"With runners at the corners and one out in the bottom of the first inning, Victor Martinez hit a dribbler to the pitcher. Andy Dirks, the Tigers' outfield prospect and hottest hitter in Florida, scored easily for a 1-0 lead over the New York Mets.

Three innings later, Martinez batted again with Dirks at third base and one out. This time, Martinez slapped a chopper to the shortstop. Again, Dirks scored easily.

Two swings, two balls put in play. Two RBIs with fewer than two outs and a runner at third.

"That's the difference between 80 and 100, or 60 and 80," Jim Leyland said after the game.

He was talking about runs, of course, and how elusive they are when hitters strand runners on the corner, something the Tigers struggled with in 2010. Martinez, a career .300 hitter with power, was signed in the off-season to improve the team's situational hitting, among other things."