Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes 6-29-11

--RHP Rick Porcello keeps getting beat up by left-handed hitters. Manager Terry Collins loaded his lineup with seven lefties and switch-hitters and they went a combined 11-for-18 off Porcello. No right-hander got a hit off Porcello, who lasted just 3 2/3 innings and was charged with seven runs. "He threw some bad pitches, which they hit," manager Jim Leyland said, "and he threw some good pitches, which they hit." Lefties were hitting .315 off Porcello entering the game.

--LHP Daniel Schlereth gave up two grand slams less than an inning apart. Schlereth entered with two out and two on in the fourth, walked the first batter he faced (a switch hitter) and served up a grand slam to LF Jason Bay. He gave up a walk, double and hit a batter in the fifth before RF Carlos Beltran hit a grand slam. "The Daniel situation, it's kind of my fault," manager Jim Leyland said. "I haven't done a very good job of keeping him sharp. Part of that is because of the number of lefties we've had. But he does have to do a better job of getting his fastball over the plate -- and not just the middle of the plate."

--CF Austin Jackson had the kind of night that usually propels Detroit to a win. Jackson reached base three times via single, home run and walk, but the ball he hit out of the park was the only time he crossed home plate. Jackson made a couple of nice defensive plays in the outfield, especially with a strong wind carrying balls hit high in the air toward left field.

--2B Ryan Raburn continues to struggle at the bottom of the batting order. Raburn did single and make contact for three outs, but he flubbed his only chance to drive in a run from second base. The fans are really getting on Raburn, barely hitting .200.

--LHP Charlie Furbush worked two scoreless innings for Detroit -- but after the outcome of the game had been decided. Furbush has enough pitches to start and manager Jim Leyland has been using him in a variety of mostly multi-inning roles to help him overcome the loss of innings he would be pitching in the minors.

--RF Magglio Ordonez will be in the starting lineup Wednesday but manager Jim Leyland plans to rest him for Thursday's day game. Ordonez was 1-for-2 with a single before being removed from the one-sided loss, making him 7-for-17 over his last six games. "There were a couple nights earlier this year that it looked to me like the ankle was bothering him, when he couldn't get around the bases too good," Leyland said. "The other day, to my pleasant surprise, he went first to third like it was nothing. When Magglio is Magglio, he gives us a nice depth to our lineup. He's really starting to come around."

--3B Brandon Inge wasn't hitting much before he contracted mononucleosis and he isn't hitting a lot since he got back. Inge went 0-for-4 against the New York Mets and is now 2-for-16 since coming off the disabled list. He was limited to defensive replacement duties Monday but returned to the starting lineup when the Mets arrived.

--RHP Justin Verlander pitching in the All-Star game is a notion both the pitcher and his manager, Jim Leyland, would like to put to rest. The current timeline has Verlander pitching the Sunday prior to the All-Star game July 12 in Phoenix, which would mean he would be prohibited from working on one day's rest. Leyland won't alter his rotation just to get Verlander in the All-Star game and the pitcher is on record as agreeing with his manager. "You can file that story in a wastebasket somewhere, because that's not going to happen," Leyland said. "Justin's pitching the last day before the break, so you can forget that."

BY THE NUMBERS
11 -- Hits by players batting left-handed off RHP Rick Porcello in his 3 2/3 innings of work. New York Mets manager Terry Collins, noting lefties were hitting .315 off Porcello entering the game, put seven left-handed or switch-hitting batters into his lineup and they went a combined 11-for-18 off the starter. Every hit Porcello allowed was to a lefty.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"The Daniel (Schlereth) situation, it's kind of my fault. I haven't done a very good job of keeping him sharp. Part of that is because of the number of lefties we've had. But he does have to do a better job of getting his fastball over the plate -- and not just the middle of the plate." -- Manager Jim Leyland, shouldering part of the blame for the recent difficulties endured by LHP Daniel Schlereth. Included in those struggles were grand slams Schlereth served up in the fourth and fifth innings against the New York Mets.

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