Road trip success a 'good tonic' for Tigers

DETROIT -- With a 7-4 record on the 11-game road trip, the Tigers are back to a .500 record (23-23) away from Comerica Park.

"I'm very happy with this trip to be honest with you, very satisfied," manager Jim Leyland said. "We had just come off a bad series at home, and going to three tough places, I thought it turned out pretty good."

After dropping three of the first four games on the trip, the Tigers battled back from a four-run deficit on their way to winning five straight games.

"The reason we had a good trip is because everybody at one time or another did something, including the [Ramon] Santiagos and the [Don] Kellys and the guys who filled in. It was a good trip for those guys.

"That's the best tonic there is. That's what I was just saying earlier, on this road trip, a lot of guys made contributions, and some of the little guys that don't get a chance to play much. That's always good tonic for your team."

Despite Sunday's loss, Leyland was happy with the way the team bounced back after trailing 6-1, and how well the Tigers played through the rain delays on Monday.

"We played good on the trip," Leyland said. "We were pretty resilient. We could have cashed it in last night, you know, we were going to come home with a winning road trip, the weather was brutal … that's a tough trip for guys. I was thrilled with it. I thought we did well."