Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes

--RHP Max Scherzer pitched four innings of no-hit ball and completed eight innings without allowing a run. He is 4-0 overall and Detroit has won all five of his starts. "It's great," Scherzer said of his umblemished start, "but it's more important that when I pitch the Tigers are 5-0." "I thought he was real aggressive throwing strikes," manager Jim Leyland said. "He had a good breaking ball as well."

"I was able to mix my pitches," Scherzer said. "My slider was really on point. I was .able to throw it for strike or for a ball. My changeup was good too. We were able to establish the fastball in the whole series. We knew if we could do that it would open up the off-speed pitches. As a staff we were able to do that."

--C Alex Avila had a notable week in his first season as Detroit's primary catcher. Avila's RBI groundout in the fourth broke a scoreless tie and was his fourth of the week. He singled and scored the Tigers' second run in the sixth on his way to a 6-for-11 series against Chicago. Avila drew the first intentional walk of his career Friday night, following that Saturday with his first triple. "I don't think they were scared of me," Avila said of his free pass. "I'm pretty sure I won't be getting intentionally walked that many times."

Said manager Jim Leyland: "I've spoke about this a lot; one of the big things with him is you have to understand he's not an outfielder. He's a catcher and when you have that extra burden on you of learning how to call a game, earning the respect of your staff, especially when you're a young catcher coming up for the first time and not much experience ... that all weighs on you.

"Calling a game, following our game plan, blocking balls, getting the confidence of the pitchers and also trying to hit at the major league level is not an easy thing for a young player.

Leyland said he think Avila has absorbed the adjustment period well.

"I think he has weathered that storm," he said. "I think he's on his way to being a very, very good major league player. He has the chance to be an offensive catcher. He has a lot of juice, he has power. Left-handed hitting catchers are pretty valuable."

--CF Austin Jackson might have broken out of his season-long slump with five hits in three games against Chicago, including consecutive two-hit games. "He's swinging the bat much better," manager Jim Leyland said. "That was a big (sixth-inning) RBI. Maybe that will get him going a little bit. But a few games with no hits doesn't mean you're in a slump and a two-game (streak) doesn't mean you're out of one." Jackson has done better about getting his front foot down and this has let him get the bat through the strike zone quicker and with more authority.

--LF Brennan Boesch hit better than .300 against left-handed pitchers last year and is batting more than .400 against them this season. Boesch remained in the lineup against Chicago LHP John Danks and went 2-for-4 against him. Half the pitchers Detroit faced during the week were lefties and Boesch was 10-for-19 with three RBI.

--RHP Jose Valverde notched his fourth save with a four-batter inning against Chicago. Valverde has given up just one run, a solo homer, in his 10 appearances this season. He has one of the better split-finger fastballs in baseball but recently he's been going mostly his fastball, which has been clocked in the upper 90s.

--DH Magglio Ordonez has a modest three-game hitting streak. Ordonez is being brought back slowly from a fractured ankle last July because of lingering soreness in the ankle. Manager Jim Leyland is using Ordonez as his DH in the absence of injured DH/C Victor Martinez and his nominal right fielder seems to be settling into limited playing time. He was the DH in all three games against the White Sox during the weekend and got a hit in each game, along with his first RBI of the season. Ordonez will go back into the outfield mix when Martinez comes off the disabled list.

--RHP Justin Verlander has a good chance to crack Detroit's top 10 list for career strikeouts after reaching 1,000 on Friday night. Verlander needs 80 strikeouts to pass Joe Coleman, Frank Lary (1,031), John Hiller (1,036), Virgil Trucks (1,046) and Bill Donovan (1,079) and move into the 10th spot. By equaling his total for last season, Verlander would also get past Denny McLain (ninth, 1,150). He has a chance to pass Dizzy Trout (eighth, 1,199) and Hooks Dauss (seventh, 1,201) by the end of the current season. Mickey Lolich is the Tigers' all-time leader with 2,679. He's the only Detroit pitcher above 2,000. It took Verlander just 170 starts to reach 1,000 strikeouts.

--RHP Brad Penny had no problem with either the official scorer or his third baseman, who failed to make a play on a ball that was ruled the only hit the veteran gave up Saturday in his seven innings pitched. 3B Brandon Inge made a backhand stop on a smash by 3B Brent Morel of Chicago and a wide throw that was ruled a base hit in the sixth inning. Penny came out after seven innings having thrown 95 pitches, although manager Jim Leyland said he might have left him in had he been working on a no-hitter. "I still don't think I was getting a no-hitter," Penny said. "I'm sure I would have given up a hit at some point."

Said Inge: "I should make that play every time. I know if I get to it, I should have made the throw."

Leyland said the scorer made the right call.

"A hit," Leyland said. "I really give the (official scorer) credit because a lot of times they wait until the inning's over to see what happens. I don't think that's right. I think the guy did a great job. I think he put it up there as soon as he looked at the replay. ... I would certainly agree with it."

BY THE NUMBERS
20 -- Consecutive scoreless innings thrown against Chicago by Detroit pitchers during the weekend after RHP Justin Verlander served up a pair of White Sox home runs leading off the seventh inning Friday night.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"I wasn't down in the dumps when we were 3-7 and I'm not celebrating anything now. We're playing a little bit better and we had a couple of good games against a very good team with a lot of firepower." -- Manager Jim Leyland, whose team has gone from 3-7 a couple weeks ago to two games over .500 after sweeping the Chicago White Sox during the weekend.

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