Krol impressive in first game with Tigers

DETROIT -- In his Tigers debut on Friday, reliever Ian Krol pitched a scoreless eighth inning, striking out one in the process, during Detroit's 10-4 win over Baltimore.

Krol, acquired in the trade that sent starting pitcher Doug Fister to Washington, is one of two left-handers in Detroit's bullpen, along with Phil Coke.

Krol's role figures to be highly specialized, considering right-handed hitters roughed him up during his rookie year last season. He held lefties to a .220 batting average, but righties hit .304 against him with an OPS of .957.

On Friday, he retired two righties -- Steve Pearce and Adam Jones -- before getting lefty slugger Chris Davis to fly out to left on an 0-2 count.

Krol had family in from the Chicago suburbs to watch his first game as a Tiger. He said that pitching with a power-packed lineup to support him is not entirely different than his season in the Nationals' bullpen.

"It's unbelievable to go from guys like Jayson Werth and [Bryce] Harper to another club with guys like Miggy [Cabrera] and Torii [Hunter]," he said.