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A sometimes-irreverent look at Detroit's Boys of Summer, the Tigers, as they try to return to the top of the American League Central.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

McCann, Davis both starting against Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco


DETROIT >> In hindsight, if the Tigers could’ve gotten a little more notice about Trevor Bauer’s sudden illness on Saturday, it could’ve helped.

Manager Brad Ausmus wanted to get James McCann a game behind the plate, but didn’t want to pull Alex Avila 15 minutes before game time, just to get a platoon advantage at the plate, especially since he’d already started to warm up starter Alfredo Simon.

“Alex is already out there, catching Simon, getting ready. You might be able to do it with another position, but I wouldn’t do it with a catcher,” said Ausmus.

So McCann’s start had to wait a day, until Sunday, when he started against Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco. [LINEUP HERE]

“A little bit of a matchup. There were a few factors. He needs to get in there once in a while. He hasn’t played since Monday. A little matchup,” Ausmus said Sunday. “There’s no secret behind it really. It’s certainly not anything Alex did.”

While Avila is on an 0-for-11 streak, and hitting just .158 on the homestand, he’s still getting on base at a .348 clip. And McCann is not exactly tearing the cover off the ball (.174), either.

“Early on, Alex was getting on base all the time. He hit a little bit of a cold streak here the last few days, but it’s just a few games,” Ausmus said. “I’m not worried about that.”

Rajai Davis got his second straight start against a right-hander, as well. Anthony Gose has struggled on the homestand after a hot start, while Davis was 2-for-4 with three stolen bases on Saturday.

“Yeah. Well, he’ll probably get two more days. We get a lefty tomorrow, so I talked to him and told him he’d get a couple days and he’d be back in there Tuesday,” Ausmus said. “Will give him a chance to take a step back, work with Wally (Joyner, the hitting coach) in the cage a little bit. And Raj also has been swinging the bat pretty well.”

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