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DET@BOS: Scherzer fans six over six innings of work

Cubs manager Dale Sveum will be happy to see the Tigers' Prince Fielder again on Tuesday when the two teams meet in the first game of a three-game Interleague series at Wrigley Field.

Sort of.

"It'll be good to see him. He's one of my favorite guys I've ever been around and coached," Sveum said of the power-hitting slugger he coached and briefly managed in Milwaukee. "I don't want to see him in the lineup."

Sveum is quick to express his admiration for Fielder, who signed with the Tigers in the offseason.

"He's one of those special guys, not even his numbers, just the way he plays the game and comes to play every single day and comes to win," Sveum said. "He cares as much as anybody I've been around. He loved to talk hitting and goof around. He's one of my favorites and a guy you'll never forget and a guy you'll always pull for, just not those three days."

So, being familiar with Fielder, does Sveum have any special insight into how to get him out?

"I know, but you have to execute," he said. "There are some things I see him doing a little better that he struggled with the last couple years.

"We'll see with the stuff we've got. There's ways to get him out but there's still the execution factor and being ahead in the count has to do with everything when you're trying to put a sequence together when you're trying to get those hitters out."

Tigers manager Jim Leyland is happy to have Fielder on his side now, hitting behind Miguel Cabrera in the batting order to give his team one of the most potent 3-4 combinations in the Majors.

"Anytime you have Cabrera and Fielder back-to-back, you feel pretty good," Leyland said. "Right-hander or left-hander, it doesn't make any difference."

Tigers: Scherzer hopes to bounce back
• Right-hander Max Scherzer will be the starter on Tuesday and is coming off a rough outing, when he gave up eight runs, including five earned, in 4 1/3 innings last Wednesday in a 9-6 loss to the Indians.

Prior to that, Scherzer had won three consecutive starts, giving up a total of eight runs in 18 1/3 innings with 30 strikeouts.

For the season, the 27-year-old Scherzer is 5-4 with a 5.88 ERA in 12 starts with 80 strikeouts in 64 1/3 innings.

• Leyland said Wrigley Field is among his favorite ballparks to play in, but the Tigers haven't made a trip there since 2006.

"I managed a lot of games there and enjoyed it," Leyland said. "I really enjoy going around in batting practice out in the outfield and talking to all the people. They know me because I was there for years with Pittsburgh, and they yell at you and they talk to you. It's fun. It's a happening there. It's a fun place, it really is."

Cubs: Maholm seeks rebound
• Left-hander Paul Maholm is Tuesday's starter and is also is coming off a poor start.

Maholm (4-5, 5.10 ERA) gave up six hits and four earned runs Wednesday in a 8-0 loss to the Brewers. Maholm is winless in his last five starts.

• With Sunday's 8-2 victory over the Twins, the Cubs finished a 10-game road trip with a 2-8 record. They will play 15 of their next 18 games in Chicago.

Worth noting
• Fielder has struggled against Maholm, notching just six hits in 48 at-bats (.125) against the left-hander. He has two walks and has been hit by a pitch twice.

• The big bats in the Tigers' order have been producing this season. Cabrera is hitting .317 with 13 home runs and 51 RBIs. Fielder is hitting .316 with 10 home runs and 40 RBIs.

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