Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes

--RHP Rick Porcello allowed a three-run home run and that was his undoing. Porcello was lifted after five innings, having allowed the home run in the fifth. He gave up eight other hits, however. "He was OK," manager Jim Leyland said. "He wasn't great but he was OK." Porcello was getting ahead of the hitters through the first four innings but in the fifth Baltimore attacked him early in the count and was successful.

--1B Miguel Cabrera was hitless and there might have been a good reason for it -- he was vomiting up during the game. "You've got to hand it to Miggy," 3B Brandon Inge said. "He was actually throwing up between innings. And to still come back and perform the way he did -- that's impressive." Cabrera had a pair of three-run home runs Sunday but stranded four runners in Baltimore's home opener.

--RHP Brayan Villarreal turned in a solid two innings of shutout relief. The rookie, who allowed a home run to the first hitter he faced in the majors -- by Alex Rodriguez of the Yankees on Saturday -- faced seven Baltimore batters and allowed just one to reach base, on a walk in the seventh. He throws from a low 3/4 arm slot and features a fastball, slider and changeup. He was consistently ahead of the hitters, which was one of his strengths in the minors.

--2B Will Rhymes returned to the lineup after getting a game off following an 0-for-7 start. Rhymes got his first hit of the season, an RBI single in the third, after walking and stealing the first base of his short career in the opening inning. Rhymes also singled in the seventh. His RBI hit was a slashed grounder in the hole to left field.

--LF Brennan Boesch was in the lineup for a second straight day after becoming the first Detroit player since Dmitri Young in 2005 to get four hits, four RBI and score four times in the same game Sunday. Boesch hit third then but with the return of RF Magglio Ordonez he was dropped to sixth in the batting order, taking LF Ryan Raburn's spot. He was swinging at the first pitch his first three times up, something he'll have to watch or he'll stop seeing early strikes.

--SS Jhonny Peralta didn't have an RBI during spring training and hit in the low .200s most of the time but has looked much better since the start of the season. Peralta drove in a run (his only RBI to date) in the opener with a sacrifice fly and has had five hits in the four games Detroit has played. Peralta still has defensive limitations at short in terms of his range but is considered reliable on balls he does reach.

BY THE NUMBERS
10 -- Homes runs allowed by Detroit pitchers in 33 innings played thus far. Four have come with two runners on.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"Not to alibi, but we had two or three guys throwing up during the game. Sick. I don't know if it was something they ate or what." -- Manager Jim Leyland on the state of health of his team. 1B Miguel Cabrera was one of the players vomiting.

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