(Sports Network) - The Detroit Tigers will resume a tough nine-game road trip
when they head north of the border for the opener of a three-game set against
the unbeaten Carlos Villanueva and the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Tigers lost the rubber game of a three-game test in Cleveland on Thursday
and fell one-half game behind the Chicago White Sox in the hotly contested
American League Central.
The Indians' Carlos Santana and Travis Hafner hit back-to-back homers in a
four-run seventh, and Asdrubal Cabrera singled home the go-ahead run as
Cleveland rallied for a 5-3 victory over Detroit.
Tigers ace Justin Verlander (11-6) allowed five earned runs for only the
second time this year in a place where he usually struggles. In seven innings,
he gave up nine hits and two walks while striking out only four -- only the
fourth time in 21 outings he's fanned that few. In 17 games at Progressive
Field, Verlander is 6-10 with a 5.83 ERA.
"It was a horrible execution of pitches. I didn't hit my spots at all,"
Verlander admitted.
Rick Porcello, a bit of a road warrior, will try to right things for the
Tigers on Friday. The veteran right-hander has won three straight starts away
from the Motor City and has compiled an excellent 2.50 ERA in those games.
He'll be facing a Blue Jays team which salvaged the finale of a three-game set
against red-hot Oakland on Thursday when Travis Snider's safety squeeze led to
two runs and proved to be the turning point as Toronto snapped the A's seven-
game winning streak with a 10-4 win.
Blue Jays designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion picked up two hits in that one,
including his 27th home run -- a new career high.
Kelly Johnson homered and knocked in two runs for the Jays, who had been
outscored 23-2 over the first two games in the series.
Porcello is coming off an impressive eight-plus inning, one-run performance in
a 7-1 victory over the White Sox last Sunday, an outing in which he
outperformed Chicago All-Star Chris Sale and nearly completed his first game.
"Personally, you want to go the distance, that's a big thing for a pitcher,
and that's a hard thing to do," Porcello told the Tigers' website. "To be able
to throw a complete game would be nice, but we got the win."
Villanueva (5-0) will oppose Porcello and the Blue Jays have won all four
games he's started since inserting him into the rotation due to injuries. The
right-hander is also coming off a solid outing last Saturday in a 7-3 Toronto
victory over Boston.
This is the first time Toronto and Detroit have met in 2012. The Tigers took
four of six from the Jays last season.
The Sports Network