Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes 5-31-11

--RHP Jose Valverde made it 13-for-13 in save situations with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, getting help from a diving catch by LF Don Kelly, a defensive replacement, on a sinking fly ball for the third out. Valverde threw 35 pitches in working both games Sunday, taking a loss and earning a save, but reported to the park and told manager Jim Leyland he was good to go if needed. "Maybe I be tired in the bullpen, but never in the game," said Valverde, who was throwing fastballs at 95 and 96 mph. He gave up a game-deciding home run to PH David Ortiz in losing Sunday's first game and he's been roughed up in several non-save situations this season. But in save chances, Valverde is flawless.

--C Alex Avila got the game-winning double in the eighth inning Monday, with the help of the umpire ruling on fan interference. Avila laced a double down the third base line with SS Jhonny Peralta on first and two out in the eighth. Peralta never hesitated and continued running to the plate, even though LF Delmon Young had thrown up his hands indicating a fan touched the ball, creating a ground-rule double. After a short conference, Peralta was ruled to have scored. "The umpires said there was interference by a fan," Avila said. "Once that happens, it's a judgment call where they place the runners. Jhonny was going to score if they hadn't touched the ball, it looked. We caught a break."

--DH Victor Martinez went looking for an inside fastball, got it, and hit his fifth home run of the season Monday. The two-run shot to right center in the sixth inning created a 5-5 tie after Detroit had blown a 3-0 lead. Martinez said Minnesota had been working him inside all game, so after a changeup he was looking for an inside 2-and-1 fastball and didn't miss it. It was his first home run since May 11.

--1B Miguel Cabrera says he close to dropping the adjustment he made in his batting stance a couple weeks ago. Cabrera made the move of spreading his legs farther apart so he could generate some more power on all the outside pitches he was seeing. Now pitchers are starting to come inside on him more and he feels more comfortable about going to right and left. The home run he hit in the first inning came on a pitch that was down and in.

--RHP Brad Penny didn't throw a pitch outside the strike zone until his 13th pitch of the game. He was touching 95 mph with his fastball early. Yet he couldn't hold a 3-0 lead after retiring nine of the first 10 batters. Penny gave up a run in the fourth and four in the fifth, although he was able to work a scoreless sixth before coming out of the game. "He kind of sailed through four innings, then in the fifth he ran into command problems and wasn't locating the ball as well," C Alex Avila said. "They got to him."

--LHP Phil Coke, out of action since May 24 because of a bone bruise on his right foot, will make one rehab start before rejoining Detroit to start June 8 in Texas. "That's the plan," manager Jim Leyland said. "He's fine. Even though it's a little hiccup, it's really a shame it happened because he was pitching his butt off. It looked like his mental mode was settling in. He was starting to get the demeanor of a starting pitcher, not getting too excited when something went wrong." Coke will start a game for Triple-A Toledo on June 3 in Scranton, Pa., before going with Detroit to Texas.

--2B Ryan Raburn might be close to getting back on track offensively. Until striking out in his fourth at-bat, Raburn looked more comfortable and in control than he has in weeks, and had his first hit at Comerica Park since April 27, ending an 0-for-28 stretch. Raburn knows how well he hits will determine how often he plays. "Raburn's just got to get his swing shortened up; it's too long," Leyland said. "He's definitely got to take his approach from batting practice into a game. He's swinging underneath." Raburn also was surprised during the weekend to learn he's the new starting second baseman following the Friday trade of 2B Scott Sizemore to Oakland. "I didn't think I'd play the infield anymore," Raburn said. "I guess being able to play some infield still gives the team the ability to make some different moves, move guys around or give some guys days off."

--LHP David Purcey has worked two scoreless innings in two games since Detroit picked him up from Oakland for 2B Scott Sizemore on Friday. He credits Oakland pitching coach Ron Romanick for helping him with his control. "We moved from the left side of the mound to the right side and then just kind of closed off my stance a little bit," Purcey said. "All those balls that were on the plate and then off I'm now throwing for strikes, so he did a great job helping me figure out a couple things." Purcey worked a scoreless seventh inning Sunday in the first game of Detroit's doubleheader and another clean seventh Monday against Minnesota. He was left in to face the leadoff batter, left-handed hitting DH Jim Thome but walked him to open the eighth and came out of the game.

--RHP Al Alburquerque still is surprising teams with the depth of his slider. That might change the second time he's exposed to teams, but right now batters are finding it too difficult to lay off the rookie's out pitch. Alburquerque recently went through a spell where teams were laying off his slider, but when he throws it for strikes, which has happened most of the time, that tactic goes back to the dugout with the player. Alburquerque pitched a scoreless eighth against Minnesota, and the second and third batters he faced struck out on 1-and-2 sliders, the first called and the second swinging. He also flashed a 99 mph fastball in his three-batter stint.

BY THE NUMBERS
28 -- Consecutive at-bats by 2B Ryan Raburn between base hits at Comerica Park. Raburn's seventh-inning single was his first hit at Comerica Park since April 27, a stretch of 28 at-bats without a hit.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"I talk about that all the time. We've got young players up there. They'll figure it out. They'll get better. I'm not going to beat them down about that." -- Manager Jim Leyland, on CF Austin Jackson and PH Casper Wells taking third strikes with the bases loaded and nobody out and one out, respectively, in the seventh inning of a tie game.

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