Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes 8-29-11
--RHP Brad Penny was denied in his bid to become the fourth Detroit starter with 10 victories. Penny threw more first-pitch strikes than in his last outing but still fought his command in his five innings of work and was charged with seven runs. "I didn't really have a good breaking ball," he said. "I had a lot of opportunities to throw it and get the feel for it. My arm felt great." His fastball was in the mid-90s at its best.
--2B Ramon Santiago equaled his career best with four hits. Santiago's two-run single in the second created a 2-2 tie but that was as close as Detroit got in an 11-4 loss. He had three more singles and wouldn't have started had IF/OF Ryan Raburn been able to play. Raburn was held out of action because he jammed the ring finger on his left hand sliding in with a double Saturday.
--RHP David Pauley has not pitched much recently and hasn't been effective when he has. Pauley has pitched seven times for Detroit since being acquired with RHP Doug Fister from Seattle at the trade deadline in July. He had been scored upon three times, the last being at Minnesota when he gave up four runs (three on a home run) in two innings of work. He had not pitched in 10 days when asked to work Aug. 24, when he gave up a hit and a walk in one-third of an inning. His control may be suffering from the lack of regular work.
--C Alex Avila now has a 12-game hitting streak after doubling to set up a two-run second inning. Avila can be expected to catch at least the first three of Detroit's four-game set with Kansas City, not getting another game off until after rosters expand Sept. 1.
--UT Don Kelly returned to the Tigers after missing two games while on a paternity leave. Kelly was an eighth-inning insertion at first base for 1B Miguel Cabrera.
--RF Brennan Boesch did not play for the fourth straight game, with no target date set for his return from a right thumb sprain. Boesch said he plans to begin swinging a bat again Monday. "What worries me about Boesch is when he doesn't play for awhile he gets out of sync," manager Jim Leyland said. "I don't have time to be experimenting, so I just have to hope for the best and get him back. I want him back. Don't get me wrong, he's a big key for us. But I don't know what's going to happen with that. I'm hearing the thumb could be aggravated all year." The thumb injury first became severe enough to put him out of the lineup during an Aug. 9 game. He returned but hit .250 with no RBI in 24 at-bats before aggravating the injury. "We'll just wait and see," Leyland said. "Believe me, I'm not forgetting about him. I like him in that two-hole with right-handed pitching, but it is what it is. ... If it hurts you where you can't swing the way you need to swing, you're better off playing somebody else."
--UT Ryan Raburn missed the last game of Detroit's 5-2 road trip with a jammed left ring finger suffered during a slide into second base Saturday. "What I want you to do is get the thing taken care of," manager Jim Leyland said, after noting Raburn couldn't bend his finger enough to grip a bat properly. "All day long, get it treated. Two or three treatments. I can't afford to lose you, but I'm not going to put you through that if it's going to be that sore (Sunday). Hopefully get the thing ready for (Monday) or the next day." Raburn has perked up at the plate in the second half again, although he is hitting just .240 with 11 homers and 40 RBI in 102 games this season.
--2B Carlos Guillen was scheduled to begin a rehab assignment Monday with the aim of getting him back into the Tigers lineup early in September. Guillen has been on the disabled list since Aug. 13 with a sore left wrist. He hopes to play three games by Wednesday, probably with Class AAA Toledo and won't be activated until rosters expand. Guillen missed Detroit's first 93 games but returned to hit .207 with two home runs and a triple in 22 games before landing on the disabled list again.
--RHP Jacob Turner, who made a spot start for Detroit on July 30, will be called up from Class AAA Toledo on Thursday to make another spot start. Turner, 20, will start so manager Jim Leyland can give an extra day of rest to RHP Justin Verlander, who will open a series Friday against the Chicago White Sox. Turner, Detroit's No. 1 choice in the 2009 draft, turned in six shutout innings Aug. 26 for Class AAA Toledo but did not get a decision in his four-hit, six-strikeout effort. He is 1-0 with a 3.12 ERA in three starts for the Mud Hens, striking out 20 and walking just three in 17 1/3 innings. He allowed three hits and two runs in 5 1/3 innings in his start against the Los Angeles Angels. Detroit may want to expose Turner to life in the majors in anticipation of him making a strong bid to make the team next spring but may not pitch since the Tigers want to limit his innings. Turner had a 3.48 ERA in 17 Class AA starts.
BY THE NUMBERS
5 -- Victories by Detroit on a just-concluded seven-game road trip to Tampa Bay and Minnesota. But also the number of double plays the Tigers hit into in an 11-4 loss to the Twins in the final game of the trip.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"Under the voting system, he could certainly be the MVP, but that's not what was asked of me. But I knew the media would make a big deal of this. So I want to be quoted that I will be supporting Justin Verlander 110 percent for the MVP. Under the current system, I'll push like hell for him to be the MVP. But, to this day, I don't believe a pitcher should be the MVP over a guy who plays 155-160 games. I don't believe that. That's just my opinion." -- Manager Jim Leyland, on whether his ace pitcher should be the Most Valuable Player.
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