Notes: Inge settling into leadoff spot
Third baseman learning to relax his typically aggressive style
DETROIT -- Brandon Inge saw his name at the top of the Tigers batting order
Sunday for the first time this season. Unlike Spring Training, however, he
didn't feel a pit in the bottom of his stomach.
Manager Alan Trammell repeated prior to the game that he views Inge as a
viable option for leadoff hitter, though he prefers Omar Infante, who held
the job last year when Alex Sanchez was on the disabled list. Inge, for his
part, would rather not make much of it. The last thing he wants to do,
ironically, is think like a leadoff hitter.
When the Tigers first gave him occasional games there once Sanchez was
released in mid-March, Inge was reluctant. He knew the role required patience
and taking pitches, and he didn't want to lose his aggressiveness. More than
anything, he didn't want to complicate his approach at the plate.
"See the ball, hit the ball," he put it.
It didn't help that his first start in the leadoff spot during Spring
Training came against Astros ace Roger Clemens, who put him in an 0-2 hole
before he was ready to swing. That left Inge antsy the next time he was put
in the stop spot.
A sit-down with hitting coach Bruce Fields helped allay Inge's fears. All
Inge has to do, Fields told him, is take an extra pitch his first time at bat
to give the hitters behind him a little more chance to see the starting
pitcher at work.
That set Inge's mind at ease, but it also demonstrates why Infante is so
effective at the job despite a slow start to the season.
"I really think he understands," Trammell said. "He's been there. He's done
it. I don't think Brandon's done much of that. When you watch Omar take
pitches, he's doing that not because anyone's telling him to do that. He
understands that a little bit. So that's where I give him a little bit of an
edge."
Not only did Inge lead off the first, grounding out to short on a 2-1 pitch,
he also led off the third and fifth. Both of those times, he struck out on
1-2 deliveries from Indians starter Jason Davis. His only hit of the
afternoon, ironically, came as potentially the last hitter in the ninth. He
responded with a two-out bloop single and scored on Carlos Guillen's ensuing
blooper.
Sunday marked Infante's first day off this season. Jason Smith started in his
place, meaning Trammell has given every position player on his roster at
least one start this week. Smith went 0-for-3 but turned a Coco Crisp
grounder up the middle into an out with an acrobatic throw against his
momentum.
You don't look 100: Kyle Farnsworth topped 100 mph at Comerica Park for the
first time since joining the club, though the reading Sunday was not
unanimous.
Farnsworth's first pitch to Casey Blake with one out in the eighth inning
drew a reading of 102 mph on the stadium radar gun. The same pitch, however,
registered at 96 mph on the FSN Detroit broadcast. His next-fastest reading
was 99 mph on his next-to-last pitch to Ronnie Belliard.
Farnsworth tossed two scoreless innings Sunday, raising his total to 4 1/3
for the season without a run allowed. He gave up his first hit of the year
when Grady Sizemore hit a ground-rule double just inside third base and into
foul territory in left field.
Nevertheless, the multi-inning outing was another sign of the versatility the
Tigers want out of Farnsworth, called upon four of the last five days. In a
three-day span earlier this week, he faced and retired one batter between
one-inning performances against Kansas City and Cleveland.
"I like having that flexibility with him," Trammell said. "He's really kind
of the guy I look at [for that]. In a situation where [Ugueth] Urbina's
pitched two, three, four days in a row and I want to give him a rest, then
Farnsworth would be the setup guy."
Magglio update: As expected, Magglio Ordonez did not play Sunday, and
Trammell is noncommittal as to whether he'll play Tuesday at Minnesota.
"I do think he's feeling better," Trammell said of Ordonez, who is still
battling the symptoms of a viral infection. "What might happen is Tuesday he
comes out early, and if he would have a really good day, maybe there's a
chance that he would play then."
Rodney update: Fernando Rodney, currently on the 15-day disabled list with a
sore right shoulder, threw a six-minute bullpen session Saturday at extended
Spring Training in Lakeland, Fla. His timetable for pitching to live hitting
is not certain, though he was originally expected to miss about three weeks
before he could be available for game action.
Celebrity sighting: Musical artist and Detroit area native Kid Rock attended
Sunday's game made a postgame appearance in the Tigers clubhouse, where he
and Tigers players received a small sampling of reliever Matt Ginter's skills
on the banjo.
Coming up: The Tigers have an off-day Monday before venturing to Minnesota
for their first road trip of the season. They'll face the Twins Tuesday night
at 8:10 p.m. ET.
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