Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes

--C Alex Avila might be making up Jim Leyland's mind about what to do when DH/C Victor Martinez returns. Avila drove in his 19th run of the season, a sacrifice fly in the eighth that gave Detroit a brief 3-2 lead. He's ranking first or second best on the catcher RBI list recently and he didn't drive in his 19th run last season until Aug. 14. Avila has caught every game save one since Martinez went on the disabled list, against lefties and in day games after night contests.

--LHP Phil Coke turned in a solid start after getting cuffed around versus Seattle. Coke did as his manager requested, dialing back his fastball to around 90-91 mph and threw a lot of slurves for strikes in a four-hit, six-inning outing. He gave up three straight two-out hits in the second that resulted in two Cleveland runs but rebounded from there to throw four shutout innings. Three of Coke's five starts have been six innings or better.

--RF Don Kelly drew a start, in part because he hits left-handed and in part because he was 3-for-3 lifetime against Cleveland starter RHP Justin Masterson. Kelly hit an RBI double to left in the first inning and singled to right off Masterson in the eighth, making two outs in between. He's flourished in a part-time role and has been averaging just less than one start per series. Only twice has he started and gone hitless when batting more than twice.

--DH Magglio Ordonez was given a game off following an 0-for-6 Saturday night at Cleveland. Ordonez has been struggling, producing a four-game hitting streak totaling four hits. He was 2-for-23 against Seattle and Cleveland, and hasn't been hitting the ball with any authority. His manager keeps saying he'll battle through it, though. With Detroit's offense sagging, he could sit out another game or two. Jim Leyland says he'll play right field when injured DH/C Victor Martinez returns on Wednesday.

--2B Will Rhymes hit leadoff as manager Jim Leyland crammed as many left-handed batters as possible into a shaken-up lineup. He singled his first two times up and was 4-for-12 against Cleveland, but his playing time figures to diminish when DH/C Victor Martinez returns to action early in the week because LF/2B Ryan Raburn will bump him off second.

--CF Austin Jackson was dropped to ninth in the batting order in hopes it would relax him and get his bat working again. Jackson had a hit and two walks Saturday but struck out his last three times up and looked uncomfortable doing it. He had a walk and two singles plus a stolen base hitting out of the ninth position. The Tigers need him at the top of the lineup though, and that should happen in the next couple of days.

--RHP Joaquin Benoit is having control problems, especially in terms of keeping his fastball down. He's also off a little with his off-speed stuff and the combination has been ruinous the last three times he has pitched, two of which resulted in him taking a loss. Benoit gave up three runs in the eighth to blow a 3-2 lead he was asked to hand off to RHP Jose Valverde after giving up a walk-off grand slam April 29. His troubles began two days before that when he couldn't get the third out of a tune-up inning he was supposed to pitch against Seattle. All told, Benoit has been rocked for nine earned runs in his last three outings. Although he gave up just one run in his first 10 Detroit appearances, as of May 1 he had allowed one more run than the nine he gave up pitching for Tampa Bay last season, which drew him a $16.5 million three-year deal with Detroit.

--SS Jhonny Peralta sat out a game as manager Jim Leyland stuffed as many left-handers into his batting order as possible against RHP Justin Masterson of Cleveland. IF Ramon Santiago, who switch-hits, played short in place of Peralta, expected to be back in the lineup Monday against the New York Yankees.

--DH/C Victor Martinez will join Detroit's Toledo farm club for two games Monday at Pawtucket, and if things go well, be activated off the disabled list Wednesday to play in the Tigers game that night with the visiting New York Yankees. Martinez was placed on the disabled list April 19 with a right groin strain, will begin a rehabilitation assignment Monday with the Toledo Mud Hens. He had been testing the groin muscle recently by doing some blocking drills in the bullpen.

--Rookie Al Alburquerque pitched three perfect innings with six strikeouts Saturday night in Cleveland. Research showed it was the first time since LHP Willie Hernandez in 1984 that a Detroit relief pitcher had not allowed a runner and struck out at least six batters in a minimum outing of three innings.

BY THE NUMBERS
1 -- More earned runs allowed by Detroit RHP Joaquin Benoit through May 1 than he gave up all last season for the Tampa Bay Rays. Benoit allowed nine earned runs last year but his total this season swelled to 10 after he inherited a 3-2 lead in the eighth Sunday and gave up three runs. Benoit was tagged for a walk-off grand slam April 29 and a pair of earned runs April 27. He gave up one run in his first 10 games with the Tigers.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"We just didn't show any patience at the plate. That many strikeouts, swinging at the pitches we swung at, that's just unacceptable. That's just the way it is. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's just not acceptable to swing at some of the pitches we swung at; it's not acceptable for a major league team. It's poor concentration." -- Manager Jim Leyland, irked at the non-performance of his hitters following a 1-for-19 stretch in losing consecutive games at Cleveland in the ninth and 13th innings.

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