The schizophrenic Detroit Tigers try to edge back closer to .500 when they open a three-game series in Los Angeles against the Angels in what many thought might have been a playoff preview before the season began. L.A. is a -127 money line betting favorite (over/under: 9.5) on WagerWeb.com for Monday's opener.
Detroit is a surprising fifth in the AL Central at 21-29. The Tigers rank third in the AL with 246 runs scored and a .270 batting average. But they have been shut out a major-league leading seven times.
They're averaging 8.9 runs in their wins, but just 2.1 in their losses.
"We can't take leaps and bounds every day. We have to just crawl back into it. We can't worry about how far out we are," said manager Jim Leyland. "Just try to get two out of three, two out of three. If you got 5-2, 4-3, you'll make a little progress and we'll be fine."
Placido Polanco, the Tigers' All-Star second baseman, has found his stroke. He hit .407 on a six-game homestand as the Tigers won four of six. He batted .174 in the first 18 games while suffering from an injured nerve in his back.
Pitching has been a big issue for Detroit. Kenny Rogers (4-4, 6.66 ERA) starts tonight. Rogers didn't start in the three-game series with the Angels earlier this season (L.A. won 2 of 3) and didn't face them last year, either. In 2006, he went 1-1 against them with a 1.29 ERA. For his career against the Halos, the 43-year-old has a 17-15 record and 4.07 ERA in 44 starts.
L.A. starts right-hander Jon Garland (5-3, 4.34 ERA), who is 13-6 in 24 career outings against the Tigers with a 4.08 ERA. (but 8-2 with a 3.01 ERA in 12 starts against them since Aug. 24, 2004.) He gave up three runs in six innings -- his fourth consecutive quality start -- as Los Angeles beat Toronto 4-3 on Wednesday.In four starts during the month of May, Garland is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA, not surrendering a home run over that span, which covers 28 total innings.
Detroit outfielder Magglio Ordonez, the reigning AL batting champ who's hitting .478 (11-for-23) with three homers and nine RBIs during a six-game hitting streak, is just 7-for-29 (.241) with two homers and four strikeouts lifetime against Garland.
The Angels come in having won four of six games in Toronto and Chicago despite batting .166 (31 for 187) overall, .184 (seven for 38) with runners in scoring position and scoring 17 runs in six games.
L.A. sparkplug Chone Figgins sat out his fourth consecutive game Sunday because of soreness in his right leg, and though he was able to jog Sunday, the third baseman appears several days away from returning.
"He's getting better," manager Mike Scioscia said, "but he's still not where he needs to be."
Meanwhile, X-rays on outfielder Reggie Willits' right middle finger were negative, but the Angels won't determine until today or Tuesday whether the outfielder, who was spiked in Saturday's game, will be put on the disabled list.
"I'm going to take a day off to see if I can get the swelling out of the joint," said Willits, who needed one stitch to close the deep gash on his finger. "It's a little sore. My biggest concern is it's on one of my throwing fingers."
Betting trends: Tigers are 1-8 in their last 9 road games. . Tigers are 1-4 in Rogers' last 5 starts vs. a team with a winning record. . Angels are 8-1 in their last 9 games vs. a left-handed starter. . Angels are 1-6 in their last 7 home games vs. a team with a losing record. . Over is 7-0-1 in Rogers' last 8 starts overall. . Under is 10-1-1 in Angels' last 12 vs. a team with a losing record. . Under is 4-0 in Garland's last 4 starts. . Over is 8-2-1 in the last 11 meetings.
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