NewsSeay proven swing man in Tigers 'pen
Detroit (42-33) at Oakland (31-42), 10:05 p.m. ET
"Bobby's been tremendous," manager Jim Leyland said of Bobby Seay. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
06/28/09 7:43 PM ET
HOUSTON -- The Tigers have a healthy Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya to credit for a good part of their bullpen resurgence. But Bobby Seay quietly keeps getting his work done. As it turns out, it's critical work for the Tigers, and getting left-handed hitters out is just part of it. A year ago at this time, Seay was the left-handed specialist who seemed to have opposite numbers, thriving against right-handed hitters while struggling at times to retire left-handers. Right now, as long as his slider is working, nobody seems to have much luck against him. And as the Tigers prepare to take on an A's lineup that features some good left-handed sluggers with Jason Giambi and Jack Cust, not to mention sparkplugs Ryan Sweeney and Adam Kennedy, Seay is in as big of a role as any Tigers reliever. And his slider has proven to be as big of a pitch in the Tigers' late innings as Zumaya's triple-digit fastball or Rodney's devastating changeup. "Bobby's been tremendous, without question, needless to say," manager Jim Leyland said. While Rodney remains perfect in save situations at 17-for-17, Seay leads the Majors in holds at 16, having blown just two opportunities. His 34 appearances top the Tigers bullpen -- partly a reflection of his role as the primary lefty specialist, and partly a reflection of his overall effectiveness. It's a tough balance Leyland is managing to strike with Seay, and left-handed hitters are just the start of it. While he has been the primary guy for lefty-against-lefty situations, he's managing to see right-handed hitters a little more often these days. Five of his past nine outings have lasted an inning or more, including Sunday's eighth inning that followed Edwin Jackson's solid start and kept the Tigers within a run to set up their ninth-inning rally for a 4-3 win over the Astros. Seay did his primary job in that inning at the start by keeping dangerous speedster and left-handed-hitter Michael Bourn off the bases with a leadoff groundout. He then stayed in the game to fire fastballs against right-handed-hitting Jeff Keppinger, who also grounded out. Switch-hitting Lance Berkman hit a slider and flew out to center to end the inning. The lefty outs are obviously in his job description and a huge reason for his rebound this year, lowering his batting average allowed to lefties from .303 in 2008 to .208 this year. He has limited lefty bats to a .227 average or lower in three of his four seasons as a Tiger, thanks mainly to a slider that dives outside against them. He has walked four and struck out 11. Right-handers, on the other hand, are just as helpless these days against him, batting .194 (6-for-35) with one extra-base hit, two walks and four strikeouts. The result is a more complete pitcher, and a full inning of work Sunday. Once Brandon Inge's two-run homer in the ninth powered the Tigers ahead Sunday, Seay was in line for his first win of the season. "It's kind of fitting," Leyland said, "but the best thing about Bobby Seay is he's glad the Tigers got a win. He doesn't make his living on wins and losses. He makes his living on getting left-handers out and pitching great out of the bullpen. That's the big thing for him." Pitching matchupDET: RHP Rick Porcello (8-4, 3.55 ERA)
Porcello still has a chance to become just the second pitcher 20 or younger since World War II to win 10 games by the All-Star break, or at least the fifth such pitcher to win nine in the same span. But while he's unbeaten in his last four starts, Porcello has hit a little bit of a rough patch, lasting six innings only once in his past five outings. The right-hander has done a good job of controlling damage, limiting opponents to four earned runs over his past three starts despite having allowed 21 hits over 17 2/3 innings that span, but it has cost him in his pitch counts. Porcello beat the A's with one earned run over six innings May 16 at Comerica Park. OAK: LHP Brett Anderson (3-7, 5.74 ERA)
Anderson was originally scheduled to pitch Friday, but was pushed back because of dead-arm issues. "His arm is fine," manager Bob Geren said. "He was a guy I felt could use some extra rest. He's not hurt." Anderson tossed five innings and allowed three runs on five hits in his last start. He struck out three, walked one and hit a batter. Overall, Anderson said he was pleased with his ability to thwart a potentially disastrous inning against the Padres, when he minimized the effects of a hit batter, two singles and a walk. Anderson allowed two runs in the inning but kept his cool to avoid further damage. Tidbits
Nate Robertson will visit with team doctor Stephen Lemos Monday in Detroit to have his left elbow examined. He's expected to undergo a procedure to remove a tissue mass from the inner part of his elbow, which is believed to be causing numbness in his left ring and pinky fingers. The Tigers placed Robertson on the 15-day disabled list Sunday. ... Another lefty, Luke French, will be available out of the bullpen for a day or two before he prepares for his first Major League start Friday at Minnesota. ... Detroit has homered in its past 12 games, the longest streak for the club since Sept. 4-17, 1999, its last month in Tiger Stadium. ... Look for Marcus Thames and Ryan Raburn to get a good amount of playing time this series against Oakland, which has left-handed starters going in all three games this series. Tickets
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• Tuesday: Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 4-7, 5.65) at Athletics (Gio Gonzalez, 0-1, 8.03), 10:05 p.m. ET
• Wednesday: Tigers (Justin Verlander, 8-3, 3.40) at Athletics (Dallas Braden, 5-7, 3.26), 3:35 p.m. ET
• Thursday: Off-day
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
