Tigers return home to host Twins
Brad Radke hopes to stop a personal two-game losing streak this evening when the Minnesota Twins open a three-game series against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park.
After winning his first two starts of the year, Radke has hit the skids. In his last start Saturday against the Chicago White Sox, the 33-year-old righthander was tagged with the loss after he surrendered six runs on 10 hits over five frames. The outing raised Radke's earned run average to 7.50.
Radke, though, has been brilliant over the course of his career against the Tigers. He owns a 19-6 mark lifetime mark against them with a 4.49 ERA in 33 starts, and is a perfect 7-0 in 12 starts at Comerica.
On Thursday, Luis Castillo went 3-for-4 with two runs batted in while Johan Santana pitched eight strong innings as Minnesota downed Kansas City, 7-3, in the finale of a three-game series at Kauffman Stadium.
Santana (1-3) earned his first win of the season as he allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out 10 in his fifth start of the season.
Michael Cuddyer went 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored, while Luis Rodriguez also scored two runs for the Twins, who took two of three from Kansas City.
Detroit will pin its hopes tonight on lefthander Nate Robertson, who is coming off the best outing of his season Saturday against the Seattle Mariners. Robertson limited the Mariners to just two hits over seven scoreless innings to improve to 2-2 on the year, while lowering his ERA nearly three runs to 4.98.
Robertson is just 2-5 lifetime versus the Twins with a 4.85 ERA in 10 games, nine of which have been starts.
The Tigers enter tonight's tilt after dropping two of three to the LA Angels of Anaheim, culminating with a 4-0 loss on Wednesday in the series finale. Magglio Ordonez and Craig Monroe had the only hits for Detroit, which fell for just the second time in its last eight games.
Mike Maroth (3-1) allowed four runs on nine hits in six-plus innings of work, suffering his first loss of the season.
Minnesota took 11 of 19 from the Tigers last season and is 38-19 against them since the start of the 2003 campaign. The Twins lost four of six in the Motor City a year ago, but are 18-11 in their last 29 visits.
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