Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes

--RHP Rick Porcello is still giving up way too many hits, but his third start of the season was a marked improvement as he got his ERA below 9.00. Porcello had allowed 10 runs -- and 16 hits -- in a pair of five-inning starts before limiting Oakland to just one run in his third start. A pair of double plays helped Porcello deal with allowing seven hits in his six innings of work. Less might be more for a sinkerball pitcher, but seeing more velocity from his fastball might be beneficial as Porcello's heater was generally in the 88-90 mph range. His slider was more consistently sharp and he threw some excellent changeups around 78 mph, a nice separation from his fastball. A solo home run in the ninth by 1B Miguel Cabrera let Porcello avoid a loss.

--RHP Al Albuerquerque made a good impression in his major league debut. Albuerquerque, just called up from the minors, pitched two scoreless innings and was relieved after walking the leadoff man in the ninth at Oakland. He retired three of the four batters he faced in the seventh and all three batters in the eighth inning at Oakland. He struck out two and allowed a single to left in the seventh. He pitched a perfect eighth with one strikeout. Albuerquerque showed the snappy slider that has become his out pitch and was able to throw his fastball for strikes, which was the big question mark when Detroit signed him as a free agent this winter.

--CF Austin Jackson didn't start for the second time this week as manager Jim Leyland sought to have him work out the problems that have him hitting about 200 points lower than he was at this time a year ago. Jackson took a .184 batting average into the game, and while the manager has confidence him, he also knows his center fielder is pressing at this time. A year ago, he was flirting with .400 early in the season and his average didn't get below .300 until mid-September. Most of Jackson's problems stem from an inconsistency in getting his front foot down in time for him to generate anything with his swing. He entered the game to play center in the bottom of the 10th.

--1B Miguel Cabrera showed his value to Detroit with a solo home run leading off the ninth inning to create a 1-1 tie in Oakland. Cabrera's fifth home run of the season came on a 72 mph hanging breaking pitch on a 1-1 count by LHP Brian Fuentes. It was Cabrera's first hit in the series. Earlier in the week, he had a walk-off single against Texas. Fuentes walked Cabrera intentionally to load the bases following a two-run bases-loaded double by RF Brennan Boesch in the 10th. He also hit a home run off Fuentes last year.

--RF Brennan Boesch got a pitch that would have gotten him last year. Boesch came up with the bases loaded and one out in the 10th and fouled off the first two pitches thrown by LHP Brian Fuentes, which meant he was almost guaranteed to be seeing a breaking ball. Boesch went down and swept the breaking ball into right field off the fence for a two-run double that broke a 1-1 tie and triggered a seven-run inning. He had two singles earlier in the game and just missed a home run in center to end the eighth.

--RHP Brayan Villarreal earned his first major league victory -- and also a valuable lesson. Villarreal came into a tie game in the ninth with a man on first and one out. He got 2B Mark Ellis to line into a double play to short. He was allowed to come out for the 10th after Detroit scored seven runs to take an 8-1 lead, but promptly gave up three straight singles, inducing manager Jim Leyland to bring his setup man, RHP Joaquin Benoit, in to clean up the mess. "Villarreal learned a lesson," Leyland said. "He thought, 'I'll just throw it in there, get a strike.' It doesn't work that way."

--RHP Ryan Perry made a successful rehab appearance for Class AAA Toledo as he comes back from an eye infection. Perry threw 27 pitches with only seven out of the strike zone in 1 1/3 innings of work. He gave up three hits and had a strikeout. Perry just recently was able to wear contact lenses again as the infection subsided. He is scheduled to pitch an inning Monday and then rejoin Detroit and come off the disabled list Wednesday in Seattle.

--RF Magglio Ordonez says he's ready to return to action after missing four games with a sore right ankle. Manager Jim Leyland said he likely would play Ordonez either Saturday or Sunday. He was diagnosed with some swelling behind his Achilles tendon earlier in the week. "You don't get 100 percent anymore," Ordonez, 37, said. "If I'm 85 to 90 percent, I'm ready to go."

BY THE NUMBERS
1,500 -- Victories as a manager by Jim Leyland, second to Tony La Russa of St. Louis among active managers. He is the 19th manager with that many victories. "That just means we're old," Leyland said.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"You don't get 100 percent anymore. If I'm 85 to 90 percent, I'm ready to go." -- RF Magglio Ordonez, pronouncing himself fit to return to the lineup after missing four games to attend to a sore right ankle.

Copyright (C) 2011 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.