produced a startling 6-4 victory, which was appreciated by most of the 18,905 who turned out at Comerica Park on a gloriously sunny Easter afternoon.

"A real nice win for us," Leyland said after watching his team craft a stunning rally that was book-ended by a home run and two-run single from third baseman Brandon Inge.

"When you rally for that many runs, normally everybody's done something."

And nearly everybody did, beginning with Inge, who hit his fourth home run in a week leading off the eighth against reliever C.J. Wilson, who took over after Millwood had blanked the Tigers with a textbook seven-inning gem.

On, though, came the rally parade that moved the Tigers' record to 4-3:

Adam Everett followed Inge's blast with a single. Curtis Granderson reached on an error. Placido Polanco knifed a double past third base to cut Texas' lead to 4-2. Carlos Guillen, following an intentional walk to Miguel Cabrera that loaded the bases, worked his way out of an 0-and-2 hole and blistered another double past the bag at third to tie the game. And then Inge, after Marcus Thames had been intentionally walked, slapped a two-out single for two more.

"We were disappointed last year, because we didn't catch up the way we thought we could," said Leyland comparing last year's Tigers with the 2009 version, which has been hitting at a polar opposite from last April's frigid start.

Inge, who led the team in home runs during spring camp, is on top a week into the regular season. He's batting .304 with seven RBIs and acknowledged that it was hardly coincidental his Sunday home run was an opposite-field blast into the right-field seats, or that his two-run single was a shot up the middle.

"I was just trying to hit the ball to right field, just get a nice little base hit," Inge said of the home run that got things rolling, on a swing that showed how much hitting coach Lloyd McClendon's work has affected him. "I feel everything is freed up."

Guillen, too, freed himself Sunday, in this case from a bad 0-and-2 hole after he arrived at the plate in the eighth. Wilson threw him a pair of nasty, down-and-in sliders for two quick strikes before Guillen worked the count to 2-2, fouling off a pitch before he raked another slider down the left-field line to tie the game.

"Magglio told me he had a hard slider," Guillen said, referring to Magglio Ordonez, who had struck out two batters earlier for the first out of the inning. "He didn't have good control of his fastball. I got another slider. I was just trying to make contact and put the ball in play."

Guillen left the game for a pinch runner because of a sore right Achilles' heel, but said after the game he expected to be fine for this week's series against the Chicago White Sox, which begins today at Comerica Park.

The Tigers had gone down, 4-0, after Josh Hamilton and Ian Kinsley each hit two-run home runs off Tigers starter Edwin Jackson. But Jackson hung around to pitch six otherwise solid innings. And that allowed the bullpen, which has not been scored against in its last 21 innings, to take over as Brandon Lyon (two innings, the victory) and Fernando Rodney (second save) finished things off.

"He ate that extra inning (sixth) for us," Leyland said of Jackson, who threw 97 pitches, and who allowed five hits, while striking out three and walking three. "That really gave us an opportunity to win the game."

That's all they're looking for a week into a new season. A shot at winning games that a year ago they were losing, so often because of self-inflicted shots to their feet, a habit they've refused to take up a week into 2009.

lynn.henning@detnews.com (313) 222-2472

Miner roughed up as Tigers fall to Sox
Starter lifted after giving up three home runs in early going

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

04/13/09 11:37 PM ET

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DETROIT -- The Tigers and White Sox showed some surprising pop on a day when the wind was blowing in at Comerica Park, but the result stayed true to form for recent years. Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko hit back-to-back home runs for their 300th career homers, and Carlos Quentin added a two-homer game to outslug the Tigers in a 10-6 Detroit loss on Monday.

Dye and Konerko became the first pair of teammates to hit century-mark homers 300 or higher in the same game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Tigers starter Zach Miner (1-1) was on the hook for both second-inning solo shots, as well as Konerko's two-run double in the third inning and Quentin's two-run homer in the fourth that knocked Miner out of the game.

"I felt like I had a pretty good plan," Miner said. "I just couldn't execute. It was just one of those days."

Miner allowed eight runs -- tying his career high -- on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. The White Sox needed all that offense to earn starter Gavin Floyd (1-1) a victory despite his similar struggles on a cold, dry day when neither pitcher could seemingly grip the ball well.

"I think both starting pitchers had a bad day," manager Jim Leyland said, "and ours was a little worse than theirs. I doubt that either one of them would've had that kind of day under normal conditions. I'm not making excuses. That's just the way it is."

Ramon Santiago's three-run homer and Josh Anderson's two-run double in the fifth briefly put the Tigers back into the game, but Detroit's bullpen -- which had retired 23 straight batters over a three-game stretch -- couldn't stop the add-on runs.

Quentin hit his second homer off reliever Eddie Bonine before Konerko, a triple shy of the cycle, doubled in Dye for his fourth hit of the afternoon.

The win moved the White Sox back into a tie with the Royals, who defeated the Indians, for first in the AL Central by a half-game over the Tigers, whose sweep of the Rangers briefly moved them into first place in the division for the first time since August 16, 2007. The White Sox have won the season series from the Tigers in each of the last four years, including at Comerica Park.

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

Tuesday, April 14, 2009
White Sox 10, Tigers 6
Tigers fall on chilly day in Detroit
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Detroit -- This was before the devastating news about Mark Fidrych's death. This was about the simple loss of a game, not the startling loss of a local icon.

As far as what took place on the field for the Tigers on Monday, however, there are worse things than losing your eighth game.

There's winning it, for instance, after opening the season with seven losses -- as the Tigers did last year.

So which would you rather be looking at, 2008 or '09, despite the difference in eighth-game outcomes? Thought so.

The reason it's easy sometimes to dissect a defeat such as the Tigers' 10-6 loss to the White Sox at frigid Comerica Park is because extenuating circumstances make it a game without trends.

The circumstance this time was the cold.

"It was tough to throw even when you kept loose between innings," said a Tiger.

A Tigers' pitcher?

No. An outfielder. Left fielder Josh Anderson said he couldn't get loose in the cold despite doing everything he could to do so.

"It had to be real rough on those pitchers," said Anderson.

It was.

Zach Miner wasn't good as the Tigers' starter. In fact, he was terrible. He had no feel for the ball. That was evident.

"He just had a bad day," manager Jim Leyland said.

Miner couldn't throw the ball where he wanted to much of the time, and when he did, it was without the movement that made him effective in his first start.

But has he suddenly become a bad pitcher? Will one garbage start lead to another? Trend questions don't even come into play when it's 37 degrees at game time, rising only to 38.

In all likelihood, it's not going to be so cold the next time Miner pitches that his eyes tear up after his delivery.

Besides, Gavin Floyd of the White Sox, who lasted long enough for the victory, wasn't exactly a showstopper, either.

Miner allowed eight runs on nine hits, including three home runs, in 3 1/3 innings. Floyd walked seven in five. Pick your poison.

Except for Ramon Santiago's three-run shot in the third, Floyd kept the Tigers in the yard, but needed help. Had Dewayne Wise not made an outstanding catch of Santiago's bid for extra bases in the fifth, separating his right shoulder in the process, the Tigers would have done much more damage than closing within 8-6.

But they didn't -- and there's no way to make it read like anything but the ugly game it was.

Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko had reason to enjoy it, hitting their 300th career home runs back-to-back in the second inning. Carlos Quentin hit two home runs.

Nearly everyone else, however, spent the day shivering.

tom.gage@detnews.com

Tigers-White Sox rained out, rotation shuffled
Updated with pitching matchups in bold ...
BECK'S BLOG

The first cold, rainy day of the season in the Motor City proved too wet for the Tigers and White Sox. Tuesday's scheduled afternoon game has been postponed.

Rain was intermittent all morning and into the early afternoon. It was expected to continue throughout the day and into the evening.

No announcement was immediately available on a makeup date, but the two teams have plenty of options. In addition to common off-days April 30, June 15 and June 22, the White Sox come back to Detroit for two more series this year, a three-game set July 24-26 and the final weekend of the season, Oct. 2-4.

Tuesday was supposed to be the first career start at Comerica Park for Tigers rookie starter Rick Porcello. Given the conditions and the way they affected starters Zach Miner and Gavin Floyd on Monday, however, it might not have been a fair glimpse for fans at Detroit's top prospect. Both Miner and Floyd seemingly struggled to find a grip on baseballs, and their command suffered.

With Tuesday's rainout, plus scheduled off-days coming Thursday and next Monday, the Tigers shuffled their pitching rotation after the announcement. Porcello will make his next start Sunday at Seattle.Armando Galarraga will make his scheduled start Wednesday, followed by Justin Verlander on the road Friday and Edwin Jackson on Saturday. Galarraga is expected to start again next Tuesday against the Angels.

That leaves Zach Miner out of the rotation for the time being until the Tigers need a fifth starter again late next week.

* Posted on April 14, 2009 at 1:18 PM

Galarraga pitches Tigers past Sox
Righty goes 6 1/3 scoreless; Polanco breaks things open

By Jason Beck / MLB.com
04/15/09 4:10 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Seven months after Armando Galarraga's season-ending relief appearance against the White Sox turned out badly, the Tigers starter was ready for Chicago's South Side sluggers. While Galarraga shut down the Sox for 6 1/3 innings, Placido Polanco's two-run double and Miguel Cabrera's solo homer powered the Tigers toward a 9-0 victory Wednesday afternoon at Comerica Park.

Galarraga (2-0) dueled White Sox starter Jose Contreras in a scoreless battle for the first half of the game, then provided the shutdown inning in the sixth once the Tigers took command. He struck out Carlos Quentin and Jim Thome consecutively once Josh Fields' one-out triple gave the White Sox an early scoring threat. He had also set down the side after back-to-back singles from Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski started the fifth.

Contreras (0-2) was just about as dominant early, allowing two hits through four innings, before back-to-back one-out walks in the fifth set up Detroit to move ahead. Contreras got the second out, but left a pitch up for Polanco to drive over center fielder Brian Anderson and to the wall as both runners scored.

Cabrera, who had cooled off a bit from his hot start last week, led off the sixth with a line drive over the left-field fence for his fourth home run and 11th RBI of the season. Ramon Santiago's two-run single later that inning and Cabrera's RBI single in the seventh put the game away.

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

Verlander vexed by one bad frame
Tigers righty retires first 12 batters before five-run fifth

By Doug Miller / MLB.com

04/18/09 12:38 AM ET
UPDATED 04/18/09 2:04 AM ET

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SEATTLE -- If the staff of the Grand Hyatt Seattle smelled incense and candles and heard weird music drifting through the hallway of the Detroit Tigers' floor late Friday night, it was probably coming from the room of Justin Verlander.

That's because after a baffling 6-3 loss to the Mariners at Safeco Field, the ace said he's willing to possibly go to drastic measures to reverse the trend of bad luck and general kookiness that plagued him throughout 2008 and continues to work against him in early 2009.

"I might go [back to the hotel] and have a little conversation with the baseball gods," Verlander said. "You can't get mad at them. You have to be nice. But I might have to have a seance or something."

Verlander managed to say it with a half-smile, but he couldn't hide his frustration, which came from the fact that the right-hander looked about as good as he ever has in the first four innings Friday, and that includes his 2007 no-hitter, and still lost the game.

The thing is, Verlander wasn't just good in those four frames. He was perfect.

He retired all 12 batters in relatively short order, striking out seven of them, including all three in the fourth inning. His pitch count was ideal, with 52 after the four innings, 39 of them strikes. And he wasn't the only one who noticed.

"I thought he had shutout-type stuff," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said over and over after the game while shaking his head and stabbing at a Caesar salad. "His curveball was just right, he had a very good fastball. ... The performance is a lot better than the numbers."

Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu and reliever David Aardsma were lucky to not have to face him. They could tell how well he was throwing.

"I watched his no-hitter," Aardsma said. "He is a ridiculously good pitcher and you can tell he was on his game tonight."

Added Wakamatsu: "I think Verlander had probably the best stuff I have seen. He was virtually unhittable. He had command of three pitches."

But in this strange game of baseball, these things have a way of unraveling rather quickly.

With the Tigers leading, 3-0, on the strength of an opportunistic second inning against Mariners ace Felix Hernandez, Adrian Beltre ended Verlander's no-hit bid with a bolt of a double to right field, stoking the previously dormant crowd.

Russell Branyan and Jose Lopez followed with singles to cut the lead to 3-1, a Rob Johnson sacrifice bunt put runners on second and third, and Brandon Inge allowed another run to score by making a throwing error to home plate on a Yuniesky Betancourt grounder.

Then things got more bizarre.

Franklin Gutierrez tied the game with a squeeze-bunt single, Ichiro Suzuki singled in another run to take the lead, and Verlander uncorked a wild pitch, allowing the Mariners' fifth run to coast home. Verlander stayed in the game into the eighth, giving up another run on a Beltre RBI double, and the Mariners relief corps of Shawn Kelley, Aardsma and Brandon Morrow shut down the Tigers the rest of the way.

"That's why it's such a great game," Leyland said, not necessarily referring to his team's loss but rather to the fact that unpredictable things happen in baseball all the time.

"If you'd have told me he'd have a five-run fifth inning after the first four, I would have told you you were crazy. If somebody had to go the bathroom [after the fourth] and came back and saw that, you'd just tell them they were in the bathroom too long, I guess.

"Hard to believe, really."

In the end, Verlander actually turned in the longest outing of his season and satisfied his manager's goals by going 7 1/3 innings and throwing 108 pitches, but the Tigers fell to 5-5 and Verlander seemed more than flummoxed in the wake of what he said ranked "up there" among the most inexplicable results of his young career.

"Stuff-wise, it's one of the best games I've had," he said. "This is a tough one. I'm always one who can take out positives, but for the most part, the sequence of events tonight and the way things went last year and started out this year, it kind of wears on you."

But although he's 0-2 with a 7.88 ERA, Verlander said he wouldn't let Friday night's loss derail him from what he still sees as a promising season in the making.

"If anything, this will make me tougher and more thick-skinned," he said. "I believe in my heart that if I keep pitching the way I have in my last few starts, things will definitely turn.

"I don't see how they can't."

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

me thinks needs to get consistant, and so does the team. Great game overall for JV

Jackson dominates Mariners
Righty throws 7 2/3 scoreless frames for first Tigers win

By Bob Sherwin / Special to MLB.com

04/18/09 11:50 PM ET

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SEATTLE -- Whatever the Tigers' scouts saw in Edwin Jackson, it was revealed on Saturday against the Seattle Mariners.

Jackson, acquired in an offseason trade with Tampa Bay, threw a gem, allowing no runs and five hits in 7 3/2 as the Tigers won, 2-0. He struck out six and earned his first win with Detroit. Fernando Rodney worked the ninth to pick up his third save.

Jackson is now 3-0 with an 0.39 ERA against Seattle in three career starts. He has allowed just 13 hits and one run in 23 innings.

The Tigers scored their runs with two outs in the sixth. With Miguel Cabrera on second and Gerald Laird on first, Brandon Inge lofted a fly ball to shallow right. That scored Cabrera, and Laird came home when Ichiro Suzuki's throw sailed into the stands.

Jackson got plenty of help from his defense. In the fourth, second baseman Placido Polanco made a nifty backhanded stop on a hard one-hopper by Adrian Beltre to turn a double play. Then, with Jose Lopez on third and one out in the fifth, Yuniesky Betancourt hit a fly ball to center field. Curtis Granderson took it in stride and threw out Lopez at the plate for another inning-ending double play.

Bob Sherwin is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Saturday, April 18, 2009
Tigers 2, Mariners 0
'Sick as a dog' Edwin Jackson stellar for Tigers
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Seattle -- It can't be called a steal yet. Too early for that, right?

But so far -- repeat so far -- the Matt Joyce-for-Edwin Jackson trade looks like the Tigers have picked a pocket.

Not feeling well at any point during the game, but worse as it went on, Jackson pitched shutout ball for 7 2/3 innings Saturday night in the Tigers' 2-0 victory over the Seattle Mariners -- his first win as a Tiger.

It's not the first time Jackson's thrown well -- just the first time he's thrown well while feeling like throwing up.

"He was sick as a dog with this bug that's going around," manager Jim Leyland said. "I was worried he wasn't going to hold up. He was hurting. What a courageous effort."

Joyce, meanwhile, is hitting .125 at Durham, the Tampa Bay Rays' Triple-A affiliate. He could have a fine future ahead of him. No one is saying he doesn't.

But the Tigers like their end of the deal right about now -- even when their end is under the weather.

"I was kind of weak," Jackson said. "I have a case of what's going around. But I didn't think about it. A lot of people play sick and hurt. I really didn't want to complain."

In sickness and in health, however, Jackson throws strikes. But he had his best strike ratio yet in this game. Of the 98 pitches Jackson threw, 71 were strikes. He issued his only walk with two outs in the eighth -- after which Bobby Seay came on to slip a called third strike past Ichiro Suzuki.

Jackson allowed five hits and struck out six, making the most of the runs the Tigers scrounged for him in a tight game -- one that turned, to a large extent, on an outstanding throw in the fifth and a bad one in the sixth.

With the game scoreless in the fifth, Curtis Granderson threw out Jose Lopez at the plate as Lopez tried in vain to score from third on a fly ball.

The Tigers responded with two runs in the top of the sixth, Brandon Inge's two-out bloop single to right driving in birthday boy Miguel Cabrera (his 26th) from second.

Ichiro thought he had a chance to throw out Cabrera, but his throw sailed over catcher Rob Johnson for an error that also allowed Gerald Laird to score.

"We didn't do a lot with our hits," said Leyland, "but we did enough."

After being puzzled to the tune of six called strikeouts in the first five innings by Mariners starter Eric Bedard, the Tigers had finally given Jackson a lead.

However, with a chance for more, they stranded a runner at third in the sixth and Granderson was thrown out at the plate on a fly ball to leftfielder Endy Chavez in the seventh.

Jackson didn't pitch the first four innings as cleanly as Justin Verlander did on Friday night, but he didn't stumble in the fifth, either.

The Mariners left a runner on third in the first when Ken Griffey Jr. fouled out to first and Adrian Beltre grounded out to third -- the first two outs of nine batters in a row retired by Jackson.

The Mariners had two runners on for the first time in the fifth, but that's the inning in which Granderson threw out Lopez at the plate to preserve the scoreless tie.

With the Tigers scoring twice in the sixth, however, it didn't stay scoreless much longer.

And with Fernando Rodney working a scoreless ninth inning for his third save, two runs proved to be more than enough.

Tigers' Porcello picks up first win
Santiago supports 20-year-old rookie with five RBIs

By Bob Sherwin / Special to MLB.com

04/19/09 6:45 PM ET
UPDATED: 04/19/09 9:00 PM ET

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SEATTLE -- Rick Porcello was showered in beer Sunday by his Tigers teammates after the right-hander earned his first Major League victory, an 8-2 decision over the Mariners.

Yet it speaks to both his age as well as to irony in the fact that he isn't even old enough to drink the stuff they used to drench him.

"That's all right; I spit it out," mused Porcello, who is 20 years, three months and 22 days old.

Porcello (1-1), making his second big league start, worked seven innings, allowing five hits and one run while striking out three and walking none. He allowed a leadoff third-inning home run to Ronny Cedeno before retiring his final 14 batters in a row.

Ramon Santiago had a big afternoon with five RBIs. He had a run-scoring single in the second, and then he dropped down a perfect squeeze bunt in the fourth to score Brandon Inge. Santiago also topped off the scoring in the eighth with a bases-loaded three-run double. He had 11 RBIs this week, which is just seven fewer than he had all of last season.

"He commanded the strike zone pretty good. He went right after them," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said of Porcello. "He threw strikes. He challenged them. They hadn't seen him before; that always a big advantage. I thought he pitched very well.''

Porcello, the Tigers' first-round pick in the 2007 First-Year Player Draft, raced through the Minor Leagues -- make that Minor League. He played for just one team last season, Class A Lakeland. He then made the Tigers' roster out of Spring Training.

"Coming through the Minor Leagues, not many guys are fortunate to be here at a younger age. It's pretty special for me to be here right now,'' Porcello said. "But once you're here, it doesn't matter ages or anything like that. You have a job to do, and focus on that. You can't get caught up in age."

Porcello showed poise beyond his years against a veteran lineup that included Adrian Beltre and future Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr.

Griffey, who made his Major League debut (April 3, 1989) three months and seven days after Porcello was born (December 27, 1988), never got the ball out of the infield against him. He hit into a double play to shortstop, a groundout to first base and a groundout to short.

"I always watched and admired him as a kid," Porcello said of Griffey. "I have a great respect for him. So it's pretty nice."

The Tigers broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth inning with three runs. Mariners veteran right-hander Carlos Silva opened the inning by issuing a walk to Miguel Cabrera. Carlos Guillen singled to right field, and Cabrera, on a hit and run, advanced to third. Brandon Inge doubled, scoring Cabrera and sending Guillen to third. Guillen then scored on a Silva wild pitch.

Inge later raced home on Santiago's squeeze. Silva grabbed it quickly and shuffled it to catcher Rob Johnson, but Inge's low-and-wide slide avoided the tag.

"You won't see that again for another three months,'' said Leyland, who also called for a squeeze on Friday. "Two times in one series for me -- that won't happen very often. I don't like the play, I never have."

Santiago, playing more this week because starter Adam Everett has been sick, said getting the squeeze sign "is a challenge because it's an RBI situation. If I get it down, we get a run. I just concentrated and focused and did it."

The Tigers did not hit a home run in the series, in which they won two of three games. They showed they could play small ball with a pair of hit and runs on Sunday -- converted by Cabrera and Guillen -- the two squeeze bunts and a handful of stolen bases.

"We're a little different club, that's for sure,'' Leyland said. "We're a little more dimensional than what we were."

But Leyland isn't against scoring in bunches.

Santiago helped Detroit do just that in the eighth with his bases-clearing double to left-center field. Josh Anderson also had two runs and two hits, including an RBI single in the sixth.

Porcello's effort follows Edwin Jackson's 7 2/3 strong innings on Saturday in which he allowed just five hits in a 2-0 victory.

"[Porcello's] sinker was moving very good, on the hands of the batter,'' Santiago added. "I think it was a pretty good performance. He's got the stuff of a 25-year-old."

The Tigers have an off-day on Monday before starting a three-game series at the Angels.

Bob Sherwin is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Sunday, April 19, 2009
Tigers 8, Mariners 2
Porcello shines as Tigers beat Mariners
Tom Gage / The Detroit News

Seattle -- Nicely done, kid.

You, too, Big Time Charlie -- alias Ramon Santiago

Rick Porcello earned his first major league victory and Santiago had a career high five RBIs in the Tigers' 8-2 victory on Sunday over the Seattle Mariners at Safeco Field.

In just his second start, Porcello found his rhythm in the third inning -- and once he found it, the 20-year-old right-hander kept it through the seven innings he pitched, retiring the last 14 batters he faced.

The only run off him was Ronny Cedeno's leadoff home run in the third. The Mariners added their other run off the Tigers' bullpen in the eighth.

Santiago, meanwhile, had an outstanding day at the plate. Then again, he's had an outstanding week -- most of it spent filling in for shortstop Adam Everett, who missed four games because of the flu.

It was after he hit a three-run home last Monday against the Chicago White Sox that Santiago kiddingly referred to himself as Big Time Charlie, and the nickname -- at least for a week -- has fit.

"I said in spring training that Santiago would be a key player for us," manager Jim Leyland said, "and he will be."

Santiago, now second on the team with 11 RBIs, singled in the Tigers' first run in the second, drove in another with his second suicide squeeze of the series, and doubled in three more in the eighth following two errors by Mariners shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt.

Other than those errors, it was a well-played game defensively, particularly at third base where Brandon Inge and Adrian Beltre took turns stealing hits from each other.

Pitching-wise, though, the star was Porcello, who allowed five hits in the first three innings, but shut the Mariners down after that. In his seven innings, he allowed five hits, didn't walk anyone, but struck out three. Double plays helped him out in the first and second.

Miguel Cabrera had another good day for the Tigers. He scored three runs, and with two hits maintained his stratospheric batting average. Through the Tigers' first 12 games, he's hitting .489.

Speaking of the first 12 games, with their victory, the Tigers climbed into a first-place tie in the American League Central with Kansas City and Chicago with a 7-5 record.

Granderson's two homers not enough
Tigers take early lead but can't hold on, fall in Anaheim

By Jason Beck / MLB.com

04/22/09 2:40 AM ET

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ANAHEIM -- The Angels have lost so much this year, from injuries to tragedy. But they still have their style of play.

It took them a while, but when it counted, they were better at it than the Tigers. And with Tuesday's eighth-inning double from Gary Matthews Jr., the Tigers took a 4-3 loss.

"Teams like that aren't fun to pitch against," reliever Zach Miner said afterward, "because you know if you get somebody on, you have to worry about the baserunner more than usual. They put pressure on teams all the time, and you're bound to make mistakes once in a while against them."

It wasn't the battle of small ball versus slugging that last year's Tigers might've encountered. These Tigers have been running more and taking advantage more on defense lately, and they needed all of it tonight. Carlos Guillen ran his way into a run by scoring from second on an infield single between Curtis Granderson's two homers. Two big outs on the basepaths, including an acrobatic throw to the plate from Brandon Inge, helped Armando Galarraga survive for five innings, though not with the lead.

In the end, though, the Angels turned their leadoff walk into the go-ahead run in the eighth. The Tigers, partly through fate, couldn't turn their leadoff single into the tying run in the ninth. They had their bullpen lined up to try to outlast the Angels, but couldn't get it to that point.

"We had a chance to win the game," manager Jim Leyland said. "We didn't get it done."

Their chance to break open the game came early. Granderson's solo homers had given the Tigers a 3-1 lead in the third inning, and they had a chance to add more, but Angels starter Jered Weaver stranded two runners to escape the third. Those missed runs loomed large once Torii Hunter's fifth-inning homer tied it.

In his next at-bat, Hunter fouled off back-to-back full-count pitches to earn his walk leading off Brandon Lyon's second inning of work. Hunter then deftly took second base when Kendry Morales' fly took Guillen into the left-field corner.

Lyon retired Mike Napoli for the second out to bring up Matthews, whose average had dipped below .200. On deck stood Erick Aybar, who had two singles and an RBI already on the night.

"They're both capable of getting the hit to put themselves ahead, obviously," Leyland said. "Matthews is a freer swinger, very dangerous. The other guy's a little peskier, can lay the bat on the ball a little bit better and do some damage. Matthews had struggled."

Lyon moved ahead on Matthews with a solid first-pitch strike, but Matthews centered Lyon's fastball on his next pitch and drove it off the fence to put the Angels ahead for the first time all night.

Once Aybar was retired for the third out, in came lefty Brian Fuentes to try to close it down. Guillen welcomed him with a first-pitch bloop single, then gave way to pinch-runner Josh Anderson.

In any other circumstance, Anderson would've been poised to score on an extra-base hit. And had Marcus Thames been available, he certainly would've been aiming for it. What no one besides the Tigers knew at that point, however, was that Thames had strained a rib cage muscle on his left side during early batting practice and wasn't available. The Tigers waited until after the game to put him on the disabled list because they obviously couldn't get anyone to the game in time to replace him.

Without Thames, Adam Everett stepped to the plate looking to advanced the runner. After Fuentes induced Everett to foul back his first bunt attempt and pull back on the other for a called second strike, the Tigers were in a hole.

Anderson had the green light to run, but got off to an early start. Fuentes fooled Anderson and made the throw over for the out.

"He kept faking [to steal]," Leyland said, "and I think he caused [Fuentes] to throw over. But I don't have any problem with that. Like I say, you live by the sword, you die by the sword."

Once Fuentes struck out Everett, the Tigers were down to their last out. Gerald Laird was hit by a pitch and Inge walked, which gave the Tigers a runner in scoring position, but Fuentes retired red-hot Ramon Santiago on a called third strike.

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