Tigers to recall Krol before facing lefty-heavy Tribe

DETROIT -- Ian Krol has pitched his way back to the Motor City. The Tigers announced Thursday that they'll recall the left-handed reliever ahead of their three-game series against Cleveland, which begins Friday night at Comerica Park.

It's a similar move to what the Tigers did when they faced the lefty-heavy Indians lineup in April, when they called up Blaine Hardy to have another southpaw in the bullpen. The way Krol has been pitching lately, though, his return was likely coming sooner rather than later.

The 24-year-old Krol has done quite a bit to earn his return since being sent down on April 22. In 14 appearances with Triple-A Toledo, he allowed two runs on nine hits over 15 2/3 innings, with seven walks and 18 strikeouts. Krol's first runs allowed came on Sunday, but he followed that up with two solid innings Wednesday night. Most importantly, left-handed hitters batted just 2-for-22 against him, with no extra-base hits, no walks and 10 strikeouts.

Krol rejoins a Detroit bullpen that has had its ups and downs from the left side. Tom Gorzelanny gave up a hit and a walk without retiring a batter in Wednesday's loss to the Cubs, extending his struggles to eight runs on six hits and five walks over 2 2/3 innings in his last four outings. Left-handers are hitting .303 against him this season, along with a .342 average for righties.

No corresponding roster move was announced to make room for Krol. The Tigers will hold off until Friday for that. They have a few options, depending on what they decide to do with their rotation between Justin Verlander's return from the disabled list Saturday and Shane Greene's struggles. Detroit could simply send down a righty reliever, such as Angel Nesbitt, to go with the extra lefty for now. The club will have to make another roster move for Verlander after Friday's game.