Considering Kevin Slowey's pitching splits -- a .349 average and .933 OPS allowed to left-handed hitters, compared to .266 and .728 from the right side -- Jim Leyland could be expected to try to get in as many left-handed hitters as he could. This time, he did so while sitting Magglio Ordonez, whose struggles against left-handed pitchers during the Oakland didn't make a matchup against right-handers look promising tonight.

Ordonez was here early in the afternoon for extra hitting work on the field. We'll see if he returns to the lineup Saturday to face Francisco Liriano, against whom he's 6-for-17 for his career.

TIGERS

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Thames, DH
5. Kelly, LF
6. Inge, 3B
7. Anderson, RF
8. Laird, C
9. Santiago, SS

P: Luke French

TWINS

1. Denard Span, LF
2. Brendan Harris, SS
3. Joe Mauer, C
4. Justin Morneau, 1B
5. Michael Cuddyer, RF
6. Joe Crede, 3B
7. Delmon Young, DH
8. Carlos Gomez, CF
9. Nick Punto, 2B

P: Kevin Slowey

Brandon Inge and Justin Verlander were voted the Tigers Player and Pitcher of the Month for June, the Tigers announced Friday. Inge batted .287 for June with six home runs and 19 RBIs, including a couple critical shots. Pitching honors were a tougher, with no Tiger winning more than two games, but Verlander paired his 2-1 record with a 2.91 ERA and 34 strikeouts over 34 innings.

Double-A Erie earned five selections on the Southern Division All-Star team for the Eastern League All-Star Game July 15 in Trenton. Outfielder Deik Scram and pitcher Josh Rainwater were fan balloting selections, while catcher Alex Avila, outfielder Brennan Boesch and first baseman Ryan Strieby were also named to the club. It's the third All-Star selection in as many years and at as many levels for Strieby, a Midwest League All-Star at Class A West Michigan in 2007 and a Florida State League selection last year at Class A Lakeland.

I'm not on the series in Oakland, but I received word that Nate Robertson had successful surgery to remove four small cysts from his left elbow. Dr. Stephen Lemos, team physician, performed the procedure here in Detroit. It's a relatively minor surgery, but the hope is that it's a big help for Robertson. Because the cysts were around his ulnar nerve, he was experiencing numbness in his left hand, as head athletic trainer Kevin Rand explained Sunday.

The timetable calls Robertson to wait 3-4 weeks before he can pick up a ball. From there, it's a matter of how long his throwing program lasts. The timetable would seemingly suggest an August return at the earliest, or a September return when rosters expand.

We have a rotation switch: Alfredo Figaro was optioned back to Triple-A Toledo after the game, and Luke French is coming back up. He'll join the Tigers in Oakland, work briefly out of the bullpen there and then start Friday's series opener at Minnesota.

"We just felt like giving French a shot against them," manager Jim Leyland said.

The move seemed to have less to do with Figaro's performance in Houston Saturday, though that certainly didn't help, and a little more to do with the matchup. Adding French gives the Tigers a left-handed starter to put up against Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau, though Leyland didn't really want to talk about that.

French has been on an absolute tear recently, basically for the last month. He has given up four earned runs on 16 hits with 26 strikeouts over 23 innings in his last three starts, though he hasn't won any of them. Further back than that, he has lasted at least 6 2/3 innings with two earned runs or less in five of his last six starts, bringing down his ERA for the year to 2.98.

A day after the Astros roughed up Alfredo Figaro in his second Major League start, there was more dicussion about his pitch selection, and why a pitcher who made his mark throwing fastballs at Double-A Erie and in his Major League debut would go so often to a breaking ball.

"The normal reaction for a young pitcher when they see certain teams and names," manager Jim Leyalnd said, "is that everybody up here can hit a fastball and they think you've got to trick them. And it's the total opposite of that. He got caught in a trap."

But there was also the thought that the Astros might've been picking up on something in Figaro's mannerisms on certain pitches, in effect tipping his pitches. After all, if you look at the pitch selection, Houston pounded breaking balls and offspeed pitches, yet did next to nothing with Figaro's fastball. It's an amazing thought for somebody who just made his second Major League start.

Figaro talked about it after the game, but said he couldn't tell.

Leyland dismissed the idea.

"He was trying to trick them instead of throwing the ball, but I don't think there was anything they were picking up," he said.

Still, just in case, Figaro might well end up doing some side work between starts to shore that up.

UPDATE: Any work Figaro does on that will have to come at Triple-A Toledo. The Tigers sent him down after the game and called up Lucas French to start in his spot Friday at Minnesota. Though no one would say it, they're getting a lefty starter in there against a Minnesota lineup headlined by left-handed hitters.

Gerald Laird's back spasms eased up quite a bit thanks to some serious treatment during the game last night, enough that he's back in the lineup for today's series finale against the Astros. He's part of a heavily right-handed lineup to face Astros starter Russ Ortiz, who's giving up a .302 batting average to right-handed hitters this season compared to .215 versus left-handed batters.

TIGERS

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Thames, LF
5. Inge, 3B
6. Ordonez, RF
7. Laird, C
8. Everett, SS
9. Jackson, P

ASTROS

1. Michael Bourn, CF
2. Jeff Keppinger, SS
3. Lance Berkman, 1B
4. Carlos Lee, LF
5. Geoff Blum, 3B
6. Hunter Pence, RF
7. Ivan Rodriguez, C
8. Kazuo Matsui, 2B
9. Russ Ortiz, P

The Tigers placed Nate Robertson on the 15-day DL this morning with a mass in the medial portion of his left elbow. The move is retroactive to Saturday. To take his place, they purchased the contract of Fu-Te Ni from Triple-A Toledo. He flew to Houston this morning and should be available for the game today.

UPDATE: Robertson is flying back to Detroit to have his elbow checked out team doctor Stephen Lemos. Head athletic trainer Kevin Rand said the tissue mass in his elbow is like a cyst, and it has been aggravating his nerves, causing numbness and tingling in his ring and pinky fingers. They expect he'll have to undergo minor surgery to have the mass excised, but they hope to do that along the same area where he had Tommy John surgery years ago. The timetable on any return depends on how that procedure goes.

As for Ni, he arrived in the clubhouse a little bit ago, as did his translator, Fox.

Tigers catcher Gerald Laird left Saturday's game against the Astros in the first inning and is day-to-day with lower back spasms after coming out from behind home plate to corral a ball in the dirt.

Laird had to spring out from his crouch to get to Tigers starter Alfredo Figaro's breaking ball in the dirt on an 0-1 pitch to Carlos Lee. He walked out towards the mound to talk with Figaro, but eventually hunched over in front the mound as manager Jim Leyland and head athletic trainer Kevin Rand emerged from the Tigers dugout.

Laird was walking around, but in obvious discomfort, and was moving slowly as he walked back into the dugout and towards the clubhouse. He was replaced by Dusty Ryan, who was called up last weekend from Triple-A Toledo to help spell Laird and provide some more days off to keep him from wearing down.

Rand attended to Laird during Friday's series opener against the Astros, too, after Laird took a ball in the groin area. Laird stayed in the game.

Laird entered Saturday batting .233 on the season with three home runs and 17 RBIs in 62 games. He has thrown out 14 of 38 would-be basestealers this season, good for a 36.8 percent rate.

It isn't completely related to Friday's performance, and it isn't a benching, but Jim Leyland decided to go with Don Kelly over Ordonez for Saturday's matchup with Astros starter Felipe Paulino.

"This guy's firm and wild, so I didn't think it was a good matchup [for Ordonez]," Leyland said.

Leyland emphasized that Ordonez will be back in the lineup Sunday against Russ Ortiz.

TIGERS

1. Granderson, CF
2. Polanco, 2B
3. Cabrera, 1B
4. Thames, LF
5. Kelly, RF
6. Inge, 3B
7. Laird, C
8. Santiago, SS
9. Figaro, P

ASTROS

1. Michael Bourn, CF
2. Jeff Keppinger, 3B
3. Miguel Tejada, SS
4. Carlos Lee, LF
5. Lance Berkman, 1B
6. Hunter Pence, RF
7. Kazuo Matsui, 2B
8. Humberto Quintero, C
9. Felipe Paulino, P