The first shakeout in the Detroit rotation is ... well, one, two or three weeks away.

"It's going to be a tough spring," manager Jim Leyland said as his rotation candidates wound their way through their first outings of the spring. "But we all know it. There's nowhere to hide. There's nowhere to duck it. So let's see how they all look."

First time through meant nothing, and it's quite likely the second and third appearances of the spring for starter candidates won't mean squat for the hurlers trying to line up behind right-handers Justin Verlander, Rick Porcello and Max Scherzer.

"I know three of them, knock on wood," Leyland said, "and there's (Armando) Galarraga, (Dontrelle) Willis, (Nate) Robertson and (Jeremy) Bonderman with possibly (Phil) Coke ...

Stephen Strasburg battled some nerves and location issues during his spring training debut. Other than those minor hiccups, the top prospect was pretty impressive. Strasburg threw two scoreless innings in the Washington Nationals' 9-4 loss to the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday, responding well to the hoopla surrounding his first exhibition start.

Jeremy Bonderman struggled with his control again, and this time it hurt him. Bonderman failed to make it out of the first inning in his second spring start, yielding Randy Ruiz's grand slam in the Detroit Tigers' 8-5 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays on Sunday. "Rough day, to say the least," Bonderman said.

LAKELAND, Fla. - J.P. Arencibia hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to lift the Toronto Blue Jays to a 9-7 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday in an exhibition game showcasing the young talent of both teams.

J.P. Arencibia hit a two-run home run in the ninth inning to lift the Toronto Blue Jays to a 9-7 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Thursday in an exhibition game showcasing the young talent of both teams. Arencibia, Toronto's first-round draft choice in 2007, homered off Zach Miner. "He just missed his first one, too," said Blue Jays manager Cito Gaston, referring to Arencibia's...

Just being back on the mound was not enough for Jeremy Bonderman. Bonderman worked two scoreless innings Wednesday in the Detroit Tigers' 7-6 win over the Toronto Blue Jays after missing most of the last two seasons because of a blood clot in his right shoulder that required surgery. "I was just all over the place.