Alex Avila (hamstring) will likely be placed on the disabled list. Avila was back in the Tigers' lineup Tuesday after missing four starts with a tight right hamstring, but he had to leave the game after aggravating the injury. "We found out it was probably a mistake on my part," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "If you want to blame somebody, you can blame me for that." Avila underwent an MRI after Tuesday's game and results aren't yet known, but the club has already summoned catcher Bryan Holaday from Triple-A Toledo with a DL-stint in mind. Gerald Laird figures to get most of playing time behind the plate while Avila is sidelined, but keep in mind that he's also nursing a hamstring injury.

Alex Avila left Tuesday's game in the sixth inning after apparently aggravating his right hamstring injury. Avila just returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing the previous two contests, but clearly he wasn't totally over the ailment. We'll update his condition when more is known. Gerald Laird took his spot behind the dish.

Alex Avila is not in Friday's lineup against the Yankees. Avila exited Thursday's game after taking a foul ball off his mask, but he's fine. The Tigers have Omir Santos behind the plate since he has a rapport with Casey Crosby, who is making his major league debut Friday night.

Updating a previous item, Alex Avila was removed from Thursday's game for precautionary reasons and showed no symptoms of a concussion. Avila exited Thursday's game after taking a foul ball off his mask. He suffered a cut above his nose, but it sounds like he managed to avoid serious injury. Look for him to return to the lineup Friday.

Alex Avila (knee) is back in the Tigers' starting lineup Thursday against the Athletics. Avila has been dealing with a sore left patellar tendon this week, but that he only missed two games is a good sign that it's nothing major. The 25-year-old backstop is hitting .250/.333/.463 with four homers, nine RBI and a .796 OPS across 90 plate appearances this season.

Alex Avila (knee) is confident he'll be ready to return to the lineup Thursday after a couple days off. "It's just pain tolerance," Avila said about his sore left patella tendon. "It's not gonna require surgery or anything like that." His comments are encouraging, but we can't forget about how badly he struggled in the playoffs last year while dealing with the same ailment. The Tigers will go with Gerald Laird behind the plate for now.

Alex Avila will miss at least the next two games with a sore left patella tendon. It sounds like just a day-to-day type injury for now, but it must be noted that Avila dealt with patella soreness down the stretch last season, and it was a big reason why he batted just .073/.116/.146 during the playoffs. At this point, it doesn't appear to be something that will force him to the disabled list.

Alex Avila will start the second game of Saturday's double-header with the Rangers. Gerald Laird will catch the opener against the left-handed Matt Harrison. Avila is 9-for-35 (.257) with two homers and six RBI in 10 games this season.

Alex Avila ended a wild back-and-forth game in the 11th inning Sunday, taking Mark Melancon deep for a walkoff, two-run homer in Detroit's 13-12 win over the Red Sox. The teams combined for 35 hits, and ended nine tied 10-10. Boston went ahead 12-10 in the top of the 11th, but Melancon came unglued in the bottom half as he took his second loss of the series. The home run was already Avila's second of the year, and the Tigers' catcher will bring a cool .417/.500/1.000 triple slash into the season's first full week.

Alex Avila went 2-for-2 on Monday with a run scored and two RBI against the Mets. The young catcher has looked very good at the plate so far, batting 4-for-12 (.333) with four walks. On the flip side, he has fanned 5 times -- something to track in light of his 131 strikeouts last season.