NewsInge cementing reputation as Mr. Clutch
Detroit (75-62) at Kansas City (53-85), 8:10 p.m. ET
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
09/09/09 1:28 AM ET
KANSAS CITY -- Brandon Inge is making his late-inning heroics a recurring theme. Still, he wouldn't mind an easy win that doesn't require a ninth-inning outburst, especially with Justin Verlander going for his American League-leading 17th win. Even as Inge's batting average continues its late-season slide towards the .230 mark, he's making sure his few hits tend to be important ones. His ninth-inning grand slam on Sunday to push the Tigers past the Rays improved his average to .296 (24-for-81) in "close and late" situations this year, defined by baseball-reference.com as the seventh inning or later with the team up by one, tied or having the potential tying run at least on deck. More than half of Inge's home runs, 14 of 27, have come in either one-run or tie games, as has a .249 average. Just five of his homers have been with the Tigers leading or trailing by more than four runs. Before Tuesday's 7-5 loss to the Royals, Inge talked about what he admired about Derek Jeter as Jeter approaches Lou Gehrig's career hits record with the Yankees. The consistency of Jeter's approach, his swing and his results, regardless of the situation or the opponent, is something Inge admires. "That's my battle, consistency," Inge said. "That's every player's battle is consistency." It's a battle that Inge at least has made strides on in situations where it means the most, regardless of his at-bats earlier in a game. Four of Inge's home runs this year have come in the ninth inning to either tie the game or pull the Tigers ahead. Two of them came on days when Inge was hitless entering the ninth. "It's got to come down to just focus, I think," Inge said. "I remember a time or two where the last at-bat of the game, I'm like, 'OK, this is the one that counts. Make it count.'" Inge credits that as part of the mental training he did with a specialist around Spring Training. His ability to have fun all the while, on the other hand, seems to follow Leyland's advice to his players this month to enjoy the pennant race rather than letting it suffocate them. "Don't worry about it, enjoy it," Leyland said. "To me, it's like buying a new car. If you get it and worry that it's going to stall, or worried that there's a paint chip or something, don't worry about it. Get in the new car and ride with it and have a good time." The way Verlander has been pitching, it's difficult for the Tigers not to enjoy his starts. He enters Wednesday tied with Yankees ace CC Sabathia for the AL lead with 16 wins, one behind St. Louis' Adam Wainwright atop the Majors. His next win will bring him from 17 losses one season to 17 victories the next. With his competitive fire, he, too, has been able to enjoy this stretch run. "If you start worrying about [the race] and hoping for it and you put pressure on yourself and you're not enjoying it, I don't think you have a tendency do as well," Leyland said. "It doesn't mean you're not prepared. You have to prepare your tails off. There's still some pressure and concentration that's a factor, but I don't want somebody to go through this and not enjoy it, however it turns out." Pitching matchupDET: RHP Justin Verlander (16-7, 3.29 ERA)
Verlander continued to make his case to be the American League Cy Young Award winner on Friday, when he overcame an intense pitchers' duel with the Rays' Jeff Niemann and notched his 16th win, which was tied for the AL lead at the time. Verlander gave up a run in the second inning, but he retired 10 of his next 11 batters and ended up giving up just that one run on four hits and a walk while striking out seven in eight innings. The 26-year-old did, however, need 126 pitches (85 strikes) to get through his outing. Verlander has thrown at least 100 pitches in 24 of his 29 outings this year, with 14 of those being for 115-plus. Verlander, who has a 2.64 ERA since April 27, is 9-1 with a 2.38 ERA in 13 career starts against the Royals. KC: RHP Robinson Tejeda (1-1, 3.61 ERA)
Tejeda, making a spot start for Gil Meche, did a superb job last Friday night and he gets another chance with Meche being skipped again. Tejeda held the Angels scoreless on one hit for 5 1/3 innings but got a no-decision as the bullpen lost his 1-0 lead. Tejeda struck out six and walked just two, the last two batters before he left the game. Tejeda now has a string of 13 straight scoreless innings, in which he's given up only two hits. Although he's no certainty to finish the season in the rotation, his recent performances give him a chance to return to starting, which he did most often with Philadelphia and Texas. Tidbits
Magglio Ordonez now needs 23 more plate appearances this year to trigger his $18 million contract option for next year, and it's just about certain he'll get that. Team president/general manager Dave Dombrowski didn't want to comment specifically on the contract, but he acknowledged the situation. "It all speaks for itself, what's taking place at this point," Dombrowski said. ... Placido Polanco is 2-for-5 with a double and four RBIs lifetime off Tejeda. ... Though Nate Robertson finished Tuesday's loss in relief, he remains on track to start Friday against the Blue Jays. Since it'll be his first start in more than a week, Leyland said he wanted to get Robertson some game action on what would've otherwise been a day for a side session to keep him fresh. Tickets
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• Thursday: Tigers (Jarrod Washburn, 9-8, 3.55) at Royals (TBD), 2:10 p.m. ET
• Friday: Tigers (Nate Robertson, 1-1, 5.52) vs. Blue Jays (TBD), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Tigers (Edwin Jackson, 12-6, 3.10) vs. Blue Jays (TBD), 7:05 p.m. ET
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
