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Tigers take on Indians after trading C Rodriguez

Jul 31, 2008 - 10:20 AM Detroit (55-52) at Cleveland (46-60) 12:05 p.m. EDT

CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- The Detroit Tigers continue life without Ivan Rodriguez on Thursday against the Cleveland Indians.

Rodriguez was traded to the New York Yankees on Wednesday in return for reliever Kyle Farnsworth, who figures to compete with recently named closer Fernando Rodney and veteran Todd Jones for late-inning work after the Tigers saw hard-throwing reliever Joel Zumaya suffer an arm injury Sunday against the White Sox.

Rodriguez is a career .302 hitter with 293 homers and 1,214 RBI in 2,234 games with Detroit, Florida and Texas. He had his contract option exercised this past winter by Detroit, who signed the 13-time Gold Glove winner to a four-year, $40 million deal prior to the 2004 season. The 36-year-old catcher is batting .295 with five home runs and 32 RBI, but will be missed most for his solid defense.

The Tigers claimed a 14-12 victory in 13 innings against the Indians hours after the trade was announced. Detroit overcame a stellar performance by Indians catcher Kelly Shoppach, who tied a major league record with five extra-base hits - three doubles and two homers.

However, Shoppach fell short at the wrong time, striking out with the bases loaded in the 12th against reliever Casey Fossum, who then induced a double-play to extend the game. Placido Polanco made Cleveland pay for not capitalizing on the opportunity, plating the go-ahead run with a groundout in the 13th.

Justin Verlander (8-10, 4.29 ERA) tries to lead the Tigers to their third straight win. Verlander had a four-game win streak snapped when he was pounded for seven runs and nine hits in four innings of a 7-6 loss to the White Sox on Saturday.

Fausto Carmona (4-3, 4.33) makes his second start after missing nearly two months with a left hip injury for the Indians. Carmona allowed nine runs and seven hits in 2 1/3 innings on Saturday as Cleveland was routed, 11-4, by the Minnesota Twins.