Tigers try to salvage split with Twins
MINNEAPOLIS -- Jacob Turner gets the start Sunday as the Detroit Tigers try to salvage a split of the four-game series with the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. The Tigers plan to recall Tuner before the game from Triple-A Toledo, where he's 2-4 with a 4.04 ERA in 12 starts this season. Turner, who has one major league start this season with Detroit and is 14-31 with a 5.37 ERA in 102 big league appearances (56 starts), takes the place of Zach McAllister, who was designated for assignment Saturday. McAllister allowed eight runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings after he was signed earlier in the week. "We're so strapped for starting pitching right now, we've got to do something," Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We weren't going to send the guy out who won the ballgame for us tonight (Ryan Carpenter). He pitched well and we need starters. "It's unfortunate. I would have liked to see (McAllister) around here." Losing McAllister leaves Gardenhire short-handed in the bullpen for Sunday's finale. He'll be at a further advantage because setup man Joe Jimenez needed 33 pitches to get through his eighth inning appearance Saturday night. "There's not much we can do about that," Gardenhire said. The Twins turn to right-hander Jake Odorizzi (5-7, 4.44 ERA), who struck out nine his last outing -- falling one short of his season high. Odorizzi has been sharp in his last few turns through the rotation. Since allowing five runs over nine innings in a July 28 loss to Boston, he's 1-0 with a 3.29 ERA over his last three starts despite not working past the fifth in any of those outings. The Pirates managed a pair of runs, four hits and two walks against him the last time out. "I thought controlling my split tonight was the difference-maker, between average outings and above-average outings," Odorizzi said. "I executed a lot of pitches down in the zone tonight, more so than I have in the past, and I think that's what help set up my split today. I'm happy with how today went overall, and stuff wise, I think that was one of my top two outings, just the way I felt with all my pitches." Odorizzi is 2-1 with a 2.51 ERA in five career starts versus the Tigers, including a no-decision this season when he allowed two runs in five innings of a 6-4 victory June 12 in Detroit. Odorizzi should benefit from having Logan Forsythe in the lineup Sunday. The infielder has been on a tear, batting .379 with four doubles and eight RBIs since coming over in a trade with the Dodgers. "His at-bats have been really consistent and he's gotten a lot of hits," Twins manager Paul Molitor said. "He's been part of a lot of our run-scoring opportunities here the last week." Forsythe replaced popular second baseman Brian Dozier but has left a strong early impression Molitor. "Guys develop reputations of being professional," Molitor said. "It's probably an overused word, but it's guys that can go out and adapt and understand what it takes to play, no matter where you are or what circumstances you find yourself in, given trades or free agency or all the things that can happen to a player throughout his career. "I don't think replacing Brian Dozier or anything like that has affected him. He's just gone about his business." |