Detroit Tigers Notes And Quotes 7-26-11
--DH Victor Martinez collected two hits Monday, the first an RBI single in the third inning and the second a dribbler down the third base line following a walk to 1B Miguel Cabrera in the fifth. Martinez is now hitting .414 (24-for-58) in at-bats following a walk to Cabrera.
--LHP Duane Below pitched well for four innings Monday. He could not, however, pitch through some adversity in the fifth and was not allowed to finish the inning. "Below actually was pretty good," manager Jim Leyland said. "He couldn't get his curve down; kept leaving his curve up." Below had White Sox LF Juan Pierre picked off first for the final out of the fifth, but 1B Miguel Cabrera couldn't get the ball out of his glove, and Pierre stole second. SS Alexei Ramirez hit an RBI single to tie the score, 2-2. An intentional walk and unintentional walk finished Below. He allowed four hits in his first four innings, throwing a lot of first-pitch strikes and showing good command of his pitches. Detroit is admittedly looking at acquiring another starting pitcher, so another start for Below is up in the air.
"I've got to be able to make better pitches later on in the game," Below said. "I've got to learn some things and continue to battle. My curveball wasn't as good."
--INF/OF Ryan Raburn started at third base for the first time this season. He played there just twice last season but has appeared in 29 games at third over the past four years. "He's swinging good," was manager Jim Leyland's thought behind playing Raburn over 3B Wilson Betemit against White Sox LHP Mark Buehrle. "Betemit's 1-for-6 with four punchouts, (Don) Kelly's left-handed, and Raburn's swinging good." Raburn was 6-for-26 against Buehrle. Raburn singled his first time up and finished 1-for-4.
--RHP Chance Ruffin had a couple of "welcome to the big leagues" moments in his major league debut. Ruffin entered with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning and served up a 1-1 slider that didn't slide much. White Sox RF Carlos Quentin shot it into left for a tiebreaking, two-run double. Ruffin stayed in the for the sixth, and C A.J. Pierzynski golfed a low 1-0 fastball into the right field seats for his fourth home run of the season. The lesson of locating the fastball was repeated in the seventh when 1B Paul Konerko jerked a belt-high 0-1 pitch into the left field seats for his 23rd home run.
"So what? That's all part of it," manager Jim Leyland said. "He just tried to overthrow the slider to Quentin, and it kind of just spun. He's got really good stuff, you can see that. He'll be fine."
Ruffin said, "It was a crash-course learning experience. I'm glad to get it out of the way. It was about like I imagined -- bright lights and a lot of fans, a fun atmosphere to be in."
Ruffin said he learned something, too. "There are some good hitters; welcome to the big leagues. They've been around awhile, been doing a very good job at what they do. Something I can learn from."
--1B Miguel Cabrera had a single and a solo home run, once again demonstrating his raw power to right. Cabrera's 21st home run of the season was a towering fly ball into the seats in right, and not in a favorable hitting count (0-1). He's regarded as one of the most powerful hitters in baseball going the other way.
--LHP David Purcey continues to struggle with his control. Purcey entered in the seventh inning after rookie RHP Chance Ruffin's last pitch went for a home run. He walked scuffling DH Adam Dunn, a left-handed hitter, on a 3-2 pitch and gave up a single to left in which he caught a break as Dunn was thrown out trying to reach third base from first. Purcey has had problems in his last three outings with his control.
--LHP Brad Thomas was ineligible to be designated for assignment, so Detroit placed him on the 60-day disabled list after Major League Baseball voided the assignment. Thomas was requested by doctors not to throw for about a month following examination of the sore left elbow that originally put him on the disabled list May 11. Detroit had an open roster spot but filled it by purchasing the contract of RHP Chance Ruffin. Placing Thomas on the 60-day disabled list means he does not count on the 40-man roster.
BY THE NUMBERS
28 -- Consecutive left-handed batters retired by White Sox LHP Mark Buehrle until LF Brennan Boesch reached out and grounded a single to left in the fourth inning.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"So what? That's all part of it. He just tried to overthrow the slider to (Carlos) Quentin, and it kind of just spun. He's got really good stuff, you can see that. He'll be fine." -- Manager Jim Leyland's reaction to rookie RHP Chance Ruffin's major league debut, which featured a two-run double and a pair of solo home runs.
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