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Indians hope to end slide at Detroit

Aug 5, 2012 - 3:08 PM (Sports Network) - Journeyman lefty Chris Seddon gets his first start since 2007 today when the skidding Cleveland Indians head back to Detroit to complete a three-game series with the Tigers at Comerica Park.

A 28-year-old Californian, Seddon is with his fourth major-league organization since Tampa Bay drafted him at age 17 in the fifth round in 2001.

He reached the majors as a 23-year-old with the Florida Marlins in 2007 and went 0-2 with an 8.83 earned run average while making four starts in seven overall appearances.

Seddon was with the Seattle Mariners system from November 2008 to November 2011 and appeared in 14 big-league games as a reliever in 2010, recording his lone victory with an inning of scoreless work against the Boston Red Sox on July 24.

The Indians signed him as a free agent in January and will plug him into the spot formerly occupied by veteran Derek Lowe, who was designated for assignment on Thursday.

Seddon went 11-5 with a 3.44 ERA, 108 strikeouts and 27 walks in 20 starts for Triple-A Columbus this season. He was 4-0 with a 2.93 ERA in July.

"He's pitched very well at Triple-A," manager Manny Acta said. "Our staff felt that he could come up here and compete and give us a chance to win. He's been around. I don't think he's going to be rattled by being up here."

Cleveland's losing skid reached eight games on Saturday, when Detroit's Doug Fister tossed his fourth career complete game in the Tigers' 6-1 win.

Fister (6-7), who took a perfect game into the sixth inning, gave up one run on four hits. The right-hander had six strikeouts and no walks.

"I felt good," Fister said. "I felt strong through the end. I made some mistakes but the defense picked me up."

Omar Infante and Jhonny Peralta had two RBI apiece for the Tigers, who have won three in a row.

Ubaldo Jimenez (8-11) gave up six runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings to take the loss for the struggling Indians.

Detroit starts right-hander Max Scherzer, who defeated Cleveland for his 10th victory of the season on July 25.

The St. Louis native, who turned 28 two days after the victory, allowed two runs on three hits in seven innings to improve to 5-4 in 10 career meetings with the Indians, who have hit a collective .252 against him.

He was touched for five runs on seven hits in 6 1/3 innings of one subsequent outing, a 7-3 loss at Boston on July 30 that ended a four-decision win streak.

Scherzer is 4-2 in eight home starts in 2012.

The Indians have won seven of 11 games between the teams in 2012, including a three-game sweep from May 22-24 in Cleveland.

The Tigers won the 2011 season series, 12 games to six.