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DETROIT -- Tigers reliever Al Alburquerque was activated from the disabled list for Sunday's game against the White Sox.The hard-throwing righty had his first and only outing as part of a rehab assignment with Triple-A Toledo on Saturday. He gave up one run on two hits, striking out two in two-thirds of an inning in a 7-6 loss at Columbus for the Mud Hens. Alburquerque went on the disabled list o football gams n Aug. 12 after sustaining a concussion while being struck by a line drive in the head. He is eligible for the postseason roster should Detroit qualify."He did OK last night," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "I didn't think he was real sharp, but the key is that he felt fine. Health is no issue because his arm felt fine."Leyland said he didn't plan to use Alburquerque on Sunday unless there was a football gams n emergency need, adding that he doesn't know how sharp the righty will be when he does appear for the Tigers. Alburquerque has struck out 57 hitters in 37 innings in Detroit this season, allowing just 18 hits. Schlereth a valuable part of strong bullpen DETROIT -- Midway through the regular season, it didn't seem as if Tigers reliever Daniel Schlereth would play a key role in the bullpen. A h football gams igh number of walks and home runs seemed to plague the 25-year-old left-hander, who came to Detroit during the 2010 offseason as part of the package that also brought Max Scherzer and Phil Coke to Detroit and sent Curtis Granderson to the Yankees.But Schlereth has found his groove and a clear role for a team hoping to win its first divisional title since 1987. Entering Sunday's finale against the football gams White Sox, Schlereth had allowed just one run in his last eight appearances and dropped his ERA from 4.26 to 3.71.Left-handers are batting just .160 against Schlereth in 75 plate appearances. In his 14 outings since being recalled from Toledo on July 29, the lefty has a 2.00 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 14 innings. "I think what has helped me is that I am throwing more strikes and am just more consis football gams tent with locating my fastball and getting my curveball over the plate," Schlereth said.The lefty said he developed a slightly different grip for his one-seam fastball that has helped him get more of a downward action on that pitch, giving it more deceptive movement. In addition, the increased confidence he is feeling with his game is playing a major role in his resurgence. Schlereth also has rece football gams ived ongoing support from fellow left-hander Coke, a veteran who has been stellar out of the bullpen in his own right. Coke did not allow a run over 13 outings from Aug. 2-30, striking out 20."[Coke] has helped me with my mindset a lot because he's been around more," Schlereth said. "He's helped me figure out how to [pitch] certain guys. It helps that we have similar stuff, but he's a big presence football gams for us as a team and for me personally."Tigers manager Jim Leyland feels that the bullpen is as strong now as it has been all season. "[Coke] has settled right back into his spot in the bullpen and when that happened, it seemed to [stabilize] us a bit," Leyland said. "I like where we're at now, and I think we have some depth."Schlereth agrees with Leyland that Detroit may have its strongest group football gams in the bullpen yet this season, a fact strengthened by recent performances from David Pauley, who pitched three scoreless innings in the 9-8 win on Saturday, and the continued dominance of Joaquin Benoit, who has not allowed a run in his last 14 2/3 innings, and Jose Valverde (40 saves and a 1.80 ERA over his last five games). Leyland said on Sunday that Pauley's success Saturday came from "using football gams more of his pitches.""I agree with Skip because we have a number of good pitchers in the bullpen, and we're all feeding off each other and want to compete with each other," Schlereth said. "You have a lot of guys throwing well. And with Coke and me, we have a couple of lefties late in the game we can match up." Jackson nearing franchise milestone DETROIT -- Austin Jackson has certainly been h football gams ot lately, seeing his average rise from .241 on Aug. 11 to .261 following Sunday's 18-2 victory. The Tigers center fielder also has traditionally hit well against the White Sox, with a 15-game hitting streak against the South Siders. During that streak, Jackson is hitting .403 with three homers, three triples and nine RBIs. Jackson is also one home run away from becoming the 18th player in Tigers football gams history to reach double-digits in doubles, triples, home runs and stolen bases, and the first since Curtis Granderson in 2008. football gams
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