One difficult inning kept Alfredo Simon from a better showing in his Detroit Tigers debut against the Cleveland Indians earlier this month.
He's made up for it in two subsequent outings.
Simon's attempt to win a fourth consecutive start to open the season Saturday will come against a pitcher that's also had a splendid beginning, the Indians' Trevor Bauer.
Simon (3-0, 1.75 ERA) didn't allow a run in his first five innings in Cleveland on April 10 but recorded only one out in the sixth, giving up three runs in an 8-4 win.
The right-hander has yielded one run in 15 1-3 innings over his past two games. That came on a homer in a 2-1 win over the New York Yankees on Monday, during which he struck out seven in 7 1-3 innings.
Simon also didn't issue a walk for a second straight start.
"I just try to do my best every time," Simon told MLB's official website. "I'm happy the way I keep pitching right now."
The Tigers (11-6) have lost four in a row since Simon's latest start and could use another strong outing from him after a 13-1 defeat Friday. Brandon Moss homered twice and drove in a career-high seven runs as Cleveland (6-9) snapped a seven-game skid in the series.
The Indians had a season-best 15 hits after batting .220 in their first 14 games.
Moss batted .162 with two RBIs in his first 12 contests for Cleveland. He had at least 21 homers in each his three seasons in Oakland and topped 80 RBIs in his final two.
"We knew Brandon was going to break out, and that was going to mean some big production," manager Terry Francona said. "When he gets going, he can carry a team."
Bauer (2-0, 0.95) had his second scoreless outing in three starts Monday, pitching seven innings and striking out seven against the Chicago White Sox, but closer Cody Allen blew a three-run lead in a 4-3 defeat.
Bauer walked two after issuing nine bases on balls over the first two games.
"I can be a lot better than I have been," said Bauer, who has 26 strikeouts in 19 innings. "I need to get ahead more. My first-strike percentage is really low. I need to get that up. Hopefully, that'll keep the pitch count low and I can go deeper into games."
Bauer has gone 2-0 with a 4.34 ERA in his five starts against the Tigers - all last season - and was 1-0 with a 3.27 ERA in two in Detroit.
The Tigers have managed 10 runs in their last five games after scoring 68 in the first 12. They scored 25 runs in a three-game sweep in Cleveland from April 10-12.
J.D. Martinez has been a rare offensive bright spot for his team of late with a .389 average in those five contests. He's 5 for 11 against Bauer.
Alex Avila is 5 for 8 against the right-hander but 3 for 26 in his last 11 games.
Cleveland's Michael Brantley, who went 3 for 4 on Friday, is 7 for 12 with three doubles against Simon. Michael B
