NEW YORK -- The Yankees aren't expecting miracles when Kei Igawa, the veteran Japanese left-hander, joins them to make a start against the Tigers in the first game of a three-game series in Detroit on Friday night.

Just a good, solid start that includes a lot of strikes would be just fine with Yankees manger Joe Girardi, whose team was swept by the Tigers in a three-game series in New York last week.

"I thought as spring went on, he got better and better," Girardi said when asked about Igawa on Thursday. "He got better pitching down with his fastball. I thought he got better at attacking the zone."

The Yankees brought Igawa, who was 86-60 in eight seasons for Hanshin, over from Japan, and signed the 28-year-old pitcher to a five-year, $20 million contract in November 2006.

Igawa struggled with the Yankees last year. In three stints with the team, he was 2-3 with a 6.25 ERA, walked 37 batters in 67 2/3 innings and spent a lot of time in the Minors, where he was 6-5 combined at Class A and Triple-A.

Igawa, who has never faced the Tigers, got off to a decent start for Triple-A Scranton-Wilkes Barre this season. He was 2-2 with 2.49 ERA in his first four starts, and walked only four batters in 21 2/3 innings.

But the lefty tailed off in his last three starts, going 1-1 and yielding 11 earned runs on 17 hits and eight walks over 18 innings. The Yankees hope to make Igawa feel a bit more at home by having Chad Moeller, who caught the pitcher three times at Triple-A, work behind the plate in Detroit.

"He has the ability to strike out people because he has some deception," said Girardi. "He can elevate his fastball, which hitters will chase at times. But most of the time you have to pitch down in the zone.

"I saw progress of that in Spring Training. We saw progress in his tempo."

Pitching matchup
NYY: LHP Kei Igawa (2-3, 6.25 ERA in 2007)
The Yankees are hoping a decent start at Triple-A will translate into the same results against the Tigers, a team Igawa has never faced.

DET: LHP Kenny Rogers (2-3, 6.27 ERA)
While Rogers has struggled this season, he beat the Yankees in New York on April 29. He didn't face them last year, and is 5-7 against them during his career.

Tidbits
Mike Mussina, who improved to 5-3 with his win over Cleveland on Thursday, has not walked a batter in four of his eight starts. ... Yankees relievers have given up just 10 earned runs in their last 42 2/3 innings, including no runs in four innings on Thursday. ... Closer Mariano Rivera is 10-for-10 in save opportunities this year. He made the 800th appearance of his career on Thursday. ... While leadoff batter Johnny Damon is batting a scalding .377 in his team's wins this season, he is batting just .188 (12-for-64) in 18 losses. ... The Yankees finished the season 3-4 against the Indians. Yankees batters matched their season high with four homers on Thursday.

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Up next
• Saturday: Yankees (Darrell Rasner, 1-0, 3.00) at Tigers (Jeremy Bonderman, 2-3, 4.17), 3:40 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Yankees (Andy Pettitte, 3-3, 3.77) at Tigers (Nate Robertson, 1-4, 6.64), 1:05 p.m. ET
• Monday: Yankees (Chien-Ming Wang, 6-1, 3.12) at Rays (Matt Garza, 1-1, 4.91), 7:10 p.m. ET