Major League Baseball

Johnny Damon excited for Tigers home opener Friday

Published Apr. 9, 2010 12:17 a.m. ET

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Johnny Damon is fired up about making his Detroit debut as a Tiger on Friday against the Cleveland Indians.

``I will be just as excited as I was the first opening day I ever took part in,'' said Damon, whose first opening day was in 1996 with the Kansas City Royals. ``It will be the first time most of those fans will get to see me in person as a Tiger. They got to hear a lot about spring training and leading up to my signing, and what was taking forever.''

Damon signed an $8 million, one-year contract in late February after the New York Yankees chose not to bring him back and waiting a while for other teams to offer him a two-year deal.

``I really like this team,'' Damon said. ``We play the game the right way.''

Tigers manager Jim Leyland takes pride in taking his team on the road, but enjoys how enthusiastic fans are annually in the Motor City for the home opener.

``Opening day is a special day anywhere, but in Detroit it's different,'' Leyland said. ``It's like a national holiday in Detroit. That's how big it is to the people. It's going to be a wonderful, wonderful day.''

The weather forecast calls for clouds, a lot of wind and 45 degrees for the first pitch.

If Miguel Cabrera keeps hitting as he did in Kansas City, it will help those rooting for the Tigers to cope at Comerica Park.

Cabrera homered for a second straight day in Thursday's 7-3 win against the Royals and had four hits and drove in four runs, raising his batting average to .571 and his RBI total to seven as the Tigers took the three-game series.

``Everybody knows what everybody's job is and we only have one goal - win enough games to get to the playoffs,'' Cabrera said last week during spring training in Lakeland, Fla. ``We got speed, we got power, we got defense and we got pitching.''

Leyland picked Rick Porcello to start in the home opener.

Porcello led American League rookies last year with 14 victories, the first pitcher younger than 21 with that many wins since Dwight Gooden's career got off to a sensational start on the mound a quarter century ago with the New York Mets. Porcello also won seven of nine starts at one point, becoming the first player under 21 to have such a successful stretch in the AL since Jim Palmer in 1966.

When the Tigers needed him most, he delivered by giving up just two runs and matching a season high with eight strikeouts in the season-ending 163rd game they ended up losing in extra innings at Minnesota to fall out of first place.

Cleveland, which opened the season in Chicago, will counter with left-hander David Huff. He led the Indians with 11 wins last year as a rookie.

Tigers rookies Austin Jackson and Scott Sizemore, who made a costly error in Wednesday night's loss to the Royals, are expected to play for the first time at Comerica Park.

``It's going to be real exciting,'' Jackson said. ``I've been hearing from the guys about how opening day is in Detroit. They said it's pretty spectacular. They just shut the town down. To finally get my first game in Detroit, I can't hardly wait.''

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AP Sports Writer Doug Tucker in Kansas City, Mo., contributed to this report.

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