DETROIT -- This wasn't the way Matt Joyce saw his big league arrival happening. But then, this isn't how the Tigers saw themselves solving their left-handed hitting void.

When Joyce received his call to the Tigers, he was wearing his batting practice uniform Monday afternoon -- for Triple-A Toledo. Mud Hens manager Larry Parrish and hitting coach Leon Durham called him into Parrish's office and told him they noticed him not running out a couple balls hard enough, so they'd have to make some moves.

"I'm like, 'Man, I'm getting sent down,'" Joyce said. "And they said, 'So, we're going to move you up to Detroit.' I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?'"

With that gag out of the way, Joyce was on Interstate 75 making the hour-long trip to Comerica Park, where he was starting that night. When he stepped into the home clubhouse, he stepped right into what could be a major role.

The Tigers have placed an emphasis on balancing out their predominantly right-handed hitting lineup for most of manager Jim Leyland's tenure. First baseman Sean Casey filled that role for a year and a half. They traded to Jacque Jones to help fill that this season, only to designate him for assignment on Monday.

Enter Joyce, who was on few prospect lists a year or two ago when the Tigers had budding stars Cameron Maybin and Andrew Miller. Instead, Joyce was quietly hit his way into the big leagues.

If he can hit in Detroit, that production -- even the potential of it -- could make a difference.

"It would be real important," manager Jim Leyland said.

There was a glimpse of that difference on Monday night, when Joyce stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the seventh inning of what was then a 5-1 game. He was 0-for-2 with a walk, and Red Sox manager Terry Francona brought in lefty Hideki Okajima to face him. Leyland countered with right-hander Marcus Thames, who lined the first pitch he saw into left field for a two-run single despite Okajima's strength against right-handed hitters.

Joyce was out of the lineup on Tuesday, but he'll be back in for Wednesday, the third game of this four-game set against the defending World Series champions. He'll be the designated hitter by default, keeping Magglio Ordonez in right field and continuing Gary Sheffield's stretch of starts in left.

For all the focus on Sheffield as an experiment in the field again, giving Joyce a good shot at big league playing time is a chance in itself. The Tigers took a similar shot down the stretch last year when they called up Maybin and released Craig Monroe. That move didn't work, and Maybin was limited to mainly pinch-running and late-inning appearances by mid-September.

This is a different situation, and much earlier in the year. But as the Tigers pointed out, they had to try something. Joyce is obviously glad they're trying him.

"You kind of have an image portrayed in your head of how things are going to go," he said. "Overall, I'm still trying to take it all in."

Pitching matchup
DET: RHP Armando Galarraga (2-1, 1.88 ERA)
Galarraga picked up his first Major League loss in his last start Friday at Minnesota with two earned runs and two unearned tallies over six innings. The aggressiveness that has helped him attack opponents remained, but his command was off enough to allow a run-scoring wild pitch and a bases-loaded walk to haunt him. He'll need to recapture that control to contain a Red Sox lineup known for working pitchers into quick exits and bad pitching lines.

BOS: RHP Clay Buchholz (2-2, 3.71 ERA)
The Tigers have never seen Buchholz, and that's usually a recipe for struggles for Detroit hitters. Buchholz has allowed three earned runs or less in six of his seven starts this season, and he's 2-1 with a 1.40 ERA in his last three starts.

Tidbits
Look for Sheffield to spend most of this homestand in left field. Leyland said he'll play Sheffield in left through Wednesday or Thursday, give him a day off, and then play him for another stretch in left to see how he holds up. ... Ivan Rodriguez snapped an 0-for-10 hitless in his eighth-inning double off of knuckleballer Tim Wakefield. ... Mike Timlin's appearance Tuesday was the 1,022nd of his career, tying him with former Tiger Jose Mesa for ninth all-time in Major League history.

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Up next
• Thursday: Tigers (Justin Verlander, 1-5, 6.28) vs. Red Sox (Josh Beckett, 3-2, 4.19), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Friday: Tigers (Kenny Rogers, 2-3, 6.27) vs. Yankees (Kei Igawa, 0-0, -.--), 7:05 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Tigers (TBD) vs. Yankees (Darrell Rasner, 1-0, 3.00), 3:40 p.m. ET