Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes 5-4-11

--RHP Brad Penny took the long route to a six-inning start. He got help from some sloppy Yankees baserunning in the sixth when he gave up two singles yet faced just three batters; one was caught in a rundown trying to advance on a pitch in the dirt, and the other tried to steal while Penny was in the stretch position, and the pitcher stepped off and threw him out at second. Penny faced 10 batters in the first two innings before his curve started settling in and his control firmed up. He gave up an RBI double in the fourth, but RF Casper Wells turned a flyout into a double play with a strong throw to the plate to nail RF Andruw Jones.

--2B Scott Sizemore collected three hits in his first game with Detroit this season, including an RBI single. Sizemore was called up Tuesday when 2B Will Rhymes was sent to the minors in hopes he could give the Tigers' sagging offense some spark. He had a double to right-center, a bloop single to center and a line RBI single to right before striking out in the seventh. Sizemore flubbed a trial as Detroit's second baseman last season, getting sent to the minors about this time a year ago, and Rhymes was selected over him to open this season as the Tigers' second baseman. Sizemore hit .408 for Toledo to earn another shot. "I didn't let the stuff I couldn't control affect me," Sizemore said. "Any time you worry about what you don't control, it takes some control away from you. You're not going to get handed a job. You have to force the issue. That was my mentality. Just go down there and do all I could to get another shot. I seem to have a pretty good knowledge of my strike zone right now."

--DH/C Victor Martinez (right groin strain) will be activated from the disabled list Wednesday so he can start against the Yankees. C Omir Santos, who had caught just once after being brought up when Martinez was placed on the disabled list, was optioned to the minors after Tuesday night's game to make room for Martinez on the roster. Manager Jim Leyland said Martinez would return to the fifth spot in the batting order. Martinez went 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI in his second rehab game, making him 3-for-6 with two RBI all told. Martinez will DH but will be able to catch if necessary. "He's capable of catching," GM Dave Dombrowski said. "If he wasn't, we wouldn't have made the move."

Santos went 1-for-5 in two games with the Tigers.

--CF Austin Jackson gave Detroit's slumbering offense a little wakeup call with a double, a triple and two runs. "This sounds corny," manager Jim Leyland said, "but I noticed in batting practice it's the best I've seen him swing all year. It looked like he had a little chip on his shoulder." Jackson was eaten up by a steady diet of fastballs Monday night (three strikeouts), but he laced the first pitch LHP CC Sabathia threw Tuesday for a double to left to start the Tigers' first inning. He lined an RBI triple into the left field corner in the fifth. Jackson had two hits Sunday as the ninth hitter but had trouble making contact when restored to the leadoff spot.

--DH Magglio Ordonez had two hits but still might find himself batting lower in the order with the return of DH/C Victor Martinez to the lineup Wednesday. He pushed an 0-2 pitch to right for a fifth-inning single with a man on first, and in the seventh, he grounded an 0-1 curve in the hole to left for a single.

"Magglio, at some point, will hit well by mistake. He'll do it because he's a strong hitter," manager Jim Leyland said.

The manager sees Ordonez's ankle, fractured last July, as more of a problem than anything else.

"I think that is an issue," Leyland said. "The ankle really doesn't hurt some days. But with some weather (cold, rainy days), he says he just can't push off as well some days. He's swinging more with his arms and hands. He relies on his lower body, yes. Most good hitters do."

Leyland has hinted Ordonez will bat sixth and return to right field when Martinez gets back, with OF Brennan Boesch possibly getting bumped up to third, where he can see lots of fastballs in front of 1B Miguel Cabrera. Still, the two-hit game by Ordonez may cause Leyland to rethink that.

--LHP Daniel Schlereth gave up a solo home run in two innings of relief -- but he had three runs to work with as Detroit snapped a seven-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory. The home run Schlereth gave up on a 1-0 fastball to 1B Mark Teixeira was the only baserunner he allowed. His fastball at 90 mph was spotted effectively, and his slurve plopped over for strikes. "I'm a little upset with one pitch," Schlereth said, "but at the end of the day we won the game."

"Schlereth did a tremendous job," manager Jim Leyland said. "We didn't have any right-handers in our bullpen except Jose Valverde."

--RHP Jose Valverde earned a save Tuesday despite having thrown 35 pitches in taking a loss Monday night. Valverde's control isn't all the way back, witness a walk on a 3-1 pitch, but he bounced back with a strike that was turned into a game-ending double play. He's gone much more extensively with his fastball this season.

--RF Casper Wells drew a start against LHP CC Sabathia, but his sparse playing time could shrink even more with the return of DH/C Victor Martinez. OF Brennan Boesch and LF Ryan Raburn will battle for playing time with RF Magglio Ordonez following the return of Martinez. Wells' best chance for playing time would seem to be when Martinez catches against left-handed pitching and manager Jim Leyland wants to load his lineup with right-handed hitters.

BY THE NUMBERS
8 -- Intentional walks issued to 1B Miguel Cabrera this season after the Yankees ordered him put on first in the fifth inning. Cabrera is far ahead of the pace that put him within one of the 33 intentional walks Ted Williams draw in 1957 with Boston to set the league record.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"That's the nature of the business. We broke one heart last night and made another guy happy. A month ago, it was the other way around." -- Manager Jim Leyland, on the optioning of 2B Will Rhymes to the minors so Detroit could bring up 2B Scott Sizemore. Rhymes was selected over Sizemore in spring training.

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