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Simon, Tigers look to bounce back against Pirates Wednesday
The A.J. Burnett retirement tour was looking more like a victory lap until the 38-year-old recently got a few reminders that maybe his 17th and presumed final season in the majors wouldn't be quite so smooth.
He still limited the damage in his two latest outings, but he'd prefer not to run into so much trouble Wednesday night at Comerica Park as the Pittsburgh Pirates look for another win against the Detroit Tigers (6 p.m. pregame, 7:08 first pitch on FOX Sports Detroit).
After posting baseball's third-lowest ERA (1.89) and a .233 opponents' batting average through his first 13 starts, Burnett (6-3, 2.01 ERA) has found himself in some sticky situations in his last two. He gave up 22 hits over 12 2-3 innings, but only allowed four earned runs in those outings while some poor defense cost him two more.
The right-hander shook off a run apiece in both the first and second innings Thursday against Cincinnati to make it through the next four unscathed in a 5-4, 13-inning loss.
"Eventually it was a matter of time before I knew I'd settle in and start getting ahead a little better, get a quick inning here or there," Burnett told MLB's official website. "You've got to go deep if you want to win games. Got to get into the seventh, get into the eighth."
He wound up throwing 110 pitches against the Reds, one fewer than his season high April 14 against the Tigers (39-37). Burnett gave up only a run through 6 2-3 that day while striking out eight in a 2-0 loss.
Detroit took two of three in that series in Pittsburgh, winning 1-0 a day later behind eight innings of two-hit ball from Alfredo Simon (7-4, 3.57).
The right-hander has been at his best at Comerica (2.33 ERA) in his first season with Detroit, but he's struggled both home and away in his last two. Simon gave up a career-high seven earned runs and lasted just 2 2-3 innings June 20 in the Bronx, then surrendered five in 6 1-3 Thursday in an 8-7, 10-inning home loss to the White Sox.
The Pirates (43-33) have three regulars who are either switch hitters or left-handed, and it might take something from that trio of Pedro Alvarez, Gregory Polanco and Neil Walker to win this one. Righties are hitting just .193 against Simon and seven of the eight homers he's allowed have come from the other side of the plate.
Those three Pirates, however, are a combined 6 for 38 (.158) against Simon.
Walker was the hero for Pittsburgh in Tuesday's opener, which didn't end until early Wednesday morning. His two-out double scored Josh Harrison after Gorkys Hernandez's base-running gaffe likely prevented the Pirates from scoring one batter earlier, and Deolis Guerra closed out a 5-4 win with his third scoreless inning.
"I didn't think we were going to get away with (Hernandez's mistake)," manager Clint Hurdle said. "Luckily, Neil came up big to save us."
Tuesday's game wound up being extended thanks to a two-run homer from J.D. Martinez, who went 3 for 6 to cap an outstanding final three weeks of June. The eighth-inning blast off Tony Watson was his 11th in 18 games, a stretch in which his OPS is an AL-best 1.204.
"We battled and had our opportunities, but we just didn't get that big hit," Martinez said. "There were some two-out chances we had there, they had one and got the hit. That's about it."
Martinez is 1 for 13 in his career against Burnett.
