Tigers at Twins
Miguel Cabrera receives the bulk of the attention, but Victor Martinez's bat has been nearly as important for the Detroit Tigers over the past several years. Martinez looks to stay hot when the Tigers continue a three-game series at Minnesota on Saturday.
Detroit's designated hitter, who was 4-for-5 with a home run in Friday's 9-2 win in the series opener, hit .330, .301 and .335 in three full seasons in which the Tigers won more than 90 games but missed all of 2012 when the team dipped under the 90-win mark and managed a .245 average while dealing with injuries during last year's losing season. Keeping with that trend, Martinez is 9-for-19 with three homers and seven RBIs during the club's current 4-1 surge. Not to be outdone, Cabrera has recovered from a brief slump to go 10-for-22 in the same stretch and his solo shot in five at-bats Friday left him with a .342 career average at Target Field. Detroit may not need much run support for starter Jordan Zimmermann, who has let up one earned run in four starts and will oppose Minnesota righty Tyler Duffey.
TV: 2:10 p.m. ET, FSN Detroit, FSN North (Minnesota)
PITCHING MATCHUP: Tigers RH Jordan Zimmermann (4-0, 0.35 ERA) vs. Twins RH Tyler Duffey (0-0, 2.25)
After blanking opponents in 19 1/3 innings over his first three starts, Zimmerman kept his record perfect with 6 2/3 solid frames against Oakland on Monday. He limited the Athletics to three runs (one earned) while striking out just one batter. The 29-year-old tossed seven scoreless in his lone start against Minnesota in 2013.
Duffey was called up from the minors last weekend when Ervin Santana was
placed on the disabled list and allowed a run in four innings at
Washington on Sunday, leaving after taking a line drive off his right
arm. The 25-year-old boasts a 5-1 record with a 3.05 ERA in his first 11
major-league starts while allowing only five home runs in 62 innings.
Duffey limited the Tigers to three runs in 12 1/3 innings in a pair of
wins last September.
WALK-OFFS
1. Minnesota 1B Joe Mauer had a base hit Friday and has reached base in each of his 23 games, tied for the third-longest streak to start a season in Twins history.
2. Tigers 3B Nick Castellanos is 6-for-10 with four extra-base hits in his last three games.
3. LHP Justin Wilson and RHP Alex Wilson have combined for 22 strikeouts in 16 1/3 scoreless innings out of Detroit's bullpen.