Fister Fitting In Nicely In Detroit

"You never know," Jim Leyland said, "how these things are going to work out."

The subject was those July and August acquisitions teams make in an effort to get first to the finish line in September.

One of those, Doug Fister, improved to 4-0 in his last five starts with seven innings of three-hit ball in Detroit's 2-1 victory over Minnesota. Fister, acquired from Seattle, has a 0.74 ERA in those five starts.

Two runs of support were about all he was getting from Seattle, but Detroit gave him the two runs in the first inning and Fister made them stand up and snag line drives.

"He's been a nice fit for us," Leyland said, "a really nice acquisition."

Wilson Betemit and Delmon Young have fit in nice too, and David Pauley has had his moments.

"But you never know," Leyland said. "We got Jarrod Washburn and Aubrey Huff (in 2009) and that didn't work out.

"You never know until they get here. Huff played a key part for San Francisco last year. Washburn didn't work out because of the knee."

Young has been driving in runs with big hits for Detroit, while Betemit, playing mostly against right-handers, has been a productive player.

Fister has gone from being a guy brought in to replace the No. 5 starter to a pitcher who will be second or third in Detroit's postseason rotation, if the Tigers qualify.

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