Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes

--C Alex Avila is starting to settle in nicely as Detroit's regular catcher. After a slow start he's hitting .321 with three home runs and 14 RBI. "He's getting more confidence by the day," manager Jim Leyland said. "You just have to keep taking your time and let the procedure happen, keep getting his feet wet, keep getting him experience." Said Avila: "A lot has to do, I think, with learning the league last year, learning about myself and how I react in certain situations and just adjust. It's a tough game, and there's a definite learning process for young players, especially catchers."

--OF Brennan Boesch added two more hits against a left-handed pitcher Sunday and continues to hit them well despite being a left-handed hitter. Boesch batted .337 against southpaws, even with his miserable second half factored in, and is off to a .429 start against them this season. Overall this season, Boesch is batting .348.

--RHP Max Scherzer allowed more than a run per inning in spring training, but now has a 3.05 ERA and is 4-0 this season. Detroit has won all five of his starts. "Sometimes, guys aren't at their peak when they're coming out of spring training," manager Jim Leyland said. "That's doesn't mean they're not ready to pitch, because they are, but you have to get into the flow of things. In the second half of last season, he was one of the best pitchers in all of baseball, and now, he's just starting to get into his flow this year. And we think he can be even better."

--CF Austin Jackson has had two consecutive two-hit games to indicate things might be turning around for him. His average is only .193, but he's striking out a little less and making better contact as a four-game hitting streak would indicate. "Really, I believe in going up there with a positive attitude; it's not normally what I would like but we're still winning ballgames," he said. "You've got to stay positive about it when things aren't going well. You can't get out of it by going out with a negative attitude. By us winning ballgames and things like that is definitely motivation, and gives you a spark to want to continue (contributing) to the team." Veterans have noted Jackson never let his early season slump take away from his defense. "I try to keep them separate," Jackson said. "I try not to take at-bats out on the field or if I don't make a play or miss a ball. I try not to take it onto the offensive side. It's baseball, the way things go sometimes. It was a lot of me staying confident in my abilities and that I would come out of it. I know it's been a little difficult for me this year not swinging the bat like I would like with the teammates behind you and the staff, you work your way out of those things."

--LHP Phil Coke, scheduled to start Tuesday against Seattle, weather permitting, is coming off his worst start of the season. Coke was battered for six runs in 3 2/3 innings on April 19. Before that, the converted reliever had allowed three hits in each of his two starts, with nine strikeouts in 13 2/3 innings. Coke opened the season in the bullpen, where he had worked since coming to the majors, because Detroit didn't need a fifth starter until April 10.

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.

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