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Reds@Tigers May 19-21
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/preview;...?gid=260519106
Prior to the start of the season, few expected the Detroit Tigers to challenge for first place in the AL Central or for the Cincinnati Reds to do the same in the NL Central.
Two of baseball's surprise teams square off in interleague play when Detroit (27-13) welcomes Cincinnati (24-17) to Comerica Park in the start of a three-game series on Friday.
The teams have not met since 2001 and have split 12 meetings all time.
But the Tigers enter this contest having won seven straight and lead the Chicago White Sox by one game in the AL Central. It's the Tigers' longest winning streak since Aug. 21-28, 1993.
"It's pretty good, but nobody will care about that (Friday)," first-year Tigers manager Jim Leyland said.
Detroit is looking for its first eight-game winning streak in the regular season since a nine-game run from May 14-24, 1984 when it last won the World Series.
To do that, the Tigers will look to Jeremy Bonderman (4-2, 3.74 ERA) to win for the fourth time in his last five starts. The right-hander scattered three hits, walked three and struck out eight over eight innings Saturday in a 3-0 win over Cleveland.
"I got the ball down, plain and simple," said Bonderman, who was hit hard by Cleveland for seven runs and eight hits in a home loss April 15. "I got the ball up at home against them and they hit me. I kept it down tonight. That's a big thing for me."
Bonderman, who leads the Tigers with 47 strikeouts, is 1-2 with a 5.30 ERA in three career starts versus the Reds.
The Tigers on Thursday got home runs from Placido Polanco and Brandon Inge in a 5-3 win over Minnesota. Todd Jones also picked up his 154th save in a Detroit uniform, matching Mike Henneman's team record.
Cincinnati was a surprise challenger for first place in its division, getting off to a 23-12 start before dropping a season-high five in a row. The Reds halted that streak in surprising fashion on Thursday.
After trailing 6-0 in the first inning, Cincinnati came back to defeat Pittsburgh 9-8. Ken Griffey Jr. had a two-run double to key a four-run seventh.
"We showed a little bit of the character of this team, not giving up," said Griffey, a Pittsburgh-area native.
The Reds start play two games behind St. Louis for first place and will send Brandon Claussen (2-4, 4.96) to the hill as he tries again for his first win in May.
The left-hander got no decision Sunday in a 2-1 loss in 12 innings to Philadelphia after allowing a run and four hits through eight innings in his longest stint of the season.
"Everything was good," Claussen said. "I just made one mistake."
Since beating Houston on April 28, Clausen is 0-2 with a 3.60 ERA in three starts, allowing four homers in 20 innings over that span.
He has never faced the Tigers in his career.
The status of Detroit designated hitter Dmitri Young is unknown for this game. Young, who also played for the Reds from 1998-2001, reportedly was charged with domestic violence after a former girlfriend accused him of choking her last month in a suburban Detroit hotel.
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Originally Posted by WTFchris
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