Football
SportsTicker 18y

Tigers look to continue overwhelming success on Fridays

DETROIT - The best team in the major leagues, the
Detroit Tigers have been especially tough to beat heading into
the weekend.

The Tigers will seek their eighth consecutive victory in
contests played on Friday when they host the opener of a
three-game series against the Cleveland Indians.

Detroit has gone 14-3 on Fridays this season, but two of those
losses have come in games started by Jeremy Bonderman (11-5,
3.65 ERA). In his last Friday start, however, Bonderman came
within one out of a shutout and settled for a 6-1 win at Seattle
on July 7.

That outing began a string of four straight winning starts for
Bonderman - a streak that extended through his last meeting with
the Indians. He allowed four runs and five hits in five
innings of a 9-7 win at Jacobs Field on July 24.

It looked like Bonderman's winning streak would continue Sunday
as he carried a shutout into the eighth inning at Minnesota.
However, he was charged with six runs - three earned - while
retiring just two more batters and was saddled with a 6-4 loss.

Bonderman has not fared well in his career against the Indians,
going 6-8 with a 6.23 ERA in 17 lifetime appearances. He has
won two of three starts against them this season despite posting
a 5.94 ERA.

Despite posting a 3.44 ERA this season vs. the Tigers,
lefthander Cliff Lee (9-8, 4.70) has dropped each each of his
three starts against them. He was matched up against Bonderman
on July 24 and allowed six runs - one earned - and eight hits in
four innings.

Since winning five consecutive decisions from June 3-July 1, Lee
has gone 1-3 with a 4.76 ERA in his last five starts. Ten of
the 25 runs he has allowed in that span have been unearned.

Cleveland salvaged a split of a four-game series at Boston with
Thursday's 7-6 victory. Travis Hafner hit a two-run homer
during a six-run sixth inning and needs only two more blasts to
match his career high of 33.

^ Back to Top ^