Major League Baseball
Tigers beat Toledo 8-3 in exhibition
Major League Baseball

Tigers beat Toledo 8-3 in exhibition

Published Apr. 4, 2012 9:42 p.m. ET

Rick Porcello's pitching line was average at best in his final warmup before the regular season.

His manager wasn't concerned.

Porcello allowed three runs and seven hits in 4 2-3 innings Wednesday to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Toledo Mud Hens 8-3 in an exhibition game. Porcello faced 22 batters against his team's Triple-A affiliate.

''He did fine,'' manager Jim Leyland said. ''He's just getting tuned up for his start. He threw about 70 pitches, which is perfect - what we were hoping for.''

ADVERTISEMENT

Ryan Raburn's two-run triple highlighted a five-run third inning for the Tigers. Sluggers Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder each came to the plate twice before being replaced.

''It worked out good,'' Leyland said. ''It worked out good for the Toledo Mud Hens, it worked out good for us.''

The starters were pulled early, and the clubhouse had pretty much cleared out by the time reporters were allowed in after the game. Detroit opens the regular season Thursday when it hosts the Boston Red Sox at Comerica Park.

Gerald Laird, Detroit's backup catcher, experienced some tightness in his left hamstring but said he should be fine.

The Tigers squeezed this game in after finishing spring training Tuesday with a game against the Toronto Blue Jays in Dunedin, Fla.

''The ideal situation would have been to play yesterday, so we could work out at Comerica ... we would have worked out there today,'' Leyland said. ''But that's OK. We had a major league-scheduled game with Toronto. We played it, and this is the way this worked out, and I think when the guys look back, they'll be glad that they didn't have to come down on an off day.''

Delmon Young and Alex Avila had two hits apiece for the Tigers.

Young doubled and scored on Jhonny Peralta's single in the second. Toledo tied it in the bottom half on a sacrifice fly by Audy Ciriaco.

Detroit broke it open in the third against Toledo starter Fu-Te Ni. Austin Jackson doubled and scored on Cabrera's single. Young added an RBI single, and Raburn's triple made it 5-1. Avila later drove in Raburn with a single.

Soon after that, Leyland began removing his regulars, giving them some extra time to rest before Thursday's opener.

''With all due respect to Toledo, there will be a few more (people) there tomorrow than there were here today,'' Leyland said.

Porcello went 14-9 with a 4.75 ERA last year. The 23-year-old right-hander isn't expected to pitch in the opening series against Boston, so it made sense to start him against the Mud Hens.

Porcello struck out two and walked one. He was hit by a comebacker in the bottom of the fifth but seemed fine.

NOTES: Attendance was announced at 12,000. ... Ni allowed six runs and nine hits in 2 2-3 innings. Toledo used six relievers. ... Wilsen Palacios, a minor leaguer on the Tigers' roster for the purposes of this game, pitched 4 1-3 innings of one-hit relief after Porcello was lifted.

share


Get more from Major League Baseball Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more