Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes
--LF Ryan Raburn is off to a good first half for a change. Raburn has struggled in the first half of the past two seasons before getting hot in the second halves but is flirting with .300 (he entered hitting .300) after a 1-for-5 game that included a double in the seventh that drove in the game's first run. "We battled our tails off," Raburn said. "They had a great arm on the mound and we just were able to battle and scrape a few runs in there."
--LHP Phil Coke turned in his second strong start and appears to be making a successful return to being a rotation member. Coke pitched seven innings of three-hit shutout ball as part of Detroit's first shutout of the season. "Victor (Martinez) did a phenomenal job back there," Coke said of his catcher. "He has a great feel for the game."
Said manager Jim Leyland of Coke: "His mindset was to be a starter this year and he's getting into that groove a little bit. He's much calmer when he starts. His demeanor's been pretty impressive. We weren't sure how that would be."
--C Victor Martinez has caught both of LHP Phil Coke's starts because a left-hander was opposing the Tigers. It isn't certain manager Jim Leyland would make his usual DH Coke's regular catcher but it's certainly something he'll think about. Martinez made five ground ball outs as a batter in the game but Coke rarely shook him off when he called for a certain pitch.
--RHP Joaquin Benoit recovered from his 35-pitch inning two games ago to turn in a perfect eighth as part of Detroit's first shutout this year. Benoit struck one of them out as he turned a 3-0 lead over to RHP Jose Valverde to save. "That's why we signed him," manager Jim Leyland said of his setup man.
--RHP Jose Valverde now has another save after winning two games in a row when Detroit rallied for a run in the bottom of two straight ninth innings. Valverde worked a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his third save to go with his two victories. "He's pitched in three straight games now," manager Jim Leyland said. "I might not pitch him (Friday)."
--RHP Al Alburquerque, getting his first experience in the majors, got to the ballpark so early the security guard initially wouldn't let him into the visiting clubhouse. Alburquerque got to Oakland six hours before the 7 p.m. start time for his first game. "I came in and said, 'Where is the visiting clubhouse?'" Alburquerque said. "They said, 'Well, your name is not on the list.' They called a few places and then the guy says, 'Yeah, you're OK. You can go in.'" He was brought up from the minors after Wednesday's home game. He had three scoreless appearances for Class AAA Toledo (Ohio) and struck out eight in four innings. "I got in trouble with my fastball in spring training," said Alburquerque, who had a 6.14 ERA and seven walks with 13 strikeouts in 7 1/3 innings of Grapefruit League action. "I still have a way to go with that, but I am making improvements. Hey, I feel so good. I feel so happy. I called my mom and she said she was happy all the hard work got me here, to my dream."
BY THE NUMBERS
11 -- Walks issued to Detroit batters Thursday night in Oakland. It was the most bases on balls the Tigers have drawn in a nine-inning game since April 26, 1996.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"I'm all for implementing that this year. It makes a lot of sense to me to get that (fair-foul) call right. If you're talking about expanding replays, that's one that needs to be added." -- Manager Jim Leyland on reports that major league baseball is considering adding instant replay next year for fair/foul ball calls and outfielders trapping the ball.
Copyright (C) 2011 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved.
