After falling short in Monday's series opener, Jim Leyland's Detroit Tigers will try to slow down a red-hot Minnesota Twins team on Tuesday night at Comerica Park for game two.
Scratched the previous day with a sore hamstring, projected Tigers starter Max Scherzer was ruled out for what would have been his 17th start of the season, paving the way for 26-year-old lefty Duane Below to get the spot-start. Below made a pair of starts for the Tigers a year ago in the middle of the summer, but hardly made a significant splash en route to a 0-1 record and 4.66 ERA. He sports a 2.70 in 33.1 innings out of the Detroit bullpen in 2012.
Alex Avila will once again assume the catching duties for Detroit behind the dish with Below on the mound, while inconsistent utility man Ryan Raburn will play second base and bat seventh. Looking for a monster night from the plate will be none other than All-Star third baseman Miguel Cabrera, who has quite literally demolished Minnesota pitcher Nick Blackburn in recent years. In just 31 career plate appearances against the right-handed Blackburn, Cabrera owns a ridiculous .452 batting average with three home runs and 14 RBI, and will be hoping to inflict further damage on Tuesday night.
Here are the starting lineups for game two:
Tigers
1. Austin Jackson - CF
2. Quintin Berry - LF
3. Miguel Cabrera - 3B
4. Prince Fielder - 1B
5. Delmon Young - DH
6. Alex Avila - C
7. Ryan Raburn - 2B
8. Brennan Boesch - RF
9. Ramon Santiago - SS
Duane Below - SP
Twins
1. Denard Span - CF
2. Ben Revere - RF
3. Joe Mauer - C
4. Josh Willingham - LF
5. Justin Morneau - 1B
6. Trevor Plouffe - 3B
7. Ryan Doumit - DH
8. Brian Dozier - SS
9. Alexi Casilla - 2B
Nick Blackburn - SP
For more on the Tigers, head over to Bless You Boys. For more on the Twins, visit Twinkie Town. And for more MLB news and analysis, be sure to check out Baseball Nation.