After giving up six earned runs to the Seattle Mariners on Wednesday night, the Tigers announced that they have optioned left-hander Adam Wilk to Triple-A Toledo and recalled right-handed reliever Brayan Villarreal.
Wilk started three games for the injured Doug Fister, losing all three while racking up an earned-run average greater than eight. In 11 innings of work, opposing hitters had 21 hits and 10 earned runs against the lefty.
Wilk threw well against the White Sox through five innings, but was hit in the left shoulder by a Prince Fielder foul ball while in the dugout, cutting short his debut. In his next start, he gave up 10 hits in four innings to the Texas Rangers, and then, well, there was Wednesday night's debauchery.
Villarreal appeared in 1.1 innings over three games before he was demoted on April 13.
Doug Fister is expected to throw off the mound on Thursday, but it's unlikely he'll start when it's his turn early next week. The Tigers have not mentioned who would start in his place if that is indeed the case, but Duane Below, who was in the race for the No. 5 spot until the end of Spring Training, would be a pretty good guess.
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