Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes 7-2-11
--RHP Brad Penny pitched well but gave up one run on a night he needed to hurl shutout ball. Penny allowed seven hits but only one run in his seven innings on the mound, the lone run coming on a two-out double to center by Pablo Sandoval that came with first base open. "You don't throw a strike to him there," Penny said of the 2-2 curve he hung a little high. He went deeper into the game than he sometimes is allowed to because Detroit's bullpen is a little worn down. Penny threw 115 pitches but had real good control.
--RF Magglio Ordonez keeps showing signs of regaining his good hitting stroke, if not his power. Ordonez had a pair of singles, one a liner to right in the eighth that created a 1-1 tie. "Maggs is swinging the bat better," manager Jim Leyland said.
--3B Brandon Inge had an RBI single to left in the ninth inning but also got caught heading the wrong way on Brennan Boesch's slicing liner to short. Inge walked and scored the tying run in the eighth also. He pulled a fastball to left for his single in the ninth.
--CF Austin Jackson made a rookie mistake in the sixth trying to make something happen. Jackson singled leading off and stole second after LF Casper Wells couldn't sacrifice him up. But then when Wells took a third strike, Jackson tried to steal third and was easily thrown out. "I talked with Austin about it," manager Jim Leyland said, noting Jackson had gone on his own. "You've got to get a better jump in that situation. It can't be close. It has to be a slam-dunk. You've got to be absolutely sure you can get it." Jackson had singled earlier.
--DH Victor Martinez flashed his annual speed, or almost annual speed. Martinez was credited with his first stolen base of the season in the seventh inning. It was the fourth of his career and he now has one in each of the last three seasons. Martinez was running on a 3-2 pitch to SS Jhonny Peralta, who struck out. He stopped halfway between first and second but made it safely to second when C Chris Stewart threw behind the runner. Martinez had singles his last two times up.
--LF Casper Wells turned in a solid double play in the first inning that may have calmed San Francisco down. A double and bunt single but runners at first and third in the opening inning for the Giants. 3B Pablo Sandoval lifted a high fly to the stands in left field foul territory that Wells snared from a customer. He turned and threw home to C Alex Avila, who tagged CF Aaron Rowand out.
--RHP Lester Oliveros made his major league debut, working a scoreless eighth. Oliveros, just called up from Class AAA Toledo in the morning, struck out the first two batters he faced and gave up a single plus a walk before making a solid fielding play himself on a topped roller, throwing the runner out by a fraction of a step.
--RHP Al Alburquerque was placed on the 15-day disabled list with soreness near his right elbow. "I look for him to be back when he's eligible the first day after the All-Star break," manager Jim Leyland said. "I don't think it's anything serious, we're just being cautious. One thing I do know is he has not been overworked. That I can assure you."
--2B Carlos Guillen has been bumped up to Class AAA Toledo from high Class A Lakeland as he prepares for a hoped-for return to Detroit's active roster after the All-Star break. No definitive timetable has been set. Guillen has been coming back from microfracture knee surgery.
BY THE NUMBERS
24 -- Days since Detroit has gotten a victory from any one of its starters outside RHP Justin Verlander and RHP Max Scherzer. Since RHP Rick Porcello won June 7, neither he nor RHP Brad Penny nor LHP Phil Coke have won a start.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Those two add-on runs with walks were killers." -- Manager Jim Leyland on San Francisco's three-run ninth, where the last two runs scored on bases-loaded walks. The Giants held on to win, 4-3.
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