Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes

--RHP Brad Penny has been struggling with his control since joining the Tigers. After walking just one batter on April 12, Penny felt he was back on track. But he walked four in five innings Sunday and now has a total of 12 walks in four starts. Two walks contributed to a three-run fifth that gave Oakland a 4-0 lead. Penny has been trying to work in his off-speed pitches earlier in games to break a pattern he had built up over the years. He also feels his arm strength isn't what it should be as he missed most of last season with a bad back. This means he has to be more careful to spot his fastball down in the strike zone; when it gets up he gets hit.

--DH Victor Martinez was out of the lineup, nursing a groin muscle he strained Saturday night in his final at-bat. He tested it with some light pre-game running but manager Jim Leyland decided it was too early in the season to push it. Martinez could be doubtful for Monday's first game of a three-game set at Seattle.

--3B Brandon Inge got a scheduled day off. Inge also has a sore quad but is expected to be back in the lineup Monday in Seattle. He is also in a 2-for-22 slump. UT Don Kelly replaced Inge at third base.

--CF Austin Jackson's slump continues so manager Jim Leyland decided to drop him out of the leadoff spot for one game just to give him a different look. He lined a single to center in the ninth for his first hit of the four-game series. Jackson, hitting less than .200 and some 140 points lower than a year ago at this time, was placed second in the batting order. Leyland has held Jackson out of the lineup twice in the last week as he works on his timing, which consists mainly on him getting his front foot down quicker so his swing isn't too late.

--2B Will Rhymes was promoted to leadoff for one game as manager Jim Leyland made another move to see if he could get slumping CF Austin Jackson hitting again. Jackson and Rhymes switched places in Leyland's batting order. Rhymes had a single off the pitcher's glove, as each of the two reached base just once in the game. "We tried that," Leyland said. "That would be something I don't think we'll be doing very often."

--C Alex Avila had a solid approach against RHP Trevor Cahill of Oakland. Avila, a left-handed hitter, tried to hit the ball to left. He flied to left his first two times up and lined a single to left in the eighth.

--RHP Al Alburquerque was economical in getting out the only two batters he faced in his second major league appearance. Alburquerque kept his fastball in the strike zone and was also throwing his slider for strikes. The control issues may surface in the future, but through two games, they have not been a problem. "His velocity was down a little from his first game," manager Jim Leyland said, "so that's something we might have to watch."

--RHP Justin Verlander did something Saturday night most baseball people said they'd never seen before. With 1B Daric Barton of Oakland on first and nobody out, Verlander stepped off the rubber then, flat-footed, snapped a throw to the plate that had RF David DeJesus skipping rope to get out of the way of a toss that essentially was behind his ankles. After much conferring and consulting, Barton was waved to second on what was eventually called a balk and DeJesus, hoping it would be ruled he'd been hit by a pitch, returned to complete a walk of his own. Verlander said he was intending to throw to first when he stepped off the rubber but his hips didn't complete the turn. "My thought was 'Hey, maybe if I throw home, they won't call anything,'" he said. After seeing the replay later, he laughed. "You can't really help but laugh at yourself. I just didn't get my hips all the way turned. That might be the first time it's ever happened in general."

--RF Magglio Ordonez returned to Detroit's starting lineup Saturday night after missing four with a sore right ankle. Ordonez was held out of Sunday's game, however. "You don't get 100 percent any more. If I'm 85-90 percent, I'm ready to go," Ordonez had said earlier. "I think he's 100 percent," manager Jim Leyland said Saturday. "If he plays two or three games in a row and grinds it out, maybe he won't be 100 percent. But I feel good about getting him back in the lineup. I think Magglio will be fine."

BY THE NUMBERS
9 -- Consecutive games without allowing a home run by Detroit pitchers after Sunday's 5-1 loss at Oakland. The staff gave up 13 round-trippers in its first seven contests.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"It just means I'm old. I'm very serious about this. It's all about the players and always will be. That's just the way I feel about it." -- Jim Leyland, on what it meant to record his 1,500th victory as a manager April 15, the 19th manager to reach that total and the second-most wins to Tony La Russa of St. Louis among active managers.

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