Injuries continue to take their toll on the Detroit Tigers’ lineup. Prior to Sunday’s game with the Yankees, the Tigers placed outfielder Andy Dirks on the 15-day DL and called up Matt Young from Toledo.
Dirks has been dealing with a sore Achilles, an injury he suffered in Boston. He had grabbed hold of the Tigers’ left field job and the No. 2 spot in the order, but will not be sidelined until at least August 15 (the DL move was made retroactive to May 31). Dirks is batting .328 with four homers, 16 RBI and a .379 on-base percentage.
While Young is not in the starting lineup Sunday, he may see some starts in left field, especially with Austin Jackson still on the DL due to a pulled muscle in his side. Young was batting. 259 with one home run and 16 RBI in Toledo this season. He played 20 games with the Braves last season during a brief call-up and .208 in 48 at-bats.
The Tigers will also be without reliever Joaquin Benoit, at least for Sunday’s series finale with the Yankees. Benoit felt tightness in his right forearm while throwing a pitch Saturday, so he’ll sit a minimum of one game as a precaution.
Omir Santos, who had the game-winning sac fly Saturday, will get his third straight start behind the plate with Alex Avila and Gerald Laird each dealing with hamstring injuries.
