Tigers Option RP Jose Ortega To Toledo, Plan To Recall IF Danny Worth Friday

It was a brief but promising cameo for young Detroit Tigers pitcher Jose Ortega, but the 23-year-old Venezuelan-born prospect was optioned back down to Triple-A Toledo after Sunday's win over Kansas City.

Ortega made his Tigers debut on July 3 in a 2.1-inning performance where he struck out four batters and yielded one solo home run, but quickly blew a save in his next appearance five days later. A prospect who was dubbed by Baseball America as having the best fastball in the Tigers' system after the 2010 season, Ortega has posted an impressive 11.27 strikeouts per nine innings number against Triple-A hitters, but will need to refine his command to fool major league hitters.

Worth, who has bounced around between the minors and big leagues for much of the season, is hitting just .180 with a .270 on-base percentage in 55 at-bats with the Tigers this season. Not known for his prowess at the plate, the 26-year-old Worth will provide a solid defensive option for manager Jim Leyland that he can plug in at either third or second base.

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Tigers Vs. Royals Final Score: Detroit Sweeps Kansas City For 5th Consecutive Win

The Detroit Tigers will take an impressive five-game winning streak with them into the All-Star break, after wrapping up a 7-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Sunday to cap off a three-game sweep.

Tigers hurler Max Scherzer tossed seven innings of one-run ball to snatch his eighth win of the year, fanning seven Kansas City batters in the process. In addition, Detroit outfielder Austin Jackson, a notable American League All-Star snub, also managed to extend his hitting streak to 15 games in the fifth inning with a single to left field.

Aside from Jhonny Peralta's RBI double in the eighth that extended Detroit's lead further, the Tigers picked up the entirety of their offense from the home run ball on Sunday. Peralta himself started things off with a two-run shot in the second frame, while Delmon Young chipped in a solo homer two innings later. From there, Prince Fielder stepped to the plate in the fifth and sent a three-run bomb to the bleachers in right that broke the game wide open and forced Kansas City starter Everett Teaford to the showers.

Now two games above .500 at the midpoint of the baseball season, the Tigers can regroup for a crucial stretch of their schedule before the July 31 trade deadline comes calling.

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Tigers Vs. Royals: Detroit's Austin Jackson Extends Hitting Streak To 15 Games

With a single to left field in the fifth inning off Kansas City pitcher Everett Teaford, Detroit Tigers outfielder Austin Jackson extended his hitting streak to a career-best 15 games on Sunday afternoon.

Jackson, who was a bit of a surprise to see left off the American League All-Star roster, is now batting .335 for the season. More impressive yet is Jackson's ultra-high .411 on-base percentage, which is tops on the team. After allowing him to work through the kinks as a youngster, the Tigers' patience with Jackson as a leadoff hitter appears to be paying huge dividends in 2012.

Still just 25 years old, Jackson's third year in the big leagues is going literally about as well as anyone could have asked for, and this 15-game hitting streak might even be a sign of things to come. While it's still a shame that he wasn't rewarded with an All-Star appearance, the maturation of his overall game is painfully obvious, and it's hard to believe that he won't be a fixture in All-Star Games for years to come.

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Tigers Vs. Royals: Starting Lineups For Sunday's Series Finale

The Detroit Tigers will be looking for their fifth consecutive win on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park, as the Kansas City Royals remain in town for the final tilt of a three-game set.

Strikeout artist Max Scherzer will be on the mound for Detroit, while 28-year-old lefty Everett Teaford will make his fourth start of the season for the Royals. The 7-5 Scherzer was scratched from his scheduled start earlier in the week with a hamstring injury, but does not expect to feel any lingering effects from the injury. "If push came to shove I could’ve pitched today," Scherzer told the Detroit Free Press back on July 3. "They felt that if I skipped a start, that would be the best formula for me and the team."

With a chance to keep their streak alive and also move to two games above .500 at the season's unofficial midpoint, the Tigers will definitely look to attack a pitcher in Teaford who recorded a whopping 17 fly-ball outs in his previous start against Toronto. Teaford recorded the only save of his MLB career after tossing three innings of one-hit ball in relief against the Tigers last season, but will face a much stouter test as the game's opening pitcher on Sunday.

Here are the starting lineups for game three:

Tigers
1. Austin Jackson - CF
2. Quintin Berry - LF
3. Miguel Cabrera - 3B
4. Prince Fielder - 1B
5. Delmon Young - DH
6. Brennan Boesch - RF
7. Jhonny Peralta - SS
8. Alex Avila - C
9. Ramon Santiago - 2B
Max Scherzer - SP

Royals
1. Alex Gordon - LF
2. Alcides Escobar - SS
3. Eric Hosmer - 1B
4. Billy Butler - DH
5. Yuniesky Betancourt - 2B
6. Mike Moustakas - 3B
7. Jeff Francoeur - RF
8. Salvador Perez - C
9. Jarrod Dyson - CF
Everett Teaford - SP

For more on the Tigers, head over to Bless You Boys. For more on the Royals, visit Royals Review. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.

Tigers Vs. Royals: Detroit Goes For Sweep, Fifth Straight Win

The Detroit Tigers will turn to hard-throwing right-hander Max Scherzer Sunday afternoon looking for a three-game sweep of All-Star Game hosts Kansas City and a fifth straight win headed into the break.

Scherzer (7-5, 4.98 ERA) injured his left hamstring a day after starting against the Rays in Tampa Bay June 28 and has not pitched since.

Prior to the injury, Scherzer appeared to be figuring out how to effectively use his electric stuff--he'd allowed only five runs in his previous 20 innings while striking out 26 and walking just three.

Detroit hitters will face off with Royals lefty Everett Teaford (1-1, 4.70 ERA), who's making only his seventh career start. Teaford gave up three runs in seven solid innings last Monday in Toronto, and the Tigers' are hitting only .247 against lefties as a team this season (compared to .275 against righties), so Teaford again will have a chance to succeed.

The Tigers sit at 4.5 games out in the AL Central behind the division-leading Chicago White Sox.

First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 pm ET from Comerica Park and will be televised on Fox Sports-Detroit.

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Tigers Vs. Royals Final Score: Detroit Fights Off Late Rally For 8-7 Win

The Detroit Tigers had a rough start to their season, but have started to gain some ground back in the AL Central with a solid winning streak. On Saturday, they made that streak more impressive with an 8-9 victory over the Kansas City Royals, making them winners in their last four outings. It was the second game of a three-game set.

Doug Fister was the winning pitcher, picking up that much-needed win to move to 2-6 on the season. Still, his outing wasn't a very stellar one - he lasted six innings, giving up eight hits and four runs while striking out two and walking three. He also allowed one homerun, a solo shot by Mike Moustakes to right field.

It was Jose Valverde that almost lost Detroit the game. HE came in for the ninth inning and gave up three runs off of two hits with two walks. But in the end, he was able to stop the bleeding and seal the one-point victory.

Bruce Chen started the game for the Royals, and he was shelled right off the bat. He lasted just over three innings, giving up nine hits and six runs, with two walks and three strikeouts. He gave way to Nate Adcock, who gave up two runs in relief, which was enough to give the Tigers a win.

They'll try to close out the first half of the season with a five-game winning streak and a sweep of the Royals on Sunday.

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Tigers Vs. Royals: Starting Lineups For Saturday's Game

The Detroit Tigers will look to build some momentum heading into the All-Star break, gunning for their fourth win in a row in the second game of their series against the Kansas City Royals.

Doug Fister will take the mound for the Tigers, looking to add to his somewhat anemic win total for the season. He's 1-6 with a 4.61 ERA in 10 starts this year, but has a decent chance of turning things around against the Royals. Kansas City is 21st in the league in runs this year.

Starting for the Royals will be Bruce Chen, who comes into the game with a 7-7 record and a 4.83 ERA. He leads Kansas City in both wins and ERA.

Here are Saturday's starting lineups for both teams:

Tigers
1. Austin Jackson - CF
2. Quintin Berry - LF
3. Miguel Cabrera - 3B
4. Prince Fielder - 1B
5. Delmon Young - DH
6. Ryan Raburn - RF
7. Jhonny Peralta - SS
8. Ramon Santiago - 2B
9. Gerald Laird - C
Doug Fister - SP

Royals
1. Alex Gordon - LF
2. Alcides Escobar - SS
3. Eric Hosmer - 1B
4. Billy Butler - DH
5. Yuniesky Betancourt - 2B
6. Mike Moustakas - 3B
7. Jeff Francoeur - RF
8. Salvador Perez - C
9. Jarrod Dyson - CF
Bruce Chen - SP

For more on the Tigers, check out Bless You Boys. For more on the Royals, visit Royals Review. And for more MLB news and analysis, make sure to head over to Baseball Nation.

Tigers Vs Royals: Detroit Looks For Fourth Straight Win

The Detroit Tigers are feeling pretty good about themselves.

Their bats have woken up to bring them back to respectability after a 4-2 win over the Royals on Friday night. The team was buoyed by another sixth inning home run by Delmon Young. It was the second straight game Young homered in the bottom of the sixth inning and the second straight game the Tigers came alive late in a ball game.

On Saturday at 4:05 p.m. ET will be game two of their series with the Royals and Doug Fister will take the mound against Bruce Chen. Fister's return from the disabled list has been up-and-down after he followed a six-inning shutout in his first game back on June 16 with 14 earned runs over his next 8 1/3 innings.

"I think it's just a matter of fine-tuning it," said Fister to MLB.com. "Just focusing on getting on top of the ball and driving through it instead of trying to get on the side of it and trying to make it do too much."

"I can't attest to knocking rust off," he said. "It's just a matter of I need to get some momentum and really just make my pitches."

Fister is 1-6 with a 4.61 ERA this season while Chen is 7-7 with a 4.83 ERA.

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Tigers Vs. Royals Final Score: Delmon Young Homer Gives Detroit 4-2 Win

Prince Fielder, Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander were presented with their 2012 All-Star jerseys before Friday's game against the Kansas City Royals. Delmon Young must have felt a little left out, or maybe inspired by the pageantry, as his sixth inning heroics sealed a 4-2 win for the Tigers.

Quintin Berry hit a triple in the third inning that scored Ramon Santiago and Austin Jackson. The Royals answered in fifth with two runs of their own. But the tie game lasted only long enough for Delmon Young to make his next plate appearance.

Young homered for the second straight game in the bottom of the sixth inning. Young's eighth home run of the season drove in Prince Fielder and broke a 2-2 tie.

Starting pitcher Drew Smyly finished the game with 10 strikeouts in six innings of work, allowing just two earned runs six hits. That was Smyly's highest strikeout total for any start this season. It improves his record to 4-3 with a 4.42 ERA in 15 starts this season.

The Tigers and Royals are in action again on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. Eastern.

For more on the Detroit Tigers and the Kansas City Royals, check out their respective SB Nation blogs at Bless You Boys and Royals Review. More news and analysis on MLB can be found over at Baseball Nation.

Tigers Vs. Royals: Starting Lineups For Friday's Game

Aiming to build on their moderate two-game winning streak, the Detroit Tigers will wrap up the first half of the 2012 Major League Baseball season with a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals starting Friday.

A pair of talented left-handed pitchers will face off on the mound in game one, as Detroit youngster Drew Smyly enters in search of his fourth career victory. Opposing the Tigers' impressive rookie for Kansas City is their once-vital winter acquisition of Jonathan Sanchez, who has been a colossal disappointment in his first year in the National League, sporting an abysmal 6.80 ERA.

Sanchez, who has been shelled for six earned runs in each of his last two starts, will face a Tigers lineup that should be as dangerous as ever with No. 3 hitter Miguel Cabrera assuming the designated hitter spot for the evening. Cabrera's night off from the field will force usual DH Delmon Young into left field, as a sure-handed Ramon Santiago will take over third base duties for manager Jim Leyland.

Here are Friday's starting lineups for both teams:

Tigers
1. Austin Jackson - CF
2. Quintin Berry - RF
3. Miguel Cabrera - DH
4. Prince Fielder - 1B
5. Delmon Young - LF
6. Ryan Raburn - 2B
7. Jhonny Peralta - SS
8. Alex Avila - C
9. Ramon Santiago - 3B
Drew Smyly - SP

Royals
1. Alex Gordon - LF
2. Alcides Escobar - SS
3. Eric Hosmer - 1B
4. Billy Butler - DH
5. Yuniesky Betancourt - 2B
6. Mike Moustakas - 3B
7. Jeff Francoeur - RF
8. Brayan Pena - C
9. Jason Bourgeois - CF
Jonathan Sanchez - SP

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Tigers Vs. Royals: Detroit Seeks .500 Record For 1st Time Since May

The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals will kick off a three-game series on Friday, as the Tigers seek their first .500 or above record since May.