NewsGreinke out to improve Comerica mark
Kansas City (36-47) at Detroit (45-38), 6:05 p.m. CT
By Dick Kaegel / MLB.com
07/07/09 11:04 PM ET
DETROIT -- Here's something new: Zack Greinke will make a start with his ERA at the 2.00 level for the first time. Think about it: He went through 17 starts this season, each one with an ERA ranging from the 0.00 he took into his first five starts to 1.96.Finally, when he gave up two earned runs over six innings in his previous start, the number crept to an even 2.00 -- still the best in the Major Leagues.
Greinke makes his last start before he heads for his All-Star Game appointment at St. Louis, facing a Tigers squad that he's already beaten twice this season. Both victories were complete-game efforts, too, and both by 6-1 scores.
Placido Polanco has hit well against Greinke, .344 (11-for-32) and Miguel Cabrera is .333 (5-for-15), but one Tiger that sticks in Greinke's mind is Brandon Inge, one of the AL finalists in the All-Star Final Vote.
"Brandon Inge, even when he wasn't having an All-Star caliber season, gave me trouble," Greinke said.
"People talk like he's a free swinger, but he always takes my close pitches so I get behind the count on him. It took me two years to figure that out. And this year he's doing really good so he's really hard to get out, no matter what. He's always given me a little more trouble than he's supposed to."
Inge, in his career, is 9-for-32 (.281) against Greinke with two home runs. This year, though, Greinke has held the upper hand; Inge is just 1-for-5 with a walk and has whiffed three times.
Greinke will be on rather friendly grounds even as he faces the division leaders. At Comerica Park, his career mark is 6-2 with a 2.66 ERA and, overall against the Tigers, he's 10-4 with a 2.69 ERA in 19 games.
After a 6-0 getaway this season, he went 2-3 with three no-decisions, but has won two of his past three outings.
"Yeah, I feel like I've been pitching all right lately," he said. "Not great but decent. It'd be nice to finish the end of the first half strong so we've still got a chance in the second half."
Pitching matchupKC: RHP Zack Greinke (10-4, 2.00 ERA)
Greinke never looked comfortable in his previous start against the White Sox. He allowed a homer in the second, and allowed four runs -- two earned -- over six innings. Greinke admitted to feeling a little fatigued after the game. He's been impressive all season -- as his numbers show -- and he's pitched a lot of innings during the first half. But Greinke said he always feels like this at midseason, and he'll find a boost of energy as the season heads into the second half. DET: LHP Lucas French (0-0, 2.35 ERA)
French will get another turn in the Tigers' rotation after tossing 4 2/3 innings of two-run ball on six hits during his first Major League start last Friday at Minnesota. It wasn't a bad start by any definition, and French showed poise in working out of trouble, but manager Jim Leyland said there was some rust simply from the fact that he hadn't pitched in more than a week. Expect some crispness now that he'll get a regular dose of work between starts. One oddity from his outing was a huge total of 15 fly balls, compared with just two grounders. Crown points
After Joakim Soria had three saves in three straight games, manager Trey Hillman had no plans to use him in Tuesday night's game. That was the fourth time he's had saves in three straight games. He did it three times last season. ... Catcher John Buck marked his 29th birthday on Tuesday. ... Right-hander Sidney Ponson pitched eight shutout innings in Triple-A Omaha's 2-0 win over Oklahoma City. Ponson threw 91 pitches, 63 for strikes. His ERA is 2.42 in 26 innings. ... Alex Gordon went 0-for-2, but walked three times in Double-A Northwest Arkansas' 11-7 win at Corpus Christi. Tickets
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• Thursday: Royals (Luke Hochevar, 4-3, 5.08) at Red Sox (Brad Penny, 6-3, 4.67), 6:10 p.m. CT
• Friday: Royals (Brian Bannister, 6-6, 3.87) at Red Sox (Jon Lester, 7-6, 4.16), 6:10 p.m. CT
• Saturday: Royals (Gil Meche, 4-8, 4.14) at Red Sox (John Smoltz, 0-2, 6.60), 6:10 p.m. CT
Dick Kaegel is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
