Tigers call-up Douglass stymies D-Backs in 5-1 loss

For the second consecutive game, Detroit pitchers kept the Diamondbacks’ lineup in check — and this time, the Tigers added a little timely hitting.

The result was a Motown sound that made Arizona want to plug its ears. Detroit victimized pitcher Javier Vazquez for four seventh-inning runs en route to a 5-1 victory on Saturday at Bank One Ballpark.

"What can I say?" a visibly frustrated Vazquez said afterward. "There’s not much to say about it. That’s baseball."

After starting an important schedule stretch (13 of 16 games at BOB) by squeaking out a 2-1 win on Friday night, the D-Backs were unable to muster enough offense against a pitcher just up from Triple-A to make his first big league start of the season.

Right-hander Sean Douglass allowed just four hits and a walk in his six innings of work. Arizona did no better against three relievers, including Kyle Farnsworth, who fired a 100-mph pitch in the eighth.

Last month, Kansas City left-hander J.P. Howell beat the D-Backs in his first major league start. On Saturday, it was Douglass who took advantage of the unfamiliarity factor to win against Arizona.

"For whatever reason, we struggle in that kind of situation," manager Bob Melvin said. "You look at the pitcher’s next box score, and he might give up runs because the other team has video and a scouting report to see. I can’t explain it, although you have to give him credit for pitching well."

Another tough test awaits the D-Backs — minus left fielder and top RBI producer Luis Gonzalez, who on Saturday was placed on the bereavement list after the death of his stepfather — today, as top Tigers starter Jeremy Bonderman takes the hill.

Against Douglass, Arizona got two men on in the first and fourth innings but failed to score. Third baseman Troy Glaus had a potential sixthinning home run snagged by Nook Logan — the fifth time this season the center fielder has pulled a ball back from the stands.

"He was sneaky," said the D-Backs’ Quinton McCracken, who went 0-for-4 in place of Gonzalez in left field. "He kept us off-balance and threw strikes. For the most part, everybody was trying to get a feel for him.

"You can have all the paperwork on a guy you want, but you never really know until you dig in the box against him a few times."

Through the first six innings, Vazquez was solid, giving up a run on six hits while firing a first-pitch strike to 19 of the 24 hitters he faced. But Detroit shortstop Omar Infante led off the seventh with a double and was sacrificed to third, forcing Arizona to bring the infield in.

Pinch-hitter Chris Shelton stroked a slow single through the middle, giving the Tigers a 2-1 lead. A triple by Brandon Inge and single by Placido Polanco followed, and that was it for Vazquez.

"It’s a situation where we can’t afford to give up any more runs, so we play the infield in, and they get some ground balls that sneak through," Melvin said. "That’s the way we have to play it at the time. It’s not like Javy made some bad pitches."

Vazquez allowed 10 hits for the second straight start. Four of the five runs against him were earned.

"I felt good," Vazquez said. "In the seventh, I felt like I made good pitches, but they got through."