Kazmir denied throwing at the Tigers’ leadoff man.
“There was no way I had any intention against Polanco. ... It was just the first pitch, trying to go inside with it. It just flew out and went straight for him.”
Tampa Bay manager Lou Piniella went to his bullpen after Kazmir faltered in the third.
McClelland issued a warning to the left-hander before the start of the second, but did not eject him when Kazmir threw wildly behind Vance Wilson before walking the Tigers catcher with two outs in the third.
Kazmir threw 74 pitches in three innings, allowing five runs and five hits. He walked four, giving him 56 in 102 innings.
“He struggled with his command the whole time,” Piniella said. “The amazing part about it is the Detroit pitcher must have thought he hit the guy intentionally, which couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Jonny Gomes singled with one out in the third for the only hit off German, who also walked Hall in the inning. The right-hander ended the threat by retiring Crawford on a fly to deep center and striking out Julio Lugo with Hall on third base.
Notes: In his previous three outings, Robertson allowed three earned runs in 25 innings while limiting opponents to a .220 batting average. ... Detroit’s Carlos Guillen, who has hit safely in nine of 10 games, had the night off. ... Tigers All-Star catcher Ivan Rodriguez sat out for the second straight game with a jammed left pinky.
SportsTalk: Albert Pujols signs with the Angels and Prince Fielder joins the Tigers. Which team is better now?
DeMarco: Plug in a well-heeled ownership group and negotiate one of those mega-bucks TV deals that are going around, and the Dodgers could become the west coast version of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.
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