Tigers 4 - 5 Diamondbacks
Final
  for this game

Porcello eyes 13th victory in Arizona

Jul 22, 2014 - 2:38 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - Rick Porcello takes aim at his 13th victory of the season on Tuesday night as the Detroit Tigers play the middle contest of a three-game interleague series with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Porcello comes into this start tied for the major league lead in victories, yet was not selected to play in last week's All-Star Game. That came despite a 12-5 mark and 3.39 earned run average in the first half.

The right-hander logged three straight scoreless starts from June 20-July 1 that spanned 24 innings, but was then blitzed for seven runs and 11 hits in a loss to Tampa Bay on July 6.

However, Porcello was able to bounce back six days later versus Kansas City, hurling seven innings of one-run ball in a 5-1 win.

"I think he's clearly an All-Star," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said of Porcello. "He's got 12 wins. ... There's going to be snubs every year at the All-Star game, and I think he's clearly a snub."

The 25-year-old Porcello has faced the Diamondbacks just once before and that came back on June 19, 2010 in Arizona. He took a loss, giving up four earned runs over 5 1/3 innings.

Young right-hander Chase Anderson gets the call for the Diamondbacks tonight and will be going on 14 days of rest. He was last in action on July 7, when he snapped a personal four-start skid with a victory over Miami. Anderson allowed a run on seven hits and two walks in six innings.

His next start was then skipped as the club tries to limit the 26-year-old's innings.

"I think part of it is to address his innings and keep them under control," D- backs manager Kirk Gibson told his team's website back on July 12. "The other thing is to give him a break and give him time to recover. It makes sense. You get too fatigued and one of the thoughts is you risk injury. We're giving him some time off physically as well as mentally. Hopefully, he gets back into the second half here and throws the ball well for us."

Anderson is 6-4 with a 3.64 ERA through his first 10 MLB starts.

Detroit took the opener of this series on Monday by a 4-3 margin. Torii Hunter belted a two-run homer, Austin Jackson hit a solo shot and Justin Verlander scattered three runs over 6 2/3 innings to win his 13th straight decision versus the National League.

Miguel Cabrera drove in the eventual game-winning run in the seventh inning and the Tigers held on for their second straight win following a four-game skid. They are 6 1/2 games up on Cleveland for first place in the AL Central.

Gerardo Parra hit a solo homer for the Diamondbacks, who were looking to win four in a row for the first time this year.

Randall Delgado took the loss in an extended relief effort. He was used for 2 1/3 innings after Vidal Nuno failed to make it out of the fifth inning, having allowed three runs on seven hits.

"The consistency wasn't there," admitted Nuno. "That's why I exited the ballgame so early."

The Tigers have taken two of three from the Diamondbacks in each of the last two meetings, taking place in 2010 and 2011 in Detroit. Arizona won two of three when the teams last squared off in Arizona back in 2008.






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