St. Louis @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Jun 19, 2012 ) St. Louis 3, Detroit 6

Detroit features a lineup of perennial All-Stars, but a minor-league journeyman has helped fuel the Tigers’ recent surge in the AL Central. Outfielder Quintin Berry, who made his major-league debut May 23, went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI in Detroit’s series-opening 6-3 victory Tuesday over St. Louis, two days after going 5-for-5 in a victory over Colorado. The Tigers have won seven of their past nine, while the Cardinals have dropped five of their past eight.

St. Louis did get good news on the injury front Tuesday. Infielder/outfielder Skip Schumaker was activated from the disabled list, while outfielder Jon Jay started a rehab assignment at Triple-A Memphis. Detroit, which activated reliever Octavio Dotel from the disabled list on Tuesday, denied St. Louis ace Lance Lynn his 11th victory in Tuesday’s game, striking for four runs in the first two innings.

TV: 7:05 p.m. ET, ESPN2 (nationwide), Fox Sports Midwest (St. Louis), Fox Sports Detroit (Detroit).

PITCHING MATCHUP: St. Louis RH Jake Westbrook (5-6, 4.27 ERA) vs. Detroit RH Rick Porcello (4-4, 5.18 ERA)

Westbrook beat the White Sox on Thursday, snapping a three-start losing streak and earning his first victory since early May. The right-hander gave up five hits and three earned runs in six innings against Chicago. Since beating the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 8, Westbrook went 0-4 in six starts.

Porcello won for the first time in more than a month in his last start on June 13, giving up four earned runs on nine hits in five innings against the Cubs. Porcello had not won since beating the White Sox on May 16. He has allowed 18 hits and eight earned runs in his past two starts, going five innings in each outing.

WALK-OFFS

1. Porcello is 1-0 with a 1.59 ERA in one career start against the Cardinals. Westbrook is 6-8 lifetime against the Tigers, and his career record is .500 (90-90).

2. Dotel is a big piece of the Detroit bullpen, holding right-handers to a .184 average. The Cardinals know how important Dotel is, as he helped St. Louis win the World Series last fall.

3. Berry was one of four Tigers to finish with two hits on Tuesday, raising his average to .337.