Detroit @ Minnesota preview
Target Field
Last Meeting ( May 4, 2010 ) Detroit 3, Minnesota 4
The Detroit Tigers will be playing with heavy hearts when they attempt to avoid a sweep against the division-rival Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
Longtime Tigers broadcaster Ernie Harwell passed away on Tuesday night after a year-long battle with cancer. Harwell, 92, worked for Detroit for over 40 years and was given the Ford C. Frick award by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981.
The legendary broadcaster began his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948 when Branch Rickey needed a replacement for Red Barber and traded a minor league catcher to the Atlanta Crackers in exchange for their radio voice. Harwell left the Dodgers in 1950 and was succeeded by Vin Scully.
Harwell's body will lie in repose at Comerica Park on Thursday. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Lulu, and numerous children and grandchildren.
Harwell, who retired from broadcasting in 2002, was honored on the field at Comerica Park last September, shortly after it was announced he was ill.
Reeling from the loss of their most famous voice, the Tigers are also reeling from back-to-back losses at the hands of the Twins, who have opened up a 2 1/2 game lead in the AL Central.
Detroit trailed, 3-2, entering the ninth inning on Tuesday but showed some life when rookie Brennan Boesch tied the game with a solo homer off Nick Blackburn. But the good feelings were short-lived as J.J. Hardy tripled and scored on Ryan Perry's wild pitch in the bottom of the frame to give Minnesota the win.
Miguel Cabrera just keeps plugging along in the middle of the Tigers lineup, cracking another two hits with an RBI on Tuesday. The All-Star slugger leads the majors with 28 RBIs and boosted his average to .355.
Cabrera and Detroit rookie Austin Jackson, who leads the league with a .376 average, will be be attempting to pull the Tigers out of their funk against Twins right-hander Kevin Slowey on Wednesday. Slowey, 26, is coming off a win at Cleveland in which he allowed three runs while striking out six in five innings.
Slowey has never lost to Detroit despite not pitching particularly well, owning a 3-0 record with a 6.20 ERA in six starts. Cabrera has never fared well against him, however, going 1-for-10 with a double and two strikeouts.
The Tigers will counter with struggling youngster Rick Porcello. The right-hander, who went 14-9 with a 3.96 ERA in his 2009 rookie campaign, has allowed 17 runs and 26 hits in his last 13 2/3 innings over three starts.
Porcello made five starts against the Twins last season, posting a 1-2 record with a 2.79 ERA.
Minnesota is likely to be without reigning American League MVP Joe Mauer again, though an MRI on his bruised left heel on Tuesday revealed no structural damage.