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Brewers-Tigers Preview

Jun 19, 2009 - 4:40 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Milwaukee (37-29) at Detroit (34-31), 7:05 p.m. EDT

Coming off a sweep of the team at the bottom of the AL Central standings, the Milwaukee Brewers hope to continue that success against the one at the top.

The Brewers look for a fourth straight victory Friday night in the opener of a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers in a matchup of division leaders at Comerica Park.

Despite blowing a four-run ninth-inning lead, Milwaukee (37-29) capped its three-game road sweep of Cleveland with a 9-8 victory in 11 on Wednesday.

Prince Fielder, who went 6 for 11 with his first career grand slam and eight RBIs against the Indians, drove in the winner to help the NL Central-leading Brewers improve to 4-5 in interleague play.

"That would have been a long bus ride to Detroit," shortstop J.J. Hardy told the Brewers' official Web site.

Instead, Milwaukee, which entered this six-game swing on the heels of a 1-5 homestand, has momentum heading into its second visit to Detroit in three seasons.

The Brewers have a 1 1/2-game lead over St. Louis after Detroit (35-31) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 6-3 win over the Cardinals on Thursday. The Tigers, 3-6 against the NL, own a two-game lead over Minnesota in the AL Central.

Fielder, whose father, Cecil, spent most of the 1990s with the Tigers, is batting .383 (23 for 60) with 16 RBIs in 16 games this month. He's 4 for 20 with eight strikeouts, however, against Detroit.

The Brewers hope to have star Ryan Braun back after he left Wednesday's game with lower back tightness. The left fielder is hitting .368 (14 for 38) against AL teams this season.

Braden Looper (5-3, 4.62 ERA), who's not factored in his last three decisions, takes the ball for Milwaukee after giving up four runs and seven hits in six innings of a 5-4 loss to the Chicago White Sox on Sunday.

"We should have won that game," said Looper, who has a 5.94 ERA in his last three starts. "I should have pitched better."

The right-hander is 1-1 with a 9.90 ERA as a starter against Detroit, which counters with struggling Armando Galarraga (3-7, 5.56)

Galarraga - 0-7 with a 7.54 ERA in his last nine starts since going 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA in his first four - allowed four runs and eight hits in two innings of a 9-3 loss at Pittsburgh on Saturday.

"He's trying too hard," third baseman Brandon Inge told the Tigers' official Web site of the right-hander, who will make his first appearance versus Milwaukee. "We all know he can pitch well. It's just when you lose that confidence, it's hard to get it back."

Placido Polanco and Marcus Thames homered Thursday for the Tigers, who had not scored more than three runs in each of their previous seven games during a 5-6 road trip.

"A long, grueling trip," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "It would have been easy to say 'Let's go home, it's been a long trip."'

Polanco is batting .344 (11 for 32) during interleague play in 2009.

Meeting for the first time since 2007, these clubs have split the 18 games they've played since Milwaukee moved to the NL in 1998.