Seattle Vs. Detroit
The Detroit Tigers have played as many road games as any team in the majors. Their recent results away from home have not been good.
Rick Porcello takes the ball Wednesday when the Tigers look to end their seven-game trip on a positive note against a Seattle Mariners team coming off its highest-scoring game of the season.
After winning Monday's series opener 8-3, Detroit (8-10) lost for the third time in four games and fell to 5-7 on the road with Tuesday's 13-3 loss. Minnesota is the only other club to have played 12 road games.
The Tigers, who open a six-game homestand Friday to begin a stretch of 10 of 13 at Comerica Park, will try to get a solid performance from Porcello (0-2, 6.19 ERA) after Phil Coke and three relievers walked 11 on Tuesday.
"(Coke) didn't have any command of his fastball. He didn't have command of the strike zone," manager Jim Leyland said. "We didn't all night."
Porcello did not earn a decision Friday, but walked just one and threw six innings of one-run ball in an 8-4, 10-inning victory over Oakland.
He also gave up seven hits, though, and opponents are batting .362 off the 22-year-old right-hander.
Porcello is 2-0 with a 3.57 ERA in three starts against Seattle, but a couple of Mariners hitters have good track records versus him. Ichiro Suzuki, whose season-high four hits Tuesday raised his average to .286, is 4 for 9 off Porcello. Designated hitter Jack Cust is 4 for 11 with two homers.
Chone Figgins and Michael Saunders had three hits apiece Tuesday to help the Mariners (6-12) set season highs in both runs and hits (15).
The Mariners entered Tuesday's matchup batting an AL-worst .217, and having scored 15 runs while dropping five of their previous six.
"It's nice to be on this side...," first baseman Chris Gimenez said after going 2 for 3 with two RBIs in place of Justin Smoak, who was placed on the bereavement list Tuesday and is out indefinitely following the death of his father. "Hopefully we can keep it rolling into the next couple of days."
Surprisingly, Wednesday's starter Erik Bedard (0-3, 8.56) has received plenty of run support. Three of Seattle's seven highest-scoring games this season have come with the left-hander on the mound, but those efforts have been wasted due to Bedard's poor performance.
Bedard surrendered five runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings of Friday's 6-5 loss at Kansas City. His 106 pitches were the most he'd thrown since June 2, 2009, before shoulder surgery that caused him to miss all of last season.
"Erik is a work in progress in regards to just being back on the mound," manager Eric Wedge told the Mariners' official website. "... I'm really pleased with his stuff. He just needs to continue to take steps."
Bedard is 1-2 with a 4.98 ERA in four starts against Detroit.
Tigers first baseman Miguel Cabrera, 2 for 9 with a homer off Bedard, is batting .387 in 15 career games in Seattle.
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