Porcello goes for AL-leading 13th win Tuesday against Diamondbacks
After being passed over for what would have been his first All-Star selection, Rick Porcello could have good reason to be pitching with a chip on his shoulder in the second half.
He's more likely to just keep going about his business for the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers.
The right-hander goes for his AL-leading 13th victory Tuesday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks as the Tigers try to make it 13 wins in their last 16 on the road.
After allowing 13 hits over 24 scoreless innings in three straight wins, Porcello (12-5, 3.39 ERA) gave up a season high-tying seven earned runs and 11 hits over 5 2-3 innings in a 7-3 home loss to Tampa Bay on July 6.
The 25-year-old bounced back six days later, limiting Kansas City to one run over seven innings in a 5-1 road win.
Porcello has gone 4-1 with a 1.96 ERA in his last five starts to tie Cincinnati's Alfredo Simon, the New York Yankees' injured Masahiro Tanaka and St. Louis' Adam Wainwright - also scheduled to pitch Tuesday - for the most wins in baseball.
Despite his outstanding start for the Tigers (55-41), Porcello was denied an All-Star spot when he finished third in the final vote.
"That's not my decision," he said. "I just go out there and pitch and let everybody else take care of that."
Porcello has taken care of business on the road, where he's allowed one run over his last 22 innings. He's 7-1 with a 2.01 ERA in his last eight outings away from home.
In his only meeting with Arizona (43-57), Porcello gave up five runs over 5 1-3 innings in a 6-5 home loss in June 2010.
All-Star Miguel Montero went 2 for 3 with a homer when facing Porcello in that contest, but he's 3 for 17 in his last five games after going hitless in four at-bats of Monday's 4-3 loss that snapped a three-game winning streak.
Aaron Hill had his third straight two-hit game, leaving him 10 for 24 over a six-game hitting streak.
Arizona's Chase Anderson (6-4, 3.64) has endured a wild rookie season so far. After winning the first five starts of his career, the right-hander posted a 5.03 ERA while losing the next four.
Now he's hoping to put together another positive stretch after allowing one run with a season high-tying eight strikeouts over six innings in a 9-1 home win over Miami on July 7.
"Hopefully, he gets back into the second half here and throws the ball well for us," manager Kirk Gibson told MLB's official website.
Anderson will likely have to figure out a way to cool off Detroit's Austin Jackson, who is batting .439 in his last 10 games after hitting a home run and a double Monday.
Torii Hunter went deep for the second straight contest and is hitting .383 with five homers and 18 RBIs in his last 15 contests. All-Star Miguel Cabrera, 2 for 4 in the opener, is batting .400 with five homers in 17 games in Arizona.
The Tigers have averaged 5.8 runs and hit .299 with 19 homers while winning 12 of 15 on the road.
