Toronto Vs. Detroit
The Detroit Tigers have broken out of their slump and so has All-Star outfielder Magglio Ordonez despite some lingering issues with his surgically repaired right ankle.
Ordonez will try to keep up his hot hitting while leading the Tigers to a season high-tying fourth straight win Friday night against the Toronto Blue Jays, the last team he faced before breaking his ankle.
Detroit lost its seventh straight Monday night, but the Tigers (15-17) responded to outscore AL East-leading New York 14-5 over the final three games of the home series.
Brennan Boesch went 2 for 3 with a home run and had three RBIs during Thursday's 6-3 victory.
"Hopefully it gives us some more confidence playing a team like the Yankees and beating them three out of four," Boesch said. "I think we're going to play with some momentum and some more passion, and get some wins on the road."
Like Boesch, Ordonez had four hits with a home run over those final three games, and he had another potential hit taken away by a diving catch in the series finale. Unlike Boesch, he entered that stretch batting .151 with one RBI in his first 19 contests.
Ordonez, a career .310 hitter, has endured soreness in his right ankle and right Achilles' tendinitis.
"I'm hitting on one leg," he told the team's official website. "When you're injured, you have to make an adjustment. Try to feel better with different ways, different stances. We've been working on it."
Facing the Blue Jays (14-17) might help him feel a little better as he's batted .369 in his last 19 matchups. He's also 2 for 5 in his career against scheduled starter Jesse Litsch (2-2, 4.60 ERA).
It might also bring back some grim memories. Ordonez broke his ankle while getting thrown out at the plate against Toronto on July 24.
Litsch gave up two runs over 5 1-3 innings the next day but did not get a decision in a 6-5 defeat. He's 0-1 with a 3.44 ERA in three career starts against the Tigers and 1-2 with a 6.00 ERA in his last three overall.
Litsch gave up all but one of his five runs on a pair of homers in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Yankees.
With a pair of key players injured, Toronto is batting .227 with 12 runs in dropping four of five, and it had five hits in Thursday's 3-1 loss at Tampa. Jose Bautista has missed the past three games with neck spasms after hitting an AL-best .357 and nine home runs.
Aaron Hill is on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring but could return Sunday along with Bautista.
"It's all positive signs right now," manager John Farrell said.
Adam Lind enters this series batting .487 (19 for 39) with five homers during a 10-game hit streak. Lind, though, hit .200 while Toronto split its eight games with Detroit last season, and he's 0 for 7 against Detroit's scheduled starter Phil Coke (1-4, 4.50).
Coke has dropped his past two decisions. The left-hander gave up two runs and four hits over six innings during a 5-4 loss in Cleveland on Sunday.
Coke has never started against the Blue Jays, and he's 1-1 with a 1.17 ERA in 10 career matchups.
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