Ausmus shuffles lineup prior to road trip

DETROIT -- With an off-day and the Tigers' first West Coast swing of the young season approaching, manager Brad Ausmus shook up the lineup for Sunday's series finale against the Orioles.

Miguel Cabrera remained in the lineup as the designated hitter, though he surrendered first base to Victor Martinez. Ausmus said before Sunday's game that Martinez will likely catch at least one game during the upcoming Interleague series against the Dodgers and Padres.

Martinez will also likely play some first base on the trip, but Sunday's lineup was more about getting Cabrera off his feet, according to Ausmus.

"Any time you're on the field, it makes you feel a little better," Martinez said. "But I understand my role -- to get Miggy off his feet a bit."

The skipper also inserted Tyler Collins into the lineup in left field, put Andrew Romine in at shortstop and gave catcher Alex Avila his first day off. Collins and Romine each have four at-bats, and Collins is still waiting for his first big league hit.

Bryan Holaday, who has appeared in 22 games for Detroit in the past two seasons, was Justin Verlander's batterymate for the matinee. Holaday's catcher ERA in three starts with Verlander on the mound is 5.40, though Ausmus called that an overrated statistic.

"Except when I was catching," Ausmus joked.