Arizona @ Detroit preview
Comerica Park
Last Meeting ( Jun 18, 2010 ) Arizona 5, Detroit 7
The Detroit Tigers are planning another rude reception for one of their former teammates. Unfortunately they may have to go into the party without their biggest slugger.
The Tigers could be without Miguel Cabrera when they face the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday.
Cabrera started Friday’s contest but left in the fifth inning with what the team called dizziness. The first baseman was 0-for-1 with a walk and had made an error in the game before being pulled. He is listed as day-to-day.
It would be a huge loss if Detroit were to be without Cabrera for any length of time, as the All-Star leads the American League in home runs and RBIs to go along with a .331 batting average. The Venezuelan leads the Tigers in most offensive categories and provides protection for Magglio Ordonez, who is batting .333 while hitting in front on Cabrera.
Ordonez hit his ninth homer of the season in Friday’s series opener, but it was Brandon Inge who provided the big hit with an RBI triple in the eighth inning that snapped a 5-5 draw and powered Detroit to a 7-5 victory. Alex Avila added an RBI single and Danny Worth had two hits and an RBI in the win.
The Tigers did most of their damage on Friday night against former teammate Dontrelle Willis, who was making his third start for the Diamondbacks after having been designated for assignment by Detroit at the end of May. The left-handed Willis gave his former team a good example of why he was cast aside, allowing five runs on five hits while walking four in five innings.
Willis, 28, has walked 14 batters in 15 innings with Arizona.
It’ll be Edwin Jackson returning to Detroit in an opposing uniform on Saturday. The right-hander was traded from the Tigers to the Diamondbacks in the three-team deal over the winter that brought Max Scherzer, Phil Coke and Austin Jackson to Detroit.
Jackson thrived with the Tigers in 2009, putting together his best full season in the majors with a 13-9 record, 3.62 ERA and 161 strikeouts while limiting opponents to a .247 batting average. Things haven’t gone quite as well in Arizona, where Jackson is struggling along with a 5.18 ERA and a .276 batting average against.
The 26-year-old Jackson has not earned a win since May 28 but is coming off a strong start against the St. Louis Cardinals last Sunday in which he allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings but did not factor in the decision.
Arizona hasn’t done much winning lately as a team, dropping four straight overall and 14 in a row on the road.
Rick Porcello will get the nod for the Tigers on Saturday looking to bounce back from his worst start of the season. The 21-year-old right-hander allowed eight runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings to suffer a loss to the White Sox on June 9 and boost his ERA to an unsightly 6.09.