Raburn’s Big Day and Other Notes from Tuesday

Ryan Raburn‘s name has been penciled in as the Tigers starting left fielder. On Tuesday, he did his best to make sure it would be written in ink. Raburn opened the scoring against the Phillies yesterday in Clearwater with an RBI triple to dead center field in the first inning, a shot that carried over the head of Shane Victorino.

In the fifth, Raburn got a hold of an Eddie Bonine knuckleball and sent it over the fence in left for a two-run homer. Raburn wound up knocking in half of the Tigers runs in a 6-2 victory.

It wasn’t all about his bat, however, as Raburn also victimized Victorino on defense.

In the bottom of the fourth, Victorino lined a ball down the left field line that caromed off the barrier in foul ground. Raburn changed course and fielded the ball bare handed in order to make a throw to second. Raburn’s throw was in time to nail the speedy Victorino attempting to take second base on what should have been an easy double.

Santos May Miss Opener

Tigers catcher Omir Santos won’t be ready for Opening Day after breaking his left big toe on Monday in game versus the New York Yankees. The injury is expected to cost the backstop 4-6 weeks of action.

Santos was a long-shot to make the Detroit major league club this spring, but this injury seals the deal. If there was any thought of going north with three catchers, those thoughts were dashed when Santos went down. Don Kelly‘s roster spot just got a bit more comfortable.

Cabrera Doubles in Three

In the other split squad game yesterday, Miguel Cabrera announced his presence with authority against the Blue Jays in Lakeland. In the third inning, Cabrera came to bat against Zach Stewart with the bases loaded. He turned on a Stewart offering and drove it into the left-center field gap to bring in all three runners. Cabrera will make his debut at first base when the Tigers host the Astros at Joker Marchant Stadium at 1pm today.

Other Notables

Victor Martinez collected his first three hits of the spring with a 3-for-4 day against the Jays that included a stolen base. Austin Jackson reached base there times with a walk and two singles. Ramon Santiago and Brandon Inge each collected two hits against Toronto. Clete Thomas singled twice, stole a base and drove in a run versus the Phillies.

Andy Oliver and Jacob Turner each worked three innings in their starts, and each allowed one run. Enrique Gonzalez fanned three over two innings while allowing four hits to the Phillies and Robbie Weinhardt struckout one and induced a game-ending double play in Clearwater.

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