Seattle @ Detroit preview
Comerica Park
Last Meeting ( Jul 2, 2010 ) Seattle 1, Detroit 7
The Detroit Tigers managed to pound their way to a win without Miguel Cabrera. They hope they won’t have to do that too many more times.
The Tigers will be looking to keep their offense in gear when they face the Seattle Mariners again on Saturday.
Cabrera was a late scratch from Friday’s lineup due to lower back pain.
The slugging first baseman, who was tied for the American League lead in homers and RBIs heading into Friday’s game, is not expected to miss much time and could be in the lineup on Saturday.
Filling in for Cabrera on Friday was Don Kelly, who put Detroit on top for good with a two-run ground-rule double in the second inning. Kelly got plenty of help offensively in the Tigers’ 7-1 triumph, with rookie Austin Jackson chipping in two RBIs and Brennan Boesch driving in a run on three hits.
Johnny Damon hit a two-run homer in the series opener as well, but the story was starter Max Scherzer, who pitched a career-high eight innings while allowing one run on three hits and striking out seven.
Saturday could turn out to be the best pitching matchup of the three-game set, as Seattle sends the surprising Jason Vargas against Detroit ace Justin Verlander.
Vargas, 27, was a throw-in during the 11-player, three-team trade between the Mariners, Cleveland Indians and New York Mets prior to the 2009 season that was highlighted by J.J. Putz and Franklin Gutierrez.
After spending some time in the minors and then performing inconsistently for Seattle while moving from the rotation to the bullpen last season, not much was expected of the left-hander for the 2010 campaign.
But after making it into the rotation in spring training, Vargas has thrust himself near the top of the staff, behind just Cliff Lee and Felix Hernandez. Vargas has done everything a starting pitcher can do in 2010, posting a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.58 and limiting opposing hitters to a .227 batting average and just 0.7 homers per nine innings.
He faced the Tigers earlier this season, allowing two runs and seven hits in five innings of a no-decision back on May 26. Magglio Ordonez victimized Vargas with a two-run blast. Vargas went nine starts without suffering a loss before falling at the Milwaukee Brewers last time out, yielding three runs and seven hits in five frames.
Verlander has looked the part of ace on occasion this season but has not been able to consistently harness his impressive arsenal. After going 19-9 with a 3.45 ERA and 269 strikeouts en route to earning Cy Young consideration last season, the right-hander has had only 10 quality starts in 16 games in 2010.
He suffered his worst start of the campaign on June 22 against the Mets, allowing five runs on five hits in two-plus innings. Verlander bounced back to earn a win last time out against the Atlanta Braves but still allowed four runs in seven innings.
The Mariners knocked the 27-year-old around back on May 25, with Milton Bradley and Gutierrez both homering in a five-run, 7 1/3-inning stint for Verlander.