• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Athletics-Tigers Preview

May 17, 2009 - 3:52 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Oakland (13-19) at Detroit (18-16), 1:05 p.m. EDT

The Detroit Tigers appear back on track after a rough finish to their recent road trip. Armando Galarraga hopes to do the same and end the worst stretch of his brief career.

Galarraga looks to avoid a fourth straight loss Sunday as the AL Central-leading Tigers try to complete a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics at Comerica Park.

Detroit (19-16) won 9-1 on Saturday after rolling to a 14-1 victory in the series opener. Prior to this set, the Tigers were swept in a three-game series at Minnesota to conclude a 3-4 road trip.

"The good thing is that we are adding on runs," manager Jim Leyland said of the Tigers, who in this series have scored four fewer runs than during their entire swing. "Everyone relaxes more when you score some runs, and that makes it easier to add more of them."

As the Tigers' lineup looks to continue thriving against Oakland pitching, Galarraga (3-3, 4.61 ERA) hopes facing a club that's hitting an AL-low .236 and has 11 hits in the set will help him turn things around.

In his second full major-league season, Galarraga appeared poised to secure the role of staff ace after allowing five runs in 24 1-3 innings to go 3-0 over his first four starts.

The right-hander, though, has given up 16 runs in 16 2-3 innings in his last three. He yielded five runs and six hits while walking four in 5 2-3 innings of a 6-2 loss to the Twins on Tuesday.

"Galarraga is pitching defensive a little bit," Leyland told the Tigers' official Web site. "And I think Galarraga is in a situation right now where he's giving hitters too much credit."

He is 1-1 with a 6.52 ERA as a starter against Oakland.

On Saturday, Miguel Cabrera had three hits with four RBIs and Ryan Raburn hit a three-run homer after connecting for a grand slam a night earlier.

Raburn, who was batting .095 heading into the set, is 3 for 9 with eight RBIs in his last two games.

Batting .389, Cabrera is 9 for 16 with eight RBIs in his last four contests. He's hitting .351 with 13 RBIs in 11 games against the A's (13-20).

Oakland starters Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden allowed 15 runs - nine earned - in 8 1-3 innings in the first two games against the Tigers. Rookie Trevor Cahill hopes to change that while looking for his third straight victory in his first appearance versus Detroit.

Cahill (2-2, 3.69) allowed two solo homers and seven hits in six innings of a 12-3 win over Kansas City on Tuesday. The 21-year-old right-hander has yielded four runs in 19 innings in three outings this month after going 0-2 with a 5.40 ERA in four April starts.

"I'm just getting more comfortable," Cahill told the Athletics' official Web site.

Ryan Sweeney had two of Oakland's four hits and Travis Buck drove in the lone run Saturday for the A's, who look to avoid a third straight loss after sweeping a two-game set from Kansas City.

"We had a couple of good wins, and then we play two games like this," said Sweeney, who is 4 for 6 with a home run versus Galarraga. "It's hard to understand."

Oakland hasn't been swept in a three-game series at Detroit since May 10-12, 1994.