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Villarreal Emerges As A Crucial Middle Man

Al Alburquerque is on the disabled list, but Brayan Villarreal is filling his role nicely.

Villarreal is doing what Alburquerque did so well last year, coming in at some point between the fifth and seventh innings and shutting things down.

Villarreal entered in the sixth Wednesday with Detroit having rallied from a 4-1 deficit against the Cubs with four runs in the fifth. He retired all six batters he faced, half on strikeouts, helping the Tigers emerge with an 8-4 win.

Since coming up to Detroit for the third time this season on May 17, Villarreal has made 12 appearances totaling 15 innings, and he's allowed just nine hits. He has given up four runs (three earned) and struck out 26.

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