Al Alburquerque Rumors & News

Right-handed reliever Al Alburquerque struck out five batters in 1 1/3 innings Monday for the Mud Hens and has struck out nine and walked only two in his last four innings pitched. Our weekly look at the Detroit Tigers' minor-league affiliates: Al Alburquerque  TRIPLE-A TOLEDO Record: 31-42 (.425) Standings: 4th (International League West) Games behind: 16.5 Who's hot: 1B Jordan Lennerton was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts Tuesday, the first time in 48 games he failed to reach base. It marked the longest streak in professional baseball this year. He...

Lots more offense from the Tigers system yesterday, but the pitching in the high minors was suspect. Here's what went down. Columbus Clippers 11, Toledo Mud Hens 8 (box) Despite a seven-run fifth inning, the Mud Hens weren't able to overcome the eight runs that Shawn Hill allowed in an inning-plus of work. He dropped to 0-7 on the season. Al Alburquerque allowed a home run and two walks in 1 2/3 innings, but all five of his outs were strikeouts. Brayan Villarreal struck out the only batter he faced. Nick Castellanos stayed hot, hitting another home run and reaching base three times. Da...

Leyland remains confident Al Alburquerque will return. But, for now, the 26-year-old needs to better his command -- a problem that was clearly visible Wednesday afternoon. Detroit Tigers pitcher Al Alburquerque throws against the Cleveland Indians in the seventh inning in Detroit.AP Photo  ARLINGTON, Texas -- It was pretty simple for Tigers manager Jim Leyland to explain. Al Alburquerque just couldn't throw strikes. That, in a nutshell, is why the dynamic right-hander was sent down to Toledo. "I don't know whether it was because of a lack of work, b...

The Tigers optioned Al Alburquerque to Triple-A Toledo late Wednesday, and recalled the contract of right-handed reliever Evan Reed, the team announced early Thursday. Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Al Alburquerque is relieved by manager Jim Leyland during the eighth inning against the Houston Astros in Detroit on Wednesday.AP Photo  ARLINGTON -- Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland said right-hander Al Alburquerque was "too wild" in Wednesday's loss. He'll now have to work out those issues in Toledo. The Tigers optioned Alburquerque to Triple-A Toledo la...

Leyland: "If I'd have felt like he was going to throw the ball over the plate, or if he'd shown any signs that he was going to throw it over the plate, I'd have obviously left him in." Al Alburquerque struck out one and walked one batter in a brief outing Wednesday night. He was pulled after walking the leadoff batter in the decisive ninth inning of a 7-5 loss to the Houston Astros.AP Photo UPDATE: According to the Detroit Tigers website, the Tigers have sent Al Alburquerque to Triple-A Toledo and have recalled Evan Reed. DETROIT -- Baseball...

The Detroit Tigers optioned right-handed reliever Al Alburquerque to Triple-A Toledo after Wednesday's loss to the Houston Astros. Called up from the Mud Hens to replace Alburquerque on the 25-man roster is right-handed reliever Evan Reed. Expected to be an important piece to the back end of the Tigers' bullpen, the 24 year old Alburquerque has battled mightily with his control this season. Command issues have come to the fore in his last six appearances, walking 13 in his last 14 1/3 innings, losing the Tigers' trust in the process. Overall he has an 0-1 record and 3.14 ERA in 15 game...

Detroit Tigers' Jim Leyland being careful with Jose Valverde, Al Alburquerque as bullpen continues to round into shapeMLive, Chris IottThe unspoken luxury in this situation is that the starting pitching has allowed Leyland to be selective in his bullpen usage. They are averaging 6 1/3 innings per start as a team this season, which is astounding. Tigers pitchers on pace to shatter strikeout recordThe Detroit News, Lynn HenningIf the Tigers played the Braves every weekend, they might break it by mid-August. 5 things we learned from the Tigers’ sweep over the BravesThe Daily Fungo, Ian Ca...

Leyland: "Alburquerque came off surgery here not too long ago and Valverde hasn't had a spring training. So I'm not going to do stupid stuff. I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to get greedy on April 29 or whatever it is. I'm not going to do that." DETROIT -- Jose Valverde has helped the Detroit Tigers bullpen round into shape a bit. But it is not entirely settled just yet. Tigers manager Jim Leyland discussed the bullpen at length Monday afternoon prior to the start of his team's three-game series against the Minnesota Twins. J...