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Tigers look for series sweep against Cardinals

May 20, 2007 - 1:17 PM St Louis (16-24) at Detroit (26-16) 1:05 pm EDT

DETROIT (Ticker) -- In this weekend's World Series rematch, last year's losers have been the ones playing like champions.

The Detroit Tigers go for a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals as the teams conclude their interleague series Sunday at Comerica Park.

The Tigers, who posted only 11 runs and 32 hits while losing the 2006 World Series to the Cardinals in five games, have nearly exceeded both marks with 22 runs and 29 hits to win the first two games between the clubs this weekend.

Detroit has benefited from the contribution of Gary Sheffield, who is hitting .319 (29-for-91) with seven homers and 16 RBI in his last 23 games to raise his season average to .240. Symbolic of the team's emergence, Sheffield blasted a homer in the seventh inning on Saturday, the 463rd of his career, to move him past Jose Canseco for 30th on the all-time list.

The Cardinals appear headed in the opposite direction as they have allowed 36 runs during their four-game losing streak and are looking to avoid matching their season-high five-game losing streak from April 27 to May 2. They have compiled 10-plus hits in each of the last five games after doing so only four times in their previous 24 contests.

Looking to halt that streak, Justin Verlander (4-1, 2.76 ERA), who goes for his fourth consecutive win, will get the start for the Tigers. He yielded two runs and struck out a season-high seven in a 7-2 victory over the Boston Red Sox.

He allowed four runs and struck out five over six frames in his lone regular season start against the Cardinals. The 2006 American League Rookie of the Year, who is holding opponents to a .237 batting average, suffered two losses to St. Louis in last season's World Series, dropping Game One and the series-clinching Game Five.

St. Louis, which is trying to avoid a regular-season sweep at Detroit for the second straight year, will counter with Brad Thompson (2-0, 4.03). One of three Cardinal starters who are converted relievers, Thompson will be making his fourth career start.

He defeated the Dodgers last Monday, giving up three runs and scattering eight hits over a career-high 6 2/3 innings. Thompson gave up one run in one-third of an inning in a relief appearance against the Tigers last June, but retired both batters he faced in Game Two of the World Series at Detroit.