GDT: 7/31/09 - DET (53-47) AT CLE (42-60) - 7:05 p.m. ET

ARLINGTON -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland says he's fine with his team, whether it makes a trade or not before Friday's non-waiver Trade Deadline at 4 p.m. ET. He just wants to see it relax and play well.

Wednesday's 13-5 runaway win at Texas was a start. Now the Tigers have to continue it Friday in Cleveland, where they have to avoid falling into a trap of underestimating a team that has started planning for next year.

The retooling Indians traded Saturday's previously scheduled starter, Cliff Lee, and could do the same with starting catcher Victor Martinez. Their general manager, Mark Shapiro, talked about building for 2010 and beyond.

Leyland is trying to get his team to take one game at a time, one at-bat at a time. Wednesday had some big at-bats to go with it.

"These guys grind it," Leyland said. "You have to have great appreciation for what they do. Obviously we have to get our offense relaxed a little bit more."

The key to hitting with runners in scoring position, Leyland said Wednesday afternoon, is a combination of relaxation and concentration. They have to fight off the nerves, but not ease up so much as to not be ready at the plate.

Wednesday wasn't an altogether great game from that standpoint. Until Miguel Cabrera hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning, the Tigers had stranded more runners on base than they had driven in.

Still, early runs helped them relax Wednesday. Even when they didn't get hits, they had solid at-bats, evidenced in part by an eight-pitch battle from Ryan Raburn in the opening inning against Scott Feldman with the bases loaded and another eight-pitch at-bat from Raburn in the third inning that ended with an RBI single.

The Tigers have shown they can beat up pitching on rough nights. Now they have to pick it up and take it into Cleveland, where the pitching that's left is often young and inconsistent.

"We're going to run into guys where we're not able to do that," said Granderson, who homered twice Wednesday. "It's one of those things where hopefully we can get consecutive hits, and we haven't been able to get that done. Or, when we get runners on base we can drive them in, and we haven't been able to get that done. In that aspect, I think [Wednesday] looked good, even though we had 13 runners left on base. It's another situation where we're still not there yet.

"Hopefully it's a good sign of what can be there and what's supposed to be there, but still not exactly where everybody wants it to be."

Raburn could get another start at third base Friday while Leyland tries to figure out what to do with Brandon Inge and his aching knees. Ramon Santiago will likely be back in the lineup to spell Placido Polanco, whom Leyland believes is worn out from playing too many games lately.

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Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Edwin Jackson (7-5, 2.59 ERA)
Jackson has lasted seven innings in five of his past six outings and owns quality starts in his last seven, including seven innings of three-run ball against the White Sox last Saturday at Comerica Park. He earned a no-decision for his trouble, but considering it took a ninth-inning comeback to get him off the hook for what would've been a hard-luck loss, it could've been worse.

CLE: RHP Fausto Carmona (2-6, 7.42 ERA)
The Fausto Carmona Project is over, and the Indians have deemed him ready to return to the big leagues in the wake of the Cliff Lee trade. Carmona was a major disappointment for an Indians team that counted on him to be their No. 2 starter coming out of Spring Training. He was demoted to Class A ball in early June and slowly climbed his way up the Minor League ladder, going 3-3 with a 2.72 ERA in seven starts between Class A Lake County, Double-A Akron and Triple-A Columbus. He walked seven and struck out 39 over 46 1/3 innings, which is a good sign that he maintained his delivery. The question will be if the big league stage causes his emotions to get amped up and his delivery to get back out of whack.

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Tidbits

... Miguel Cabrera is 5-for-8 lifetime off Sowers with a home run and three RBIs.
... Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson are scheduled to throw a simulated game at Progressive Field Friday afternoon before the Tigers take batting practice. Both could go out on Minor League rehab assignments soon as they try to get back to the Tigers around late August or September.
... The Tigers hope to know Thursday whether Joel Zumaya has a chance to pitch again this season. He was scheduled to visit noted orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews to have his sore shoulder examined.
... Tigers Minor League players Carlos Alvarado and Frank Penalver were each suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball after testing positive for a performance-enhancing substance. Both were part of the club's Venezuelan Summer League team.

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Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Tigers (Edwin Jackson, 7-5, 2.59 ERA) at Indians (Fausto Carmona, 2-6, 7.42 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Tigers (Rick Porcello, 9-7, 4.62 ERA) at Indians (Jeremy Sowers, 3-7, 5.15 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 5-9, 4.84 ERA) at Indians (Carl Pavano, 8-8, 5.66 ERA), 1:05 p.m. ET
• Monday: Tigers (Lucas French, (1-2, 3.38 ERA) vs. Orioles (Chris Tillman, (0-0, 5.79 ERA), 7:05 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

Tigers
1. Curtis Granderson, CF
2. Placido Polanco, 2B
3. Carlos Guillen, DH
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Clete Thomas, RF
6. Marcus Thames, LF
7. Brandon Inge, 3B
8. Gerald Laird, C
9. Ramon Santiago, SS

Starting pitcher: Edwin Jackson

Indians
1. Sizemore, CF
2. Cabrera, A., SS
3. Choo, RF
4. Peralta, 3B
5. Hafner, DH
6. Gimenez, C
7. Marte, A., 1B
8. Valbuena, 2B
9. Crowe, LF

Starting pitcher: F. Carmona

Current Conditions

Progressive Field

Sunny 79 F

Humidity: 53 %

Wind: from the WNW at 10 mph

Barometer: 29.93 in

last updated: 7/31/09 6:05 PM EDT

Inning 1
Top Half

B:2 S:1 O:0 -
Curtis Granderson singles on a ground ball to center fielder Grady Sizemore.

B:3 S:2 O:1 - Placido Polanco grounds out, shortstop
Asdrubal Cabrera to second baseman Luis Valbuena to first baseman Andy
Marte. Curtis Granderson to 2nd.

B:4 S:2 O:1 -
Carlos Guillen walks.

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Miguel Cabrera singles on a line drive to left fielder Trevor Crowe. Curtis Granderson to 3rd. Carlos Guillen to 2nd.

B:1 S:1 O:1 - Clete Thomas singles on a ground ball to
left fielder Trevor Crowe. Curtis Granderson scores. Carlos Guillen
scores. Miguel Cabrera to 2nd.
DET 2, CLE 0



B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Marcus Thames flies out to right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.

B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Brandon Inge flies out to right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.

DET 2, CLE 0

Bottom Half

B:1 S:2 O:0 -
Grady Sizemore singles on a ground ball to shortstop Ramon Santiago.

B:3 S:2 O:0 -
Asdrubal Cabrera homers (4) on a fly ball to right center field. Grady Sizemore scores.
DET 2, CLE 2


B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Shin-Soo Choo grounds out, shortstop Ramon Santiago to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Jhonny Peralta singles on a line drive to right fielder Clete Thomas.



B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Travis Hafner strikes out swinging.

B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.


B:2 S:2 O:3 -
Chris Gimenez flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

DET 2, CLE 2 after 1 inning

Inning 2
Top Half

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Gerald Laird flies out to right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.

B:4 S:2 O:1 -
Ramon Santiago walks.


B:2 S:2 O:2 - Curtis Granderson grounds into a force
out, second baseman Luis Valbuena to shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera. Ramon
Santiago out at 2nd. Curtis Granderson to 1st.


B:0 S:2 O:2 -
With Placido Polanco batting, Curtis Granderson advances to 2nd on a balk.


B:0 S:2 O:3 -
Placido Polanco grounds out, third baseman Jhonny Peralta to first baseman Andy Marte.

DET 2, CLE 2 after 1.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Andy Marte lines out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Luis Valbuena singles on a ground ball to left fielder Marcus Thames.


B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Trevor Crowe singles on a ground ball to left fielder Marcus Thames. Luis Valbuena to 3rd.



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


B:4 S:1 O:1 -
Grady Sizemore walks. Trevor Crowe to 2nd.



B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Asdrubal Cabrera swinging.


B:0 S:2 O:3 -
Shin-Soo Choo grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

DET 2, CLE 2 after 2 innings

Inning 3
Top Half

B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Carlos Guillen grounds out, second baseman Luis Valbuena to first baseman Andy Marte.

B:2 S:0 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera flies out to center fielder Grady Sizemore.

B:1 S:1 O:2 -
Clete Thomas singles on a ground ball to right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.


B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Marcus Thames reaches on fielding error by third baseman Jhonny Peralta. Clete Thomas to 2nd.

an error?



B:1 S:0 O:3 -
Brandon Inge flies out to center fielder Grady Sizemore. (what's new)


DET 2, CLE 2 after 2.5 innings

Bottom Half

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

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Travis Hafner singles on a line drive to left fielder Marcus Thames.

B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Chris Gimenez doubles (2) on a ground ball to left fielder Marcus Thames. Travis Hafner to 3rd.


B:3 S:1 O:2 -
Andy Marte grounds out, pitcher Edwin Jackson to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Luis Valbuena flies out to right fielder Clete Thomas.

DET 2, CLE 2 after 3 innings

Jackson at 89 pitches

Inning 4
Top Half

B:1 S:2 O:0 -
Injury Delay.

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Gerald Laird called out on .

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Ramon Santiago grounds out, second baseman Luis Valbuena to first baseman Andy Marte.


B:4 S:1 O:2 -
Curtis Granderson walks.


B:1 S:1 O:3 - With Placido Polanco batting, Curtis
Granderson caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Chris Gimenez to second
baseman Luis Valbuena.

DET 2, CLE 2 after 3.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:2 S:2 O:0 -
Trevor Crowe reaches on fielding error by shortstop Ramon Santiago.

Santiago sucks tonight


B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Grady Sizemore called out on .


B:3 S:3 O:2 -
Asdrubal Cabrera swinging. Trevor Crowe steals (2) 2nd base.




B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Shin-Soo Choo doubles (23) on a fly ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson. Trevor Crowe scores.
CLE 3, DET 2


B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Jhonny Peralta swinging.

CLE 3, DET 2 after 4 innings

Inning 5
Top Half

B:1 S:0 O:1 -
Placido Polanco flies out to left fielder Trevor Crowe.


B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Carlos Guillen grounds out to first baseman Andy Marte.


B:4 S:2 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera walks.



B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Clete Thomas flies out to left fielder Trevor Crowe.

CLE 3, DET 2 after 4.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Zach Miner replaces Edwin Jackson.


B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Travis Hafner swinging.


B:4 S:2 O:1 -
Chris Gimenez walks.



B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Andy Marte grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Chris Gimenez to 2nd.



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

CLE 3, DET 2 after 5 innings

Inning 6
Top Half


B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Jose Veras replaces Fausto Carmona.


B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Marcus Thames swinging.


B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Brandon Inge swinging.




B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Gerald Laird flies out to center fielder Grady Sizemore.

CLE 3, DET 2 after 5.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Fu-Te Ni replaces Zach Miner.

B:1 S:1 O:0 -
Trevor Crowe singles on a ground ball to right fielder Clete Thomas.


B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Grady Sizemore flies out to right fielder Clete Thomas.


B:3 S:2 O:1 - Asdrubal Cabrera doubles (24) on a line
drive to center fielder Curtis Granderson. Trevor Crowe scores.
Asdrubal Cabrera advances to 3rd, on missed catch error by second
baseman Placido Polanco.
CLE 4, DET 2


B:3 S:1 O:1 -
Shin-Soo Choo hit by pitch.

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Pitcher Change: Ryan Perry replaces Fu-Te Ni.

B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Jhonny Peralta swinging.


B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Travis Hafner grounds out, shortstop Ramon Santiago to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

CLE 4, DET 2 after 6 innings

Inning 7
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Chris Perez replaces Jose Veras.

B:4 S:2 O:0 -
Ramon Santiago walks.


B:3 S:3 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson called out on .


B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Placido Polanco singles on a soft line drive to center fielder Grady Sizemore. Ramon Santiago to 3rd.



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

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Carlos Guillen called out on strikes.


B:0 S:0 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera lines out to center fielder Grady Sizemore.

CLE 4, DET 2 after 6.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Chris Gimenez lines out to left fielder Marcus Thames.
B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Andy Marte grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


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


B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Pitcher Change: Bobby Seay replaces Ryan Perry.



B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Luis Valbuena flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

CLE 4, DET 2 after 7 innings

first 1-2-3 inning for the tiger pitchers!

Inning 8
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Tony Sipp replaces Chris Perez.

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Magglio Ordonez replaces Clete Thomas.


B:1 S:0 O:0 -
Magglio Ordonez doubles (14) on a line drive to center fielder Grady Sizemore.

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Joe Smith replaces Tony Sipp.




B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Marcus Thames grounds out, first baseman Andy Marte to pitcher Joe Smith. Magglio Ordonez to 3rd.



B:2 S:1 O:1 -
Brandon Inge singles on a ground ball to center fielder Grady Sizemore. Magglio Ordonez scores.
CLE 4, DET 3




B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Gerald Laird grounds out, third baseman Jhonny Peralta to first baseman Andy Marte. Brandon Inge to 2nd.


B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.


B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Pitcher Change: Kerry Wood replaces Joe Smith.



B:4 S:1 O:2 -
Ramon Santiago walks.


B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Curtis Granderson swinging.

damn, that would have been a walk...

CLE 4, DET 3 after 7.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Magglio Ordonez remains in the game as the right fielder.


B:1 S:2 O:0 -
Trevor Crowe triples (1) on a fly ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:3 S:1 O:0 -
Grady Sizemore singles on a ground ball to right fielder Magglio Ordonez. Trevor Crowe scores.
CLE 5, DET 3




B:3 S:1 O:0 -
Coaching visit to mound.


B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Fernando Rodney replaces Bobby Seay.


B:0 S:3 O:1 -
Asdrubal Cabrera swinging.


B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Shin-Soo Choo singles on a ground ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson. Grady Sizemore to 3rd.


B:0 S:2 O:3 - Jhonny Peralta grounds into double play,
second baseman Placido Polanco to shortstop Ramon Santiago to first
baseman Miguel Cabrera. Shin-Soo Choo out at 2nd.

CLE 5, DET 3 after 8 innings

Inning 9
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:0 -
Placido Polanco singles on a line drive to left fielder Trevor Crowe.


B:3 S:1 O:0 -
Carlos Guillen homers (2) on a fly ball to right center field. Placido Polanco scores.
DET 5, CLE 5






B:0 S:3 O:1 -
Miguel Cabrera strikes out swinging.


B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Magglio Ordonez pops out to second baseman Luis Valbuena.


B:1 S:1 O:3 -
Marcus Thames grounds out, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera to first baseman Andy Marte.

DET 5, CLE 5 after 8.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:4 S:1 O:0 -
Travis Hafner walks.


B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Jamey Carroll replaces Travis Hafner.


B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Chris Gimenez out on a sacrifice bunt to first baseman Miguel Cabrera. Jamey Carroll to 2nd.






B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Andy Marte flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:4 S:0 O:2 -
Luis Valbuena walks.


B:1 S:3 O:3 -
Trevor Crowe strikes out swinging.

DET 5, CLE 5 after 9 innings

Inning 10
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Jamey Carroll remains in the game as the designated hitter.


B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Tomo Ohka replaces Kerry Wood.


B:0 S:1 O:0 -
Brandon Inge doubles (10) on a line drive to right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.


B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Gerald Laird out on a sacrifice bunt, third baseman Jhonny Peralta to first baseman Andy Marte. Brandon Inge to 3rd.






B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Ramon Santiago lines out to first baseman Andy Marte.


B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Curtis Granderson strikes out swinging.

DET 5, CLE 5 after 9.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Pitcher Change: Brandon Lyon replaces Fernando Rodney.


B:3 S:1 O:1 -
Grady Sizemore lines out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Asdrubal Cabrera bunt grounds out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Shin-Soo Choo singles on a ground ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Jhonny Peralta singles on a ground ball to center fielder Curtis Granderson. Shin-Soo Choo to 3rd.



B:1 S:0 O:2 -
With Jamey Carroll batting, Jhonny Peralta advances to 2nd on defensive indifference.



B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Jamey Carroll called out on strikes.



DET 5, CLE 5 after 10 innings

Inning 11
Top Half

B:3 S:1 O:1 -
Placido Polanco flies out to center fielder Grady Sizemore.

B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Carlos Guillen swinging.

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera singles on a line drive to right fielder Shin-Soo Choo.


B:0 S:1 O:3 -
Magglio Ordonez grounds out, second baseman Luis Valbuena to first baseman Andy Marte.

DET 5, CLE 5 after 10.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Chris Gimenez swinging.


B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Andy Marte lines out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:1 S:3 O:3 -
Luis Valbuena strikes out swinging.

DET 5, CLE 5 after 11 innings


great job Lyon!