Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes 8-15-11

--RHP Doug Fister didn't have it in his third start for Detroit since joining the Tigers from Seattle. "His control wasn't real good," manager Jim Leyland said. "He wasn't locating the ball." Fister gave up 12 hits in 5 2/3 innings and all eight Baltimore runs (two unearned). "It was just a constant struggle pitch to pitch," Fister said after dropping to 1-1 with Detroit.

--2B Carlos Guillen was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a sore left wrist. Detroit brought up 2B Will Rhymes from Toledo to replace him. Guillen, on the disabled list for the fifth time in the last three years, was hitting .207 with two home runs and 11 RBI in 82 at-bats this season. He was 3-for-23 with one extra-base hit this month. Guillen has been on the disabled list 12 times in his career. Rhymes hit .221 in 19 games early this season for the Tigers and was batting .303 with three home runs and 23 RBI in 89 games for Toledo.

--C Alex Avila drew a bases-loaded walk and still shows little sign of wearing down despite not having a backup who can give him even an inning off. Avila is 14-for-37 with three home runs and nine RBI this month while having to catch following night games and extra-inning contests due to the unavailability of DH/C Victor Martinez to catch due to a sore left knee. Avila took another hard foul off the upper-chest area but maintains an attitude of 'find another job' if you can't take the punishment that goes with being a catcher. He recently was voted third-best defensive catcher in a 'Best Tools' survey by Baseball America. Avila is in his first season as Detroit's regular.

--DH Victor Martinez wasn't available to hit when Detroit was rallying in the ninth inning, shaving an 8-1 deficit to 8-5. Martinez singled his last time up and was replaced by pinch-runner Will Rhymes, a logical move at the time since the game seemed out of reach. Manager Jim Leyland wanted to save some wear and tear on Martinez's bad left knee and the score was lopsided. But the lineup turned around as Detroit rallied for four runs and suddenly the Tigers had the tying run on first with two out and Rhymes due to bat. Leyland turned instead to OF Brennan Boesch, who has a bad thumb, and he nearly came through, slicing a fly ball near the left-field line that was caught on the run for the game-ending out. "I was thinking of Victor's knee, it was totally my fault he couldn't bat at the end," Leyland said. "I was just trying to save Victor from having to run the bases. It just was a move that didn't work out."

--RHP Jose Valverde finally got a game off. Valverde has saves in his last 10 appearances and ran his saves streak to a club-record 35 straight games Saturday night with his third save in as many days. A tipoff that Valverde might have been in need of a short break was the fact he threw mostly sliders and split-fingers rather than fastballs in topping off Detroit's 6-5 victory over Baltimore.

--RHP Max Scherzer made a good adjustment Saturday night and it resulted in his being able to stay around long enough for a victory. Scherzer was touched for a two-run and three-run home run in the second inning, when he threw 44 pitches. But he barely threw more than that over the next five innings in keeping Baltimore scoreless while Detroit rallied for five runs in the sixth to take a 6-5 victory. Scherzer was getting beat throwing off-speed pitches so he switched to mostly fastballs running up to 97-98 mph, mixing in some sliders where appropriate, and wound up with 10 strikeouts. His last moment of trouble came in the seventh, when he gave up a pair of singles on soft stuff -- so he went back to fastballs for strikeouts that ended the inning.

--RHP Al Alburquerque, hit in the left temple while he was on the field for Baltimore's batting practice Friday, was discharged from the hospital Saturday to be driven back to Detroit from Baltimore rather than fly back with the team. Alburquerque was placed on the seven-day disabled list for concussed players with RHP Ryan Perry recalled from Toledo to replace him. Alburquerque is 5-1 with a 2.19 ERA in 34 games for Detroit, limiting opponents to a .141 batting average while striking out 57 in 37 innings. Perry is 3-0 with a 3.03 ERA and seven saves in two trips to Toledo. "He had some slight internal bleeding, so that has to be addressed," head trainer Kevin Rand said. "He will be re-evaluated at the end of (this) week." Rand said. Alburquerque wasn't flying home because of "increased air pressure" on planes. He is being given anti-seizure medication.

--OF Brennan Boesch was not in Detroit's starting lineup for the fourth straight game Sunday due to a sprained right thumb. However, he did pinch-hit with the bases loaded and two out in the ninth, slicing a fly ball to left that was caught on the run to end the game. Boesch had a pad at the base of his thumb for protection. "His range of motion and strength have improved," head trainer Kevin Rand said.

BY THE NUMBERS
8 -- Detroit's last eight wins have been by the margin of one run, a club record according to research by STATS LLC. The 1944 Tigers had a streak of seven one-run victories that July.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"It was a tough night for me. The toughest internal battle I've had all year with myself and my mechanics. Probably the worst I've felt." -- RHP Justin Verlander, after winning the 100th game of his career, 4-3, at Cleveland on Aug. 11. Verlander allowed just three hits and struck out 10.

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