DET@TB: Porcello hurls seven scoreless against Rays
The good news is they already dealt with reigning American League Most Valuable Player Justin Verlander on Wednesday. But the bad news is Minnesota faces Rick Porcello on Thursday, who has been just as good of late.
The 23-year-old has won three of his last four starts. He's allowed only three runs over his past 20 innings, spanning three starts.
Porcello is seeking his first victory against the Twins this year after receiving no-decisions on May 16 and 27.
"I don't see it as an advantage or disadvantage for anybody," Porcello said of facing Minnesota for a third time. "I see it as an even playing field. They got a good lineup. Obviously, they've been swinging the bats well lately, so I got to go out there and keep the ball down and mix up my pitches."
Meanwhile, Minnesota will give the ball to their stud left-hander Scott Diamond, who has proved to be the Twins' best starter this year despite beginning the season in Triple-A. Minnesota is 8-3 in Diamond's 11 starts, and the 25-year-old has posted a 2.63 ERA on the year.
Diamond went 0-2 last season against Detroit, but enters having won four of his last six starts.
He credited an aggressive first-pitch approach for his success.
"I'm just trying to focus on strike one," Diamond said following his last start against Kansas City on June 30, which Minnesota won, 7-2. "The rhythm's going pretty good. But right now, I'm just trying to throw strikes and keep the game going. And get us right back in there so we can keep hitting."
Twins: Blackburn sent to Triple-A
� Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony said Nick Blackburn's poor performance against Detroit on Tuesday wasn't the "final straw." But the Twins saw enough to option Blackburn to Triple-A Rochester on Wednesday after he went 4-5 with an 8.10 ERA in 13 starts this year.
Minnesota purchased the contract of right-handed reliever Casey Fien from Rochester to take Blackburn's place on the big league roster.
"It's just a matter of he was struggling," Antony said. "He wasn't getting it done and he doesn't have confidence -- it doesn't look like he was pitching with confidence -- and we just want him to go down and get himself right."
� With the optioning of Blackburn, the Twins will take some time before deciding their starter for Saturday's game against Texas. Candidates include reliever Anthony Swarzak and Triple-A right-hander Sam Deduno.
Tigers: Boesch looks to continue momentum
� Brennan Boesch went 1-for-3 on Wednesday, a day after going 3-for-4 with his first multihit game and home run since June 13.
"Any time you get three hits and a home run, it's momentum to build," he said. "[You] can't really enjoy it for too long, but you can bring it into the next day and use it as momentum to try to get some consistency and build off a day like that."
� Thursday's game will be Detroit's second of five straight against left-handed starters. The Tigers totaled two runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings against Minnesota southpaw Brian Duensing on Wednesday.
Worth noting
� Detroit's 5-1 win on Wednesday was the first win by the home team in the season series. Minnesota had been 4-0 at Detroit, while the Tigers are 3-0 in Minneapolis.
� The Tigers' victory was also their 22nd in their last 30 games against the Twins, dating back to Sept. 2, 2010.
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