2011 DETROIT TIGER SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

Porcello hit hard as Tigers' lead falls to two
Detroit tastes defeat for 13th straight game at Progressive Field

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/11/2011 12:37 AM ET

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CLEVELAND -- As painful as three walk-off losses at Progressive Field have been for the Tigers this season, the alternative proved to be worse.

As the Tigers took their swings in the ninth inning, their 10-3 deficit to the Indians about to be the final margin, many in the crowd of 23,258 were still in attendance, cheering for the final three outs. When they weren't chanting for Ubaldo Jimenez, the Indians ace who was stellar in his home debut, they were chanting for Jason Kipnis, the rookie second baseman who tormented the Tigers for five hits and four runs.

The Ohio-Michigan rivalry was alive and well, and in case it wasn't clear, so is the American League Central race. Detroit's 13th straight loss in Cleveland, five of them this season, whittled its American League Central lead to just two games heading into Thursday night's series finale.

"This is one you just have to turn the page," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland.

Rick Porcello would like to do that. What was hoped to be a pitching duel between him and Jimenez turned into a runaway in a hurry, handing him not only his first loss since June 28, but some of the highest numbers of Porcello's career.

"You can't live off the changeup," Porcello said. "When your fastball's not effective, it makes for a long night, like tonight was."

The fact that Porcello had to go to the changeup as such a big pitch was a big sign of what kind of night it was.

With a bullpen depleted from Tuesday's 14-inning defeat and secondary pitches that deserted Porcello, the Tigers gave him time to try to find his stuff. But the sinker that has induced so many big ground balls for him this summer flattened into a fastball running side-to-side, and the slider that had become a big swing-and-miss pitch was almost non-existent.

Those were the ingredients to his recent success. Porcello (11-7) was unbeaten in his previous six starts, having found a successful mix to get hitters away from sitting on his sinker. But by the time Carlos Santana's RBI double chased Porcello in a four-run fourth inning, just over half of his total pitches were sinkers, and not particularly effective ones.

He threw very few sliders after struggling to locate them, and though his changeup produced some swings and misses, it also furthered the damage.

"The problem was falling behind guys, whether it was with the fastball or offspeed stuff," Porcello said. "And my sinker was more running today. It was more of a running two-seam than a sinker. It didn't have that good downward action that it's had in my previous starts. That was the problem.

"When the ball is running horizontal and not going down, it gives them a better chance to get the barrel on it, especially lefties. That's been my problem in the past when I've had tough times against lefties. It's either not keeping them off-balance or not having good downward action on my fastball."

It was difficult enough that when Porcello had to go to a payoff pitch to Kipnis with two outs in the second inning, he tried a power fastball, not a sinker. Kipnis sent it deep to right for a two-run homer and a 4-0 lead.

"He obviously had an outstanding night tonight," Porcello said. "I didn't make pitches against him. I gave him some good pitches to hit and he took advantage of it. The 3-2 pitch was a fastball middle-in, and he took advantage of that and turned on it."

Porcello still gave himself a chance to get back into the game. But once the score turned in the fourth, it turned hard.

The right-hander retired the side scoreless in the third to stop the momentum for a bit. Jimenez retired Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera to start the fourth, but an extra step from Victor Martinez earned him an infield single. It also tweaked his sprained knee a bit, though he said after the game he was all right.

Ryan Raburn, who doubled in two runs off Jimenez six weeks ago when the Cleveland starter was still with Colorado, one-upped himself by tripling off the left-center-field wall to plate Martinez. After Alex Avila walked, Wilson Betemit doubled in two to bring Detroit within a run.

Jimenez ended the threat by retiring Ramon Santiago, and a shutdown inning from Porcello would've brought the top of the order back up against Jimenez in the fifth with momentum.

Instead, Kipnis singled in Marson for another run, and a wild throw from center fielder Andy Dirks on Asdrubal Cabrera's single plated another. Porcello struck out Travis Hafner, but not until a 2-2 pitch in the dirt allowed Cabrera to score from third base.

"The fourth inning was really the turnaround inning of the game," Leyland said. "I mean, we got back in it, and then we turned right around and let them pull away again. That's not a good inning. It was a very good half-inning, but not as good as a full inning."

Porcello yielded a season-high-tying 11 hits before departing mid-frame. Once Kosuke Fukudome greeted David Pauley with an RBI double, the eight runs charged to Porcello's name equaled his career high, set last season.

"It was a little bit infectious today," Kipnis said. "Everyone was hitting, everyone was having good swings tonight. It went down the order one through nine and everyone contributed, so it was a lot of fun to hit tonight."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Milestones abound in Tigers' win
Verlander wins 100th; Valverde converts 33rd straight save

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/12/2011 12:40 AM ET

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CLEVELAND -- Justin Verlander became the only active pitcher under the age of 30 with 100 career wins. Jose Valverde became the first Tiger to convert 33 consecutive save opportunities in one season. Both milestones drew a vociferous celebration in the Tigers' clubhouse after Thursday's 4-3 win over the Indians.

But the bigger celebration was the end of another milestone. Detroit's 13-game losing streak here was over, and the Indians' charge back into the American League Central race was halted. And as Verlander stepped around some ice in front of his locker, ice from the celebratory champagne, that was the mark on his mind.

"It's still exciting to get there," Verlander said of 100 wins, "but in the big scheme, it doesn't mean all that much. There's other things going on here with this team. Obviously, this win was special because of the other circumstances surrounding it, the games that we lost here in Cleveland. We battled tonight, fighting some ghosts when they tried to come back a little bit. It was a great team win."

Verlander has had better outings on his way to the century mark, quite a few of them this year, but few this season have been more important. On a night when Cleveland could have cut Detroit's lead in the division to one game, Verlander battled himself as much as the Indians and held off their rally.

They badly wanted to get to him, and they came incredibly close. They might well have gotten there if not for Austin Jackson's acrobatic catch at the center-field fence, his second in six days on this road trip. But they didn't.

"Our main goal was to shorten up the distance, and we did," said Indians manager Manny Acta, whose team now sits three games back. "Yeah, we wanted to pick up three games, but that wasn't the case."

Whatever was hanging over the Tigers at Progressive Field, they killed it.

"We haven't done too well here, obviously," manager Jim Leyland said. "And when we got off to a good start tonight and they put a three-spot up, it was a sign of déjà vu. But Verlander did a great job of holding them to three runs and held on. It was a very, very good baseball game."

Leyland, mind you, isn't one to believe in momentum, other than that day's pitcher, and he believes in Verlander more than anybody. But he also hates the squeeze bunt, yet he was willing to call for one in the second inning with Alex Avila on third, Jackson at the plate and Indians starter Fausto Carmona trying to find the strike zone.

Leyland called for it and held his breath, hoping the Indians magic wouldn't get him.

"Some people wish I would hold it for a long time," he joked afterward.

Jackson got the bunt down and scored Avila for a four-run lead midway through the second inning. Then Leyland had to get that feeling again while the Indians rallied.

Verlander was on the mound the last time the Tigers won here, beating the Indians on May 8 of last year with six innings of three-run ball -- not his best outing, but with great pitches when he needed them. This was one of those outings.

He could live with Carlos Santana's homer in the bottom of the second. With a big lead behind him, he challenged Cleveland's gifted young catcher. The free passes an inning later got him. He hadn't walked two batters in the same inning since May 2, against the Yankees. He hadn't walked more than two batters in a game since May 13, against the Royals, and he had a no-hitter going into the sixth that night.

Verlander lost an 0-2 count to Lou Marson for a one-out pass, but it was the 3-2 pitch he missed to Jason Kipnis that bothered him more. It extended the inning for Asdrubal Cabrera, who got a 1-2 curveball and stayed on it for a liner into the right-field corner.

"I got a three-run lead there, and I walked two guys. That's not me," Verlander said. "That's especially not me this year. I've been able to limit my walks substantially. I just didn't have a great feel. Usually, especially given a lead like that, I'm not going to put guys on base unless they earn their way on. Tonight was a different story, and then all of a sudden, you're facing their best hitter and he hits a double down the line and it's a one-run game.

"From there on it was just a battle all night to keep those guys off the basepaths, not let myself walk guys and not give them too much to hit. Obviously, with a one-run game, it's tough. You don't want to walk anybody, but you don't want to throw anything down the middle of the plate."

What followed was more like vintage Verlander. He retired 13 of his last 15 batters, striking out six of them, and made his lead stick. One of the non-strikeouts might have been the biggest out of the game.

After a one-out walk to Travis Hafner, Santana nearly homered off Verlander again. His drove the ball to straightaway center, but Jackson sprinted back to make an acrobatic catch before crashing into the fence.

"I'm not sure if it would have [gone] out or not," Jackson said. "I didn't really get a chance to take a peek at the wall. I was just trying to make sure in that situation. It was hit well enough that in that situation, I just wanted to be sure."

It was Jackson's second clutch grab at the fence in as many Verlander starts, and it killed the makings of one more Indians rally. Verlander and setup man Joaquin Benoit combined to retire eight straight Clevelanders before Valverde came on.

The crowd anticipated a rally. Valverde, with his first save situation here this year, didn't allow it.

"This was a setup job tonight," Leyland said. "They've got the towels out, and they were waving them. It was almost like a playoff atmosphere. They were all keyed up. They've had a lot of dramatic moments. And for him to go out there and get that part of the order without anybody reaching base, that's pretty impressive."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers prevail in see-saw affair in Baltimore

By Jeff Seidel / Special to MLB.com | 8/13/2011 12:02 AM ET

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BALTIMORE -- The Tigers certainly manufactured plenty of scoring chances in Friday's game. They finished with 15 hits, but couldn't always come through at the right time, leaving 12 on base and going just 4-for-12 with runners in scoring position.

But Andy Dirks made sure Detroit didn't come up empty. Dirks came up with his first career four-hit game, going 4-for-4 and driving in the game-winning run with a sixth-inning single that gave the Tigers a 5-4 victory over the Orioles before 21,465 at Camden Yards.

The Tigers (63-55) were constantly sending batters up with runners on base. They left runners on in eight of the nine innings, going down in order just once. But the Orioles (45-71) made a number of slick plays on defense that robbed Detroit, and the Tigers too often struggled to get timely hits.

"It's a really good win because of the fact that we missed a lot of opportunities," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "We had a lot of opportunities to get some runs on the board, and that ... usually comes back and spells disaster. Normally, when you miss that many opportunities, you don't win the game."

Despite coming up empty a bunch of times, the Tigers came through often enough. Dirks banged out three singles and a double. Wilson Betemit continued his recent hot streak by going 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Alex Avila and Austin Jackson each added two hits.

Dirks reached base in all five of his plate appearances. He walked and later scored in the first before coming up with hits in his final four at-bats, snapping the 0-for-7 slide the rookie left fielder was battling coming into the game.

The four hits improved his average to .273 on the season.

"You're not going to get a hit in every game," Dirks said. "You've just got to keep grinding and keep battling up there at the plate and doing things to help your team win, whatever it is."

Brad Penny (8-9) gave up two homers to J.J. Hardy and four runs in 5 1/3 innings, but hung on to snap a three-game losing streak. This was Penny's first appearance in eight days, and Detroit's bullpen slammed the door after he left the game.

Phil Coke threw 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and Joaquin Benoit faced the minimum number of batters in the eighth. Jose Valverde then earned his 34th consecutive save in the ninth, though the Orioles had a runner on third with two outs. Valverde struck out Nolan Reimold to end it.

The Tigers are 56-0 when leading after eight this season.

Detroit had to keep battling in a game that saw the momentum swing back and forth. The Tigers took a 1-0 lead in the first on Miguel Cabrera's RBI single off starter Alfredo Simon. Baltimore answered with a two-run homer from Hardy in the bottom half before the Tigers tied in on Jackson's sacrifice fly in the second.

Betermit gave the Tigers a 4-2 edge with his two-run homer in the fourth before the Orioles tied it in the fifth. Hardy hit his second homer off Penny, a solo shot, and Vladimir Guerrero had an RBI single later in the inning.

Hardy's been hot lately, with five homers in his past six games, and Friday marked his third multi-homer game since July 26.

"I feel like I'm having a pretty good idea up there right now," Hardy said. "I feel like I'm not necessarily a guess hitter, but in the back of my mind, I feel like I know what they're trying to do."

The Tigers took the lead for good in the sixth. Jackson opened the inning with a double and scored when Dirks followed with a single to center.

But Jackson earned his own "save" in the bottom of the eighth when he made a leaping catch of an Adam Jones shot at the wall in center field. Jackson has been on a defensive roll of late, making a few impressive catches in recent games.

"Anything I can do to try and help the team win ballgames, that's what I'm going to do," Jackson said.

The win meant even more because the Tigers were shaken up before the game when relief pitcher Al Alburquerque got hit in the temple during batting practice. He was playing catch in left field when a shot from Baltimore's Robert Andino hit him in the head. Alburquerque never saw the ball coming.

Alburquerque was taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center, where he was to remain overnight for observation. He was diagnosed with a concussion and placed on the seven-day concussion disabled list. The Tigers will recall Ryan Perry to take his place.

"It's just one of those unfortunate things," Leyland said.

Jeff Seidel is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

To the Max: Tigers' rally largest of season
Five-run comeback supports Scherzer's 10 K's in third straight win

By Jeff Seidel / Special to MLB.com | 8/13/2011 11:44 PM ET

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BALTIMORE -- The Tigers couldn't solve the riddle that was Jeremy Guthrie early in Saturday night's game. The Orioles starter smoothly changed speeds and pitches, kept the Tigers off-balance and, to make things worse, held an early five-run lead.

But the Tigers kept battling and finally found the answer in the sixth, when Detroit banged out six consecutive hits off Guthrie to score five runs -- Ryan Raburn's two-run single was the final blow that netted a 6-5 victory before 24,114 at Camden Yards.

The win was Detroit's third straight and a club-record eighth consecutive one-run victory, wiping out a franchise record set back in 1944.

Max Scherzer (12-7) got the win, shaking off a rough second inning that gave the Orioles (45-72) an early 5-0 lead. Vladimir Guerroro hit a two-run homer and Blake Davis added his first Major League blast, a three-run shot, that put Guthrie (5-16) and the Orioles in command.

Manager Jim Leyland said the Tigers (64-55) began talking on the bench about not giving up, battling the entire nine innings and making the Orioles work. That effort paid off in a big rally that gave the Tigers their best come-from-behind victory this season -- they hadn't bounced back from more than three runs down.

"It was a heck of a comeback for us," Leyland said. "This could've been a real tough game for us. Guthrie was really good. He was changing speeds, throwing off-speed stuff in fastball counts, fastballs in off-speed counts. We got a couple of mistakes, and we hit them."

The Tigers scored once in the fourth on a Miguel Cabrera sacrifice fly, but Guthrie kept on breezing and had given up only two hits after retiring the first two batters in the top of the sixth. That's when everything changed.

Magglio Ordonez started the rally with a double before Cabrera hit a two-run homer to right-center to make it 5-3. Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta hit back-to-back singles before Alex Avila lined a ground-rule double to right, plating one and putting runners on second and third.

Raburn stroked a single to center, scoring both Peralta and Avila to give the Tigers a 6-5 lead, delighting the large contingent of Tiger fans on hand and ending Guthrie's night.

"It's the game of baseball," Raburn said. "We're facing a good pitcher out there. We're making him work, and we were able to get to him. We had to make him make mistakes, and we were able to capitalize on them."

The Tigers took advantage of Guthrie falling behind in the counts more often, something he hadn't done much earlier in the game. Avila hit a 3-0 pitch and Raburn came through on a 3-1 count.

"They got into some counts there," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. "At this level, [rallies] can happen any time. You don't ever assume something like that can't happen. You don't look at it that way. I don't, anyway."

Scherzer shook off his early problems and followed his five-run second with five blank innings, allowing just three more hits. He struck out 10 without a walk in his 120-pitch effort.

The right-hander retired 14 of the next 15 batters he saw after Davis' homer before the Orioles threatened in the seventh. With two on and one out, Scherzer struck out Felix Pie and fanned J.J. Hardy after an eight-pitch at-bat. He banged his fist into his glove with delight while walking off the mound.

"It's baseball," Scherzer said. "You're going to get hit around, you're going to give up bombs, and it's just the way it goes. You've got to have thick skin to be able to pitch in this league and to realize I've got a job to do here, and I've got to eat as many innings as I can in that situation to give our team the best chance."

Phil Coke set the Orioles down in order in the eighth, and Jose Valverde came through once more with his team-record 35th straight save to lock up the wild come-from-behind win.

"It's just amazing in this game how things can change really quick," Raburn said.

Jeff Seidel is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Decision to pull V-Mart magnified in loss
Fister roughed up as Detroit can't convert first road sweep of season

By Jeff Seidel / Special to MLB.com | 8/14/2011 6:37 PM ET

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BALTIMORE -- Even managers who've won the World Series second-guess themselves sometimes.

Jim Leyland was doing some of that late Sunday afternoon. The Tigers' skipper made a move in the ninth that backfired on him minutes later, a decision he couldn't help but think back on after the Orioles hung on for an 8-5 victory over the Tigers before 18,348 at Camden Yards.

The Indians' finale against the Twins was postponed, leaving the Tigers 2 1/2 games up in the American League Central.

The Orioles (46-72) jumped to an 8-1 lead, thanks in large part to a three-hit, four-RBI performance from Nick Markakis. They were holding that seven-run edge when Victor Martinez started the ninth with a single off Kevin Gregg. Leyland pulled Martinez for pinch-runner Will Rhymes, who was called up from Triple-A Toledo earlier in the day.

Martinez has been battling a sore knee in recent days -- the reason he was a designated hitter throughout this series -- and Leyland thought this would give him a little break.

But Gregg couldn't find the plate. The Tigers (64-56) took advantage of that trouble to score four runs off the Baltimore closer, and Martinez's spot came up again later in the inning with the bases loaded and two outs. Leyland went to Brennan Boesch as a pinch-hitter for Rhymes, and he ripped a shot down the left-field line on which Nolan Reimold made a spectacular running catch to end the game.

"I made a move that just backfired," Leyland said. "I was just trying to save Victor some. I still felt good with Brennan going up there, particularly in this park, but it was just a move that didn't work out -- and that's all on my shoulders, nobody else's."

Boesch hadn't played since Wednesday due to a sprained right thumb. Leyland said before the game that if Boesch fared well in batting practice Monday that he might return to the lineup on Tuesday. Boesch was fine hitting in the cage Sunday, so Leyland used him in this situation, and the outfielder nearly came up with a very big hit.

"Reimold's a fast outfielder; I thought it was going to be down the line, rattle around, and he made a good play," Boesch said. "Off the bat, I definitely through it had a good chance to be a double. I didn't absolutely kill it, but I hit it pretty good."

Reimold said the ball was slicing away from him, and he just started running.

"I just had to sprint after it and catch it on the run," Reimold said. "I'm happy I could get there and make the play."

The lineout extended Boesch's hitless streak to 14 at-bats. He also has 16 homers and 64 RBIs on the season, so the outfielder's got some punch.

But Martinez came into the game ranked fourth in the AL in batting and leading the league with a .406 average with runners in scoring position -- despite not hitting a homer in his past 226 plate appearances.

The Orioles removed most of the game's suspense by banging around starter Doug Fister (4-13) for eight runs on 12 hits in 5 2/3 innings. Markakis helped with his four RBIs, including a two-run homer in the first. Reimold and Adam Jones each stroked three hits; Craig Tatum added two, and Vladimir Guerrero helped with a two-run single -- after twice grounding into a double play.

Jo-Jo Reyes (6-9) allowed just one run on four hits for the Orioles in six strong innings, picking up his first win in orange and black. Yet Baltimore nearly blew a big lead for the second straight day when Gregg couldn't retire a batter.

Martinez, Jhonny Peralta and Ryan Raburn began the ninth with singles to load the bases. Alex Avila saw his 10-game hitting streak end, but he drove in a run with a bases-loaded walk. Ramon Santiago, who homered earlier, also walked as the Tigers pulled within 8-3.

Austin Jackson became the sixth straight Tigers batter to reach after lining an RBI single to left. That ended Gregg's day, and Jim Johnson came on to strike out Andy Dirks. Magglio Ordonez made it 8-5 with an RBI groundout before Johnson intentionally walked Miguel Cabrera. That brought up the Martinez/Rhymes spot, and Boesch lined out to end the game and leave Leyland wondering.

"That's one of those tough ones," Leyland said. "You think you're doing something that makes sense, and in that particular case, it just backfired. Who knows? Victor might have hit a home run. He might not have got a hit. That's just the way it goes."

Jeff Seidel is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Young homers in debut, but Tigers fall

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/16/2011 1:30 AM ET

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DETROIT -- Jim Thome slugged his way into history Monday night against the club he has beaten more than any other. In the process of reaching 600 homers, he slugged the Tigers back a little closer to the pack in the AL Central.

Hours after the Tigers traded for Delmon Young, they got the offensive jolt they wanted, tying their highest run output in 17 days. Yet once the Twins pulled ahead, they left the Tigers playing catch-up the rest of the night. In the end, the 9-6 final cut a half-game off the Tigers' division lead on a night when the second-place Indians and third-place White Sox were off.

The Indians haven't played in two days thanks to Sunday's rainout, yet they've knocked a game off the Tigers' lead in that time, now down to two games atop the division. Chicago, meanwhile, sits 3 1/2 games back.

Yet as manager Jim Leyland was sitting in his office after the game, it wasn't Cleveland or Chicago on his mind, but the issues his own club has to face.

"We swung the bats pretty good," Leyland said. "We just didn't pitch good. And this is all said and done, that's what it's going to boil down to. Tonight, we just didn't do it."

Or as he later pointed out, "We scored six runs tonight. You're supposed to win when you score six runs."

The way the Twins capitalized on Rick Porcello's second consecutive rough start, it wasn't going to happen.

The Tigers traded for Young thinking he was getting close to the 2010 form that helped push Minnesota to the division title, and believing he could help them do the same. Once he stepped to the plate for the first time in a Detroit uniform, his first-inning solo homer pulled them ahead. According to Elias Sports Bureau, he became the first Major League player to homer in his first at-bat for his new team, facing his old team, since Dave Martinez in one of his four stops in 2000.

Few likely received the ovation Young received before his first pitch. He was loudly welcomed during pregame introductions, and again when he stepped to the plate. His homer didn't hurt.

"You can't ask for anything more," Young said. "You're in a pennant race, and the fans want you to play well because they obviously want to win, and they'd like to get the playoffs again. So it's good to have the fans behind you."

It was good until the third inning, when two errors in the Tigers' infield and RBI doubles from Trevor Plouffe and Justin Morneau put Detroit behind. Victor Martinez's two-run homer, his first since June 10, drew the Tigers back even, but Porcello never found the groove to keep them there.

Porcello had a six-game unbeaten streak going before Cleveland roughed him up for eight runs, tying a career high, and 11 hits over just 3 2/3 innings last week. He said after that one that a mechanical issue flattened out his sinker and cost him command of his offspeed pitches, and he couldn't correct it during the game. He felt he had it fixed going into Monday, and he was better, but not enough.

"I was OK. I was where I needed to be [early]. And as the game went on, my arm started dragging and my fastball was up in the zone," Porcello said. "Everything was up in the zone, not just the fastball."

Porcello actually finished with his usual dose of ground-ball outs, 10 of them, compared with three popouts, but the vast majority of those came early. He retired six consecutive Twins after Ben Revere's leadoff hit. From the third inning on, though, he gave up eight hits, half of them for extra bases, against 12 outs. And it took a play at the plate for the last out, with Alex Avila withstanding a collision with Revere trying for an inside-the-park home run.

"I saw they were sending him," Avila said. "I was just getting ready for a play at the plate there, and that was about as close as you can get right there."

The play was a rallying point for the Tigers. The three runs that preceded it were not, leaving Porcello with six runs, four earned, over six innings.

"He made too many bad pitches," Leyland said, "especially with offspeed stuff."

Simply put, Porcello said, the fix he made between starts didn't stick.

"It's not a major thing at all," Porcello said. "It's one of those things where I thought I had it fixed in the first couple innings and as the game went on, I started getting back into bad habits. It takes the sink out of my fastball and starts running and staying in the zone. It wasn't nearly as bad as the last start. Tonight, I just think it was at times."

In the end, though, the add-on runs against Daniel Schlereth loomed large. Avila's RBI triple and score in the bottom of the inning drew the Tigers within a run, but Thome's second home run of the night, a three-run shot after walks to Trevor Plouffe and Justin Morneau provided the final difference.

It was another case of Thome knowing Tigers pitchers too well.

"It looked like he was sitting a little bit on the breaking ball," Schlereth said. "If I threw it a little more down in the zone, he might've swung over top of it or chopped one somewhere. But he's a great hitter. You can't make mistakes like that, and he made me pay for it."

He's done that to plenty of Tigers pitchers over the years.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Verlander dominates Twins for 18th win

By Chris Vannini / MLB.com | 8/17/2011 12:21 AM ET

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DETROIT -- Once again, Justin Verlander took the mound after a Tigers loss, and once again, he picked up a win, giving up one run over 7 2/3 innings as the Tigers defeated the Twins, 7-1, on Tuesday night.

It was the 19th time in 27 starts that Verlander was pitching after a Tigers loss, and the 14th time he picked up a win in such a situation -- including nine of the last 10 times. With the win, Verlander became the Majors' first 18-game winner this season.

"It just so happens that it falls on my day," Verlander said. "I'd rather not be [the stopper.] I'd rather be the guy who continues a winning streak, but it hasn't been that way."

It was a bit of a rocky start for Verlander, who threw 29 pitches in the first inning -- only 17 of which were strikes. He gave up a hit in the second and the third, but found his rhythm after that.

"I just didn't really have my groove in the first few innings there," Verlander said. "But you're not always going to come out of the bullpen right where you want to be. My goal from there on out was to keep the guys off the scoreboard and try to find my rhythm at the same time. Around the third or fourth inning, I started to find my groove a little bit."

He retired 14 of 15 batters from the end of the third to the beginning of the eighth, before allowing three hits and a run, ending his night.

It was the eighth time this season Verlander threw at least 120 pitches, finishing with 121. He also picked up his 200th strikeout of the season, marking the third straight season in which he has accomplished the feat. The last Tigers pitcher to have three straight 200-strikeout seasons was Mickey Lolich, who had six straight seasons from 1969-74.

But the personal wins and the strikeouts don't mean much while the team is fighting for a division title.

"That sort of stuff is for the end of the season, to look back at," he said. "Not right now. Right now is a time to focus on my next start, or get ready tomorrow for us to go out there and win another baseball game."

But leading the Majors in strikeouts, innings pitched and wins takes its toll, so Tigers manager Jim Leyland had decided to give Verlander an extra day of rest before his next start -- meaning he'd miss a big series with the second-place Indians.

After Tuesday's game, Verlander told Leyland he would pitch Sunday against Cleveland if needed, but the manager stuck to his guns.

"A couple starts in a row, I haven't felt fantastic," Verlander said. "But it's coming down to the last few starts here. I just wanted to go in there and let him know if he wanted me to go on five days' [rest], I'm more than willing, and I think I'm over that hump I went through. I feel really good right now. I just gave him that option. He declined."

With Verlander being a little off early, the Tigers gave him some support, taking a 2-0 lead on a two-out single from Miguel Cabrera in the third inning. They added three more on three straight singles from Victor Martinez, Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta in the fifth inning, giving Verlander a cushion, of which he took advantage.

"If you saw him, he was a little edgy early, not himself quite," Leyland said. "But when he got a couple extra add-on runs, all of a sudden he was locked in. I mean, freezing guys with the curveball, fastball strikes, freezing a guy with a fastball down and away. ... I mean, when he starts smelling it, all of a sudden it picked up."

Every Tiger in the lineup had a base hit, and seven reached base at least twice, including Ramon Santiago, who hit a home run for the second time in three days.

"[Verlander is] in the mid-to-upper 90s with a pretty nice hammer and a changeup. So he's a tough cookie," Twins outfielder Ben Revere said. "He has a lot of good stuff and hits his spots with it. And with the lineup the Tigers have, it's tough. If they score three or four runs, it's going to tough to come back from that."

Revere hit the first of three singles off Verlander in the eighth inning, which ended his night. As has become the norm at Comerica Park, the sellout crowd gave Verlander a standing ovation as he walked off the field.

"I really couldn't go any longer," Leyland said. "Actually, if [Joe] Mauer had got on, I was going to take him out for [Justin] Morneau. But as soon as he struck Mauer out, I said, 'Well, I've got to give him Morneau.' I didn't want to get shot walking out there to take him out. I thought he deserves to try to get Morneau."

Verlander is no stranger to pennant races, but this time around, he feels the Tigers have a better shot to win it than in previous years. As the final third of the season begins, the crowds at Comerica Park will remain large and loud, especially when Verlander takes the mound.

"This is what everybody talks about in the offseason," Verlander said. "All the hoopla, all the new teams, all the new acquisitions, everybody saying, 'Hey, we're going to be there in September, we're going to go to the playoffs.' This is it. This is what we're here for."

Chris Vannini is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Late rally sinks Tigers

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/18/2011 12:29 AM ET

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DETROIT -- This was the kind of back-and-forth battle that fit Tigers-Twins division races of the past, at least from a scoring standpoint. But that wasn't an American League Central title the Twins were eyeing when Justin Morneau's go-ahead single went through the middle to score two runs in the ninth inning Wednesday night.

Instead, the eventual 6-5 Tigers loss sealed the Twins' first series victory at Comerica Park since July 2008. For the Tigers, it ensured that the Indians come to town this weekend with a chance to challenge for Detroit's division perch, now separated by just two games.

With six lead changes from the sixth inning on, and the potential tying run on base in the bottom of the ninth, the Tigers could look at any number of turning points, from a pitch to Tiger killer Jim Thome with two out and first base open in the eighth, to a pair of infield errors on sacrifice bunts in the ninth. Rene Tosoni's two-run homer in the seventh was probably a final pitch Brad Penny would like back. An attempt to catch the Twins napping on a Miguel Cabrera double turned into an easy out on Brennan Boesch at the plate. Bases-loaded, no-out jams on both sides turned the contest -- the Tigers getting one run out of theirs, the Twins eventually turning theirs into two.

"To win a series here against a team that's beat us up all year is good," Morneau said. "We're not going to lay down, we're not going to quit and we're going to keep battling. So hopefully it's a start for us to play some good baseball."

Count all the chances, and it was a game to lament. Still, even as they did, the Tigers were ready to think ahead to Friday.

"This guy's a good hitter," closer Jose Valverde said of Morneau. "I threw my best pitch, my sinker, and he hit it. Nothing you can do. Today was not my day. I have a day off tomorrow. I think I'm going to enjoy my day off, come back and play hard."

Valverde is used to that philosophy. He just hasn't had to use it much this year. At 35-for-35 in save opportunities, he hasn't had to brush off a blown save. It was a tie game he entered in the ninth, one he wouldn't have an opportunity to close regardless.

His numbers are vastly different outside of save situations, but he said his approach isn't. It certainly wasn't on Wednesday, when every inning seemingly brought a new rally.

"This is my spot tonight, whether it's tied or it's a save," Valverde said. "Nothing you can do. I threw all my pitches. I think all my pitches today were working. I threw one mistake, and it cost me."

It wasn't a huge mistake, not a home run or anything. Valverde entered the game having held the Twins to 7-for-63 (.111) at the plate for his career, with a double being the only hit for extra bases. Wednesday did little to damage that line.

Tosoni's leadoff single was a ground ball through the right side, and it set the Twins offense in motion. Tsuyoshi Nishioka tried and failed on two bunt attempts before finally laying one down on an 0-2 pitch. Valverde tried to pick it up quickly and never got a clean grasp.

"You know, I think I tried to do it a little quick," Valverde said. "I think that's what happened when I lost the baseball. Nothing I can do. It's over already."

By contrast, Wilson Betemit had gotten a clean grab on Ben Revere's ensuing attempt to bunt the runners over, and he got his throw to first in time. But it was wide of the bag, and it loaded the bases.

"That's the cardinal sin," manager Jim Leyland said of the plays. "When they bunt, make sure you get an out somewhere."

Valverde had found trouble with only one clean hit. He only allowed one more ball in play, but it was a killer. Trevor Plouffe struck out swinging on fastballs, the last one high and out of the zone. Joe Mauer took two straight fastballs for strikes, the second on the inside corner, before swinging and missing at another to take away the sac fly opportunity.

But with a 2-0 count on Morneau, Valverde had to challenge him and paid for it. Morneau laced a ground ball through the middle and past a diving effort from Jhonny Peralta, scoring Tosoni and Nishioka.

One inning earlier, Betemit had pinch-hit for Don Kelly in the Tigers' bases-loaded, no-out situation and tied the game with a high fly ball to center to score pinch-runner Austin Jackson. Yet that's all Matt Capps (4-6) allowed. Ramon Santiago's fly ball two pitches later wasn't deep enough for Alex Avila to take off, and Andy Dirks popped out on the next pitch.

An inning earlier, the Tigers had made the third out at the plate with Boesch trying to score on Cabrera's game-tying double. It was an aggressive play, but one that came with Victor Martinez due up.

"To me, that was a great call," Leyland said. "It didn't work, but what you're hoping is once they threw the ball to second base, you're hoping you can catch him with his pants down a little bit and maybe he isn't aware that you continued to send the guy. Somebody yelled home and he made a good play and threw him out. He was out easy, don't get me wrong, but with two outs I thought it was a great call."

Minnesota's other big two-out hit came in the eighth, when Duane Below tried to pitch Thome carefully.

"Below made really a pretty good pitch on him," Leyland said. "He was trying to throw the ball in off the plate. He didn't get it in quite as much as he wanted. He was able to pull his hands in and got the base hit."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers take opener in key Central clash

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/20/2011 12:17 AM ET

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DETROIT -- Luis Valbuena dug into the batter's box with the potential tying run on second for the Indians, two outs in the seventh and the Tigers clutching onto a lead. He swung and missed at an 83 mph changeup, then couldn't catch up with a 95 mph fastball on the 125th pitch of the night.

He wasn't facing Justin Verlander, but he wasn't enjoying the difference. And when Max Scherzer's 127th and final pitch got Valbuena to ground out meekly to first, the Indians were looking at another dominant start from the Tigers by somebody other than the American League Cy Young favorite.

Though add-on home runs from Alex Avila and Jhonny Peralta provided the final margin for the 4-1 Tigers victory Friday night and a 2 1/2-game lead atop the American League Central, Scherzer was the story. On a night when Josh Tomlin held down Detroit's offense until late in an impressive outing, Scherzer never allowed Cleveland to take advantage.

It was the kind of performance opponents have come to expect from the top of the Tigers rotation, mainly from Verlander. It's the kind of big-game performance the Tigers acquired Scherzer to find, and got from Scherzer time and again last summer. Now, as the pennant race heads into the final six weeks, they're counting on it again.

They decided not to move up Verlander and start him in this series, instead giving him the extra rest after some potential signs of fatigue. If the Tigers' rotation works as planned, particularly with Rick Porcello on Sunday, it shouldn't matter.

Scherzer appeared motivated to make that point. Get him going alongside Verlander, and the Tigers look twice as tough to overtake down the stretch. Get the rest of the rotation rolling beyond them, and there's some danger in Detroit looming.

"We know we all want to make the playoffs, and we all know that, as a staff, we've got to pitch well," Scherzer said. "One through five, it doesn't matter. Obviously Verlander is having one of the best seasons anybody's going to have, but we have to pitch well. We just can't rely on him. Everybody on the pitching staff, everybody in this clubhouse has to play to their potential, has to do their job and go out there and play their best. Otherwise, we don't win."

With seven innings of one-run ball on Friday, Scherzer resumed his midsummer ERA drop, from 4.90 on July 1 to 4.23 now. The last time it was any lower was Memorial Day weekend.

He has allowed 48 hits over 52 2/3 innings in his last eight starts, and he has walked one batter or none in all but one start over the stretch. But from a pure pitching standpoint, not to mention the importance of the series, Friday might have been his most impressive.

For someone who came into the season looking like a co-ace in some eyes, this was his time.

"He's got good stuff," manager Jim Leyland said. "This guy can throw the ball 95-96 mph, he's got a very good changeup, and I think when he pitches his really good games, he's got a good slider. ...

"When he's got all three going, that's what happened the second half of last year."

That's what happened Friday night, and the Indians' lefty-loaded lineup struggled to get a solid swing off of him because of it. The only right-hander in the lineup, Matt LaPorta, actually managed one of Cleveland's five hits. Lefties struck out five times against him, including two from cleanup hitter Travis Hafner. The 17 swings and misses against Scherzer marked his season high.

"He had a good changeup," Indians manager Manny Acta, "and at the beginning of the game he had better command of that changeup than his fastball. Any time he went to it, he was very effective against our left-handers -- guys like Hafner and [Shin-Soo] Choo. It's got some good down action and when he's on with that fastball, he can be pretty tough."

Almost every time, Scherzer (13-7) used the changeup to set up his fastball for strikeouts, including a 96-mph fastball Hafner watched hit the outside corner to strand a runner on third in the opening inning.

He looked like he could overmatch Tomlin, but the Indians right-hander did plenty to flummox Tigers hitters on his own. But unlike Scherzer, when Tomlin gave up contact, the ball tended to fly. His 0-1 pitch to Austin Jackson went 392 feet to left-center field for a two-run homer in the sixth.

"It was a fastball in," Jackson said of his sixth home run of the year, "and I got my foot down and I put a good swing on it."

That gave Scherzer some working room. One inning later, the Indians -- and home-plate umpire Joe West -- gave him his test.

Scherzer fanned Kosuke Fukudome and LaPorta after Carlos Santana's leadoff single, and he was a contested pitch away from striking out the side. A 2-2 fastball at the knees to Lonnie Chisenhall didn't get the call, and Miguel Cabrera's diving stop at first on Chisenhall's ensuing grounder left him off-balance for an awkward flip.

Already at his season-high pitch count, Scherzer had to go a little further and face Valbuena. Leyland didn't want to risk seeing lefty-killer Jason Donald against Phil Coke. Besides, he wanted Scherzer.

"He is your guy," Leyland said. "He deserved to be out there."

Scherzer delivered.

"The last pitches you make are, nine times out of 10, the most important you pitches you make the whole game," Scherzer said. "That's when you've got to be at your best. That's why I always run the extra mile, lift as much as I possibly can, so that in those situations, I know I'm physically going to be at my best and I've got my best for those situations.

"In the later innings, that's when you don't want to get beat. That's when you want to win the game."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Inge powers Tigers in climactic return to team

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/20/2011 11:59 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Brandon Inge returned to Comerica Park looking to enjoy playing baseball again. And the way his Tigers reunion went on Saturday night, it would have been tough not to have fun.

By the time Inge stepped to the plate for his third at-bat in the fifth inning, he had tied his season high in RBIs with two. He had two extra-base hits in a game for the first time in exactly a year, including his first Major League home run since April 13. And he had a standing ovation when he stepped to the plate by night's end. But almost as important to him was the fact that he wasn't fretting about outs.

He didn't have many to fret.

"It's baseball," Inge said. "There's no way of figuring it out."

And with a comfortable lead en route to a 10-1 win over the Indians, the Tigers were on their way to adding another game to their advantage atop the division. Detroit enters Sunday's series finale up 3 1/2 games on Cleveland with a chance to add another and complete a series sweep, if it can find a way to rough up Ubaldo Jimenez on Sunday afternoon.

A happy reunion might be an understatement. By the time Inge came up for his fourth at-bat, he was getting a standing ovation before the first pitch. Doug Fister, meanwhile, was getting the second-highest total of run support of his career, the only higher total coming this past April -- also against the Tigers.

It was the kind of night in which Inge said that he was chuckling at himself as he made his way around the bases after his second-inning homer. The first pitch that he saw back in the big leagues was fouled back, but the second was deposited over the left-field fence.

"I just kind of laughed," Inge said. "What a year, you know?"

It was precisely the kind of situation that prompted the Tigers to recall Inge now rather than wait until Sept. 1. They're projected to face a handful of left-handed starters over the next 10 days, beginning with David Huff on Saturday night and continuing with David Price next week in Tampa. Price is a big worry for the Tigers, as he holds a perfect record against them for his career. Huff was a different scenario, but enough of a concern that Leyland loaded his lineup with right-handed bats.

And thus, up came Inge, who pounded left-handed pitching at Triple-A Toledo for a .395 average (15-for-38). Also in the lineup was Magglio Ordonez, making his first start since Detroit acquired Delmon Young on Monday. The combined result from the two longtime Tigers: three hits, three RBIs and a triple shy of a cycle.

"That's a good thing right now for all of us," manager Jim Leyland said. "To see those guys contribute, that's a real plus for our club."

Ordonez's single was part of a two-run opening inning that put Inge ahead by the time he stepped to the plate leading off the second. Once David Huff left a changeup high and over the plate following back-to-back fastballs, Inge pounced on it.

His new-look open stance at the plate looked like it helped him do that, but Inge said that he has stayed away from worrying about mechanics.

"To be dead honest with you, on my very first at-bat, I just was going to pretend that I was playing softball," Inge said. "So apparently that's what I would swing like if I was playing softball. That way, I would just try to hit the ball. It's kind of fun."

Ordonez chipped in again three batters later with a sacrifice fly to drive in Ramon Santiago, who nearly followed Inge with a home run but settled for a double off the wall in left-center field.

Inge wasn't searching for reasons. But Huff was.

"I don't know what it was, to be honest," Huff said. "I was just trying to get the ball down and find the strike zone. When I did find the strike zone, it was up and over the middle. It was just a tough outing all together."

Huff (1-2) left after issuing two walks in the third inning. Former Tiger Chad Durbin struck out Jhonny Peralta, bur fell behind on Inge, who got a 2-0 fastball over the middle of the plate and drove it to the deepest part of the ballpark. It hopped over the fence near the flagpole for a ground-rule double.

Once Durbin intentionally walked Peralta to load the bases for Inge in the fifth, the sellout crowd of 44,629 was roaring in anticipation of a big hit.

"I just thought it was a pretty cool atmosphere," Inge said. "I felt pretty honored to go back and get an ovation."

He didn't get the hit, but the run still came in once left field Michael Brantley dropped Inge's pop-up.

Again, it was that kind of night. And for the Indians, it was another difficult night.

"The same thing happened last year," Tribe manager Manny Acta said. "For some reason, we don't win as many games over here and they don't win as many games in our ballpark. Last year was the same thing. It's kind of too bad, because I like this ballpark. It's a very nice ballpark. I like it, but we just don't win here."

Fister (5-13), however, does win at this park. Given the run support, it would've been difficult not to on Saturday. He came in still owning the lowest run support in the AL, but came out with his third win in as many tries at Comerica Park this year. He has two wins in his old home park in Seattle, and no wins anywhere else.

His seven strikeouts on Saturday were just about as unusual as the run support. His seven innings of one-run ball were not.

"I feel like I'm still thinking it's 0-0, no matter what the score is," Fister said.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

On walk-off DP, Tigers deny scrappy Tribe
Jackson's perfect throw home kills rally, extending Central lead

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/21/2011 5:10 PM ET

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DETROIT -- It only took one inning for the Tigers to make a statement against Trade Deadline acquisition Ubaldo Jimenez -- scoring as many earned runs off him as he had given up in any game in his career. The next frame, Detroit was hanging onto its lead for dear life, with the potential tying run on base.

It was that kind of American League Central showdown at Comerica Park. But it ended just like the previous two games, with a Tigers victory and another game added to their division lead. Sunday's 8-7 decision pushed Detroit to a season-high 4 1/2 games ahead of Cleveland. It's the largest lead anyone has had atop the AL Central since the Indians led by that margin on June 3.

Yet, neither the Tigers nor the Indians are counting this as an insurmountable lead. Sunday's game was as good of a demonstration as any why it's still a race.

Eleven days after Jimenez (1-1) tossed eight innings without an earned run against the Tigers in Cleveland, he looked like he was in similar form through two innings on Sunday. Then came four straight baserunners, including RBI singles from Ramon Santiago and Austin Jackson, before Delmon Young pounded a three-run homer, his second in a week as a Tiger.

Once Victor Martinez hit a two-run homer two batters later, the Tigers had a 7-0 lead, and the sellout crowd of 43,388 was roaring. But Tigers starter Rick Porcello, who took the loss opposite Jimenez 11 days earlier, still had to hold down a Cleveland lineup that tagged him for eight runs and 11 hits in less than four innings in that previous matchup.

Porcello spent three or four sessions on the mound between starts, trying to lock down the mechanical adjustments to get his sinker in form. Whether it was the long rest in the dugout during that third inning, or some other reason, Porcello didn't have it.

After retiring leadoff man Travis Hafner, Porcello fell behind on Carlos Santana before giving up a no-doubt solo shot, Santana's third homer in 11 at-bats lifetime off Porcello. After Kosuke Fukudome grounded out to short, Cleveland got base hits from its next four hitters, including the bottom third of its order.

Once Michael Brantley's two-run double made it a 7-4 game, Tigers manager Jim Leyland pulled Porcello and went to his bullpen, which became a common theme for the rest of the afternoon.

Duane Below retired one of the five batters he faced before putting the potential tying run on in the fifth. Ryan Perry retired two, but gave up a two-out walk to No. 9 batter Lou Marson. Daniel Schlereth escaped the jam, but Asdrubal Cabrera doubled and scored off of him in the sixth to make it a one-run game.

At that point, an add-on run off Jimenez -- Young's RBI single in the fourth -- was the difference in the game. That's how it stayed, despite plenty of twists and turns to follow. Hafner's single scoring Cabrera had put the tying run on base, but came up lame with a right foot injury between first and second, making him an easy out. Wilson Betemit singled and stole second with none out in the sixth, but a controversial call by third-base umpire Alan Porter retired him on a fielder's choice, leading to Leyland's fifth ejection of the season.

While Cleveland's bullpen kept Detroit scoreless after Jimenez, the procession of Tigers relievers never gave up the lead, earning Phil Coke (2-8) the victory. Joaquin Benoit earned a hold and some well-deserved revenge by striking out Santana to strand the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position in the eighth, setting up Jose Valverde for his 37th save in as many chances this year.

Valverde put two on in the ninth, but after a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, Austin Jackson caught Matt LaPorta's fly ball and fired home to nail Fukudome to seal the sweep.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

After leadoff homer, Verlander sails to 19th win

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/23/2011 12:51 AM ET

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ST. PETERSBURG -- Tigers manager Jim Leyland kept saying Monday they were walking into a hornet's nest at Tropicana Field. The way Justin Verlander keeps spotting curveballs and fastballs on the corner, he makes a pretty decent flyswatter.

Even after the Tigers got to Jeff Niemann for a 5-2 victory over the Rays in their series opener, Leyland was saying they might be facing the best rotation in baseball, top to bottom. But the way Verlander keeps winning, he's leaving little doubt about the best pitcher to top a rotation this year.

Seven innings of one-run ball with eight strikeouts from Verlander left one huge sense of relief on Leyland and added another game to Detroit's AL Central lead -- now 5 1/2 games on the Indians, who lost in the ninth inning to the Mariners on Monday night, and the White Sox, who were idle. It pushed the Tigers 11 games over .500 for the first time all season.

It also left Verlander (19-5) on the cusp of history -- not just at becoming Detroit's first 20-game winner in 20 years since Bill Gullickson, but potentially getting there by the end of August.

No Major League pitcher has had 20 wins by the end of August since Curt Schilling in 2002.No Tiger has had 19 wins this early in the season since Mickey Lolich in 1972, during the days of the four-man rotation. Verlander will get his shot at 20 on Saturday against the Twins, the next stop on the road trip.

Verlander isn't looking at the records right now.

"I'll say it time and again, those things are total season stats," he said. "Those things are meant to be looked at at the end of the season."

But that's for later. Right now, Leyland is just trying to get out of Tampa Bay with some wins. Getting the first one was huge for him, which was part of the reason why Verlander pitched this game and not a day earlier to try to sink the Indians.

"I thought it was important to start this road trip with him pitching the first game," Leyland said, "because this, to me, is a tough road trip. You're coming into a hornet's nest in here. That's a team that's got a better record than we do. They shut teams down. And I felt like, you know what, that could work out for the good for us."

That in itself says volumes about Verlander's season. As much as Leyland worried about the Rays and their pitching, he knew what Verlander could do in turn. And though Niemann indeed pitched some shutdown innings, putting Verlander in a pitching duel through the seventh, Verlander never let him off the hook after Alex Avila's two-run home run in the second inning.

"You get him a couple runs of support, and he's going to try to get you a 'W'," said Delmon Young, whose eighth-inning double set up two big insurance runs to help ensure Verlander's seventh win in his past seven starts. "And he's going to pitch as long as he can. He's not looking for help, and that's all you can ask of a bulldog on the mound."

It was a lot about carrying the team, and a little about carrying a long memory. The Rays were the one team to truly rough up Verlander on the mound this year, having knocked him around for six runs in as many innings May 24 at Comerica Park. The Tigers pulled out that game anyway, and Verlander went on to win his next seven starts after that, but Verlander kept it in the memory bank for a time when it could help him.

"I felt like, earlier, I got away from my game plan against these guys," he said. "Tonight, I just decided I'm going to go with what I do best and see what happens."

He shrugged off the lone run he gave up on his fourth pitch of the night, a 95 mph fastball tagged by his former Tigers teammate Matt Joyce for his 17th home run of the year. From there, only one Ray reached scoring position against him. That came on Johnny Damon's sixth-inning double, which was Tampa Bay's first hit since Evan Longoria's one-out single in the first.

Verlander walked three between those hits, but he struck out twice that many during that span.

"The phrase has always been solo home runs don't hurt you," Verlander said. "That isn't always the case, but you have to think about that when you're in this type of game, hope that's all they get."

It's easier to think that way when a home run in the next inning puts you in front.

Avila's 15th home run of the year was the only offensive support for Verlander while he was actually in the game. Minutes after Victor Martinez's scratch from the starting lineup with lower back spasms moved Avila up to the fifth spot -- right behind Miguel Cabrera -- he followed Cabrera's leadoff single in the second inning by lofting a fly ball to left that sent Sam Fuld back to the fence until he ran out of room.

Jhonny Peralta followed with a single, but Niemann (8-5) settled down to retire 15 of Detroit's next 16 batters.

"He really did pitch well enough to win tonight," Rays manager Joe Maddon said.

Against a lot of other pitchers, he might have. Once Verlander got the lead back, however, he didn't have much of a chance. Verlander has won seven straight starts for the second time this season, tied for the Major League season high with Ian Kennedy and CC Sabathia.

His season has as much late life as his games.

"He's awful good," Leyland said. "With what he's done, you can't expect him to continue the roll he's been on, but he's been amazing."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Penny, Tigers survive duel for fifth straight win

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/23/2011 1:15 AM ET

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ST. PETERSBURG -- Good teams have to beat good pitching. Tigers manager Jim Leyland said it early in the season, when his team was struggling to do it.

As he sat in the visiting manager's office at Tropicana Field on Tuesday night, having just survived a 2-1 duel with the Rays and David Price, he said it again, but from the view of a team that had just pulled it off for three straight days. The win they pulled out on Tuesday was probably the toughest of them all.

"If you can't beat good pitchers, it doesn't give you very much of a chance to win anything, to get anywhere," Leyland said.

If you can win games like the Tigers just did, well, it improves the chances -- and not just mathematically.

If Justin Verlander was the trump card that gave the Tigers an expectation to win the opener, Tuesday was the flip side. With Brad Penny looking to get out of his midsummer struggles, and closer Jose Valverde and setup man Joaquin Benoit unavailable, this could've been argued as the bonus win. A victory would change the outlook of the series, but a loss would've been no great offense.

As Phil Coke fired one pitch after another to Ben Zobrist, pushing his pitch count past 50 on a night he was supposed to rest, he wasn't pitching in a throwaway game.

"I threw how many? Holy cow, that's like a start," Coke said. "I didn't think I threw that many. I didn't feel like I did. I still don't feel like I did. Maybe I'll feel like I did tomorrow."

He probably will. No Major Leaguer had thrown that many pitches in a save of less than three innings since 2000, when Jim Mecir did it for Oakland. Nobody had done it in a save under three innings without giving up a run since Mariano Rivera in 1996, the year before he became the Yankees' closer.

"I can't say enough about what he did," Penny said. "He was unbelievable."

But like Penny, he'll probably also feel it was worth it for what this win meant -- if the Tigers can complete their goal at season's end.

"That was fun," Coke said. "Any time that you can come away from something like that on the right end of it for your team, and not give in to a guy when it seems like you threw all 50 pitches on your pitch count to that one guy, to go out there and battle him the way I had to, it was fun. I enjoyed it."

So did his teammates. The spring in Miguel Cabrera's step as he outraced Zobrist to first base showed it.

"We knew it was going to be a tough game today," Cabrera said. "You have to give a lot of credit to Penny to keep us in the game."

To look at his ball-strike counts, it was amazing that he did. Penny threw first-pitch strikes to just five of the 26 Tampa Bay Rays he faced, and didn't throw any to the first 13 of them. Four of those five first-pitch strikes were balls put in play. He pitched his first four innings nearly even on balls and strikes, and he had a half-dozen 2-0 counts. And yet, Penny outpitched last year's American League Cy Young runner-up.

That's the first step in beating a good pitcher, and the Tigers somehow got it.

Price (11-11) was 3-0 in as many starts for his career against the Tigers coming into the game, and showed every sign of building on that, retiring 10 of the first 12 batters he faced and allowing only one runner to reach scoring position over his first six innings. Once Victor Martinez's leadoff double went unrewarded in the second inning, the Tigers seemingly missed their opportunity.

Thanks to Penny (9-9), they got another shot. He atoned for his woeful first-pitch-strike percentage by throwing second-pitch strikes to 16 of 22 batters.

"I actually think I threw better in my last start," Penny said. "I was behind all night. Fortunately, I didn't give in like a few times in my last start. I tried to locate pitches and take a little off, and I thought my changeup was really good tonight."

Despite the counts, he didn't walk a batter until his final hitter of the night, with one out in the seventh. By then, the Tigers had converted the opportunity Penny afforded them, with Alex Avila's RBI single and Jhonny Peralta's sac fly.

That got them the lead. Once Penny's walk brought Leyland out of the dugout, it was up to the fresh portion of the bullpen to do the rest for the final eight outs.

Daniel Schlereth struck out pinch-hitter B.J. Upton for the first. Once the Rays loaded the bases, Ryan Perry rose to the challenge of retiring Evan Longoria to end the seventh. The final six belonged to Coke, who saved two games for Detroit last year.

"I had no choice," Leyland said. "I thought I did what I had to do to win the game. If I had to use him, I was going to."

The first five outs came via strikeout, including John Jaso with the potential tying and go-ahead runs on base in the eighth. But after fanning the first two batters of the ninth, the final out was toughest.

After Johnny Damon sliced a double into the left-field corner and Longoria was intentionally walked, Zobrist went from an 0-2 hole to a full count, before fouling off three straight pitches -- from a 96-mph fastball on Coke's 49th pitch to a 84-mph changeup on his 50th.

He wasn't going to walk him.

"Not a chance," Coke said. "No way."

The 51st pitch was a 95-mph heater, and it jammed Zobrist into an easy grounder. It sent Detroit to its fifth straight win, and made the rest of the series look easier.

"We got a big one here tonight," Leyland said.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Strange ending snaps Tigers' winning streak

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/25/2011 12:45 AM ET

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ST. PETERSBURG -- The Tigers had beaten Ubaldo Jimenez, Jeff Niemann and David Price on consecutive days during their five-game winning streak. They battled Wade Davis to a draw for nine innings on Wednesday night in another game that proved incredibly close.

It was as close as two feet going to second base -- Ramon Santiago racing to cover while Sean Rodriguez tried to slide his way in. Rodriguez's foot hit the bag first, and Ben Zobrist came home with the game-winning run in the 10th to seal a 3-2 Tigers loss. It was also as close as the split-second decision to go to second.

Both Santiago and Brandon Inge, the defensive replacement who made the throw from third base, said they felt they got the out. Second-base umpire Ed Rapuano disagreed, and replay seemed to back up his call that Rodriguez was safe.

For a play both Santiago and Inge said was executed correctly, it was one ripe for dissection.

"You don't ever want to lose games that way," Inge said afterward, "but I thought he was out. A lot of people did, too. I mean, when you have a pitching staff that does such a good job, hitters battling as much as we can, it's not fun when it goes down like that. That game should be still going on, or we should be winning now, one way or the other."

On a night when Wade Davis needed only 102 pitches to go nine innings, compared with Max Scherzer's 97 pitches over just five innings, the Tigers again had to feel like they nearly swiped a victory. Alex Avila's seventh-inning solo homer tied it, and four scoreless innings of relief from Daniel Schlereth, Ryan Perry, David Pauley and Duane Below carried it.

That the game came down to one close play at the bag was a surprise in itself. That the play went to second was either an expectation or an option.

Inge replaced Wilson Betemit in the bottom of the 10th and ended up getting every ball hit his way. He had no chance on Evan Longoria's dribbler down the line, and a high hop off the turf on Zobrist's grounder caused a slight bobble before he fired to second to get the lead runner -- a split-second that may or may not have cost him an out at first on Santiago's double-play throw attempt.

"It hit the edge of the grass -- I don't know what you call it here, turf -- put a little spin on it, and it came up a little bit," Inge said. "And when it hit my glove, it had a lot of spin on it. I don't think it was enough to make a difference."

Below struck out Matt Joyce, and came within a pitch of doing the same to Casey Kotchman, before his 2-2 fastball crept too far inside and hit him. After a five-pitch walk to Rodriguez, up came Elliot Johnson. Once he hit Below's 0-2 pitch for a sharp grounder to third, up came the decision.

As Inge fielded the ball behind the bag, he had Kotchman heading toward third, Rodriguez breaking for second with a big lead and Johnson going to first.

"I couldn't have gotten him at third base," he said, "because it was an 0-2 count, and I'm playing [Johnson] way back to give myself a better angle. And not only was I playing back, he hit the ball to my left. And it's very cut-and-dry: A ball hit to the left of you, you go to second base.

"A ball hit dead at you, if you have the time, you go step on third, or go across the infield. But a ball to your left, you go to second base. That's a fact."

When asked if that was an instinctive move, Inge answered about as quickly as he threw.

"No, it was the right move," he said. "It stinks, right now. But that's the only play you have."

When asked if Inge had an out at first, manager Jim Leyland gave his view of the options watching the play from the third-base dugout.

"I thought there was an out probably at first, or probably at third," Leyland said. "But that's part of the game. It was a bang-bang play."

Santiago was still breaking for second base when Inge fired. However, Santiago said there was no indecision. His immediate thought, he said, was to cover the bag.

"No doubt about it, I have to cover," Santiago said. "Bases loaded and nobody covering, [Rodriguez] got a big lead off first. I got there as quickly as I [could]. It was close, but I think he was out."

The combination of decisions made it essentially a footrace -- Santiago still on his feet, Rodriguez sliding his into the bag to try to beat him. Rodriguez sensed he had a chance to get in safely once he saw how far Santiago had to run.

"I was fortunate," Rodriguez said. "Inge got rid of it pretty good, but Santiago didn't get there early enough -- because the ball beat me there but he didn't. His foot didn't beat me there. ... When I went to slide, I knew he wasn't there yet. From the get-go, I had to tell myself to make sure I slide late, so I'm sliding into the bag and not sliding on the ground and going onto it."

In the victory celebration, Rodriguez said Zobrist asked him what happened, because he wasn't sure. The Tigers had to feel something similar.

"It was a good game," Leyland said. "The bullpen did a heckuva job and we just couldn't break through with a big hit. We couldn't execute in a couple situations, and it cost us."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Fister tops Hellickson, lifts Tigers to win
Detroit extends lead over idle Indians by beating Rays in finale

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/25/2011 6:39 PM ET

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ST. PETERSBURG -- Doug Fister came to the Tigers with the lowest run support in the American League. If anyone in the Tigers' rotation can win with Miguel Cabrera, Brennan Boesch and Alex Avila missing from the lineup behind him for various reasons, it's him.

In fact, he did. And yet, with his seven scoreless innings in a 2-0 shutout of the Rays on Thursday afternoon, he was simply following suit in the series at Tropicana Field.

For four days, the Rays pitching staff lived up to what manager Jim Leyland feared, holding Detroit to 11 runs and getting at least seven innings from all four starters. And still, the Tigers came within a ground ball of sweeping the series.

They were also within a ninth-inning hit-and-run play of potentially splitting the set.

"To be honest with you, we caught a lucky break," Leyland said of Thursday's game-ending double play. "If that ball's in the gap, the game is tied. That was just our series. But that was a heckuva win, heckuva series, really."

They'll take three out of four, especially given the way the third one set up. They got out of what Leyland called a hornet's nest with nary a sting, and added two more games onto their AL Central lead -- now 6 1/2 games over Cleveland, and seven games over the White Sox.

"It really says that we pitched good. That's the biggest thing," Leyland said. "We kind of countered their pitching this series. I'm not saying we can do that every series, but we countered their pitching a little bit this series, held them down, and we got just enough to win three games, which is huge.

"This could've been an 0-4 trip. I mean, that's how good that pitching is. So to come out of here with three wins, I'm very pleased."

He wasn't the only one. It wasn't a party in the visitors' clubhouse, but a quiet satisfaction. The Tigers just played some of their best baseball all year in what currently shapes up as their last scheduled series against a team with a winning record. The Indians and White Sox sit one and two games under .500, respectively, entering Friday.

"Every time we win a series, it's a step forward," said Joaquin Benoit, who set up Jose Valverde for an eventful 38th save in as many chances. "It's a great moment for us, and as long as we keep winning series, I think we're going to be good."

The Tigers knew they would be without Cabrera, who was with his wife in Miami on Thursday for the birth of their third child, Christopher Alexander. They had to go without Boesch once his sprained right thumb reached the point where he had to leave Wednesday's game.

Avila, meanwhile, had his first game off after playing every inning of the past 18 contests. His fill-in one-day callup Omir Santos, had never met Fister in his life. He spent his flight to Tampa watching video of Fister's starts on his iPad. Hours later, after a brief meeting with Fister to get acquainted and map out a game plan, Santos got the best view in the house to see Fister at his steady, efficient best.

"I downloaded some games from [Fister's time with] Seattle," Santos said. "I knew he was a sinkerballer, any pitch, any time, and that's why I was able to be on the same page with him today."

Once they took the field, it was almost like two different pitching styles at two different times. Fister had a nasty sinker he fired early and often for outs from Tampa Bay's first 13 batters before Casey Kotchman hit a fifth-inning liner off third baseman Wilson Betemit's glove for Tampa Bay's first baserunner.

"That is the focus every time I go out there," Fister said. "For the most part, it's trying to use the fastball as much as possible."

By that point, Fister had all the runs he needed. He didn't have Cabrera , Boesch or Avila, but the Tigers still had leadoff man Austin Jackson. And after going 0-for-12 through the first three games of the series, Jackson's leadoff home run put the Tigers in front from the game's third pitch and first strike.

"I tried to be a little more aggressive in that count," said Jackson, whose fifth-inning sacrifice fly scored Ryan Raburn for Detroit's other run. "I got myself in a good hitter's count and put good wood on the ball."

Those runs were it off Jeremy Hellickson (11-9) in his seven innings, but it was plenty for Fister (5-13). He had a 2-0 win, a 1-0 loss, a 2-1 loss and a 2-1 no-decision this season in Seattle. He can make 2-0 work.

After stranding five batters over his final three innings, mixing offspeed pitches and getting strikeouts, he showed why.

"I'm trying to take the same mindset, 0-0, every pitch," Fister said. "That means location. It's not so much velocity or stuff."

Fister needed just 99 pitches to last seven innings, scattering five hits with five strikeouts to improve to 3-1 with the Tigers. Benoit struck out the side around a Desmond Jennings double in the eighth to hand the lead to Valverde. That's where the Tigers caught their break after Kotchman's walk and Matt Joyce's single put the potential tying run on base. Rays manager Joe Maddon took a chance and put the runners in motion for Sam Fuld, who hit a slicing liner to right.

"It was a hit-and-run," Maddon said, "and [the ball] just did not want to go down. If that ball falls or hits a wall, then we've got a tie ballgame."

Instead, once Raburn caught it, Joyce had no chance of getting back. Raburn could've skipped the ball in, but threw a two-hopper to Don Kelly, who tagged Joyce as Valverde celebrated.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Porcello earns his stripes in beating Twins

By Jordan Schelling / MLB.com | 8/27/2011 12:35 AM ET

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Early on in Friday's game, right-hander Rick Porcello was struggling yet again, and looked to be headed for his fourth straight bad outing.

But after escaping a rough first two innings with minimal damage, Porcello delivered a solid outing as the Tigers rolled to an 8-1 win over the Twins in the series opener at Target Field.

The Tigers maintained their 6 1/2-game lead over the Indians, who also won, in the American League Central standings.

"We caught a break early, they had us on the ropes right off the bat there," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "Rick dodged a couple of bullets, and after that he settled in and pitched very well. He got the ball on the ground, and even in those positions he came up with a couple ground balls that bailed him out, because we were in trouble."

Porcello needed a pair of big double plays -- including one he started himself with none out and the bases loaded in the second -- to get out of jams in the first and second innings.

Despite allowing three hits, two walks and hitting a batter, Porcello limited the damage to just one run, on Drew Butera's RBI single.

Porcello also was fortunate in the second, getting Ben Revere to ground out to shortstop to end the inning, as replays showed Revere may have beaten the throw. The Twins managed just five baserunners over the last seven innings after that play, only two of which advanced to second base.

"The play at first base, I know Ben was safe. That should've been another run and who knows what happens after that, but we didn't get that call," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "But we didn't do too much at all. Porcello was mixing it up, sinking it and cutting it. And we really didn't do anything. We didn't have too many more chances, to tell you the truth."

Over 6 1/3 innings, Porcello allowed just the one run on seven hits with four strikeouts against three walks. He picked up his first win in August after going 0-2 with an 11.48 ERA over 13 1/3 innings in his previous three outings.

Porcello got his 12th win of the season, giving the Tigers three pitchers with 12 or more wins through 131 games for the first time since Jack Morris, Dan Petry and Walt Terrell in 1985.

Leyland said Porcello's issue early was that he was rushing a bit, but he was strong over his final 4 1/3 innings.

"I told him, 'You can't pitch the fifth inning before you pitch the second, third or fourth innings,'" Leyland said. "I think he's in a little bit of a hurry, I think he's a little anxious. But he finally did settle in, slowed down a little bit and got much more effective once he did that."

An RBI single by left fielder Delmon Young and a sacrifice fly to right by Victor Martinez put the Tigers ahead in the third inning. They were otherwise shut down by Twins lefty Scott Diamond until the seventh.

After a leadoff single by Ryan Raburn and a sacrifice bunt to move him over, the Tigers turned a walk, two more singles and a double into three insurance runs. Austin Jackson walked, Magglio Ordonez singled, and Young hit a soft grounder down the third-base line, scoring Raburn.

Young finished 3-for-5 with three RBI singles in his return to Minnesota.

Two batters later, Martinez drove in Jackson and pinch-runner Ramon Santiago with a ground-rule double that bounced into the Tigers' bullpen in center. Martinez had four RBIs as he went 2-for-3.

"If you put a good swing on the ball, anything can happen," said Martinez, who showed no signs of being slowed by a left knee injury.

"The last two days, yesterday and today, actually was the best I've felt. My knee feels great."

Diamond left with the bases loaded, but reliever Glen Perkins gave up two big hits, making for an ugly pitching line. Diamond went 6 1/3 innings in the spot start, giving up five runs on 11 hits with one walk and three strikeouts.

"He threw the ball very well," Gardenhire said. "I don't know if he ran out of gas there in the seventh inning. He got himself into a little bit of a jam there. Perk made some pitches to Delmon, and got unlucky with a ball, and got [Miguel] Cabrera out, but fell behind on Martinez to cost Diamond some runs."

Nine of the 10 Tigers that came to the plate in the game got at least one hit. Santiago had a sacrifice fly in his only plate appearance.

"Every win is big for us right now," Cabrera said. "We've got to keep going and play good baseball right now and try to play hard."

Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Verlander's 20th victory doesn't come easy
Tigers ace first pitcher since 2002 to reach milestone in August

By Jordan Schelling / MLB.com | 8/27/2011 8:45 PM ET

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Justin Verlander is baseball's first 20-game winner this season.

It won't go down as one of his best starts, and it did not come easy, but Verlander picked up his eighth straight victory Saturday as the Tigers beat the Twins, 6-4, at Target Field.

"It feels great -- what a team win," Verlander said. "I think that emulated all we go through during the season. There's been times I've picked these guys up, there's been times they've picked me up. To get to 20 at this point in the season, obviously you can't do it all on your own. You've got to have a lot of help. These guys have helped me along the way, and today was just another example of that."

Making his 29th start, Verlander was the first pitcher to record 20 wins before the end of August since Curt Schilling did so in 2002 with the D-backs. Verlander is the fifth pitcher to reach the 20-win mark in August over the past 20 years, joining Roger Clemens (1997), John Smoltz ('96) and Jack McDowell ('93).

All but Schilling won the Cy Young Award at the end of their respective seasons.

"He's been picking us up all year, and today we picked him up a little bit," said Tigers manager Jim Leyland. "It's quite an accomplishment. I'm really thrilled for him."

Twenty wins is a career high for Verlander, passing his previous best of 19, which he set in 2009. He is the first Tigers 20-game winner since Bill Gullickson in 1991, and it marks the 44th time in Tigers history that a pitcher has reached 20 wins in a season.

Verlander won his 20th game in the Tigers' 132nd game of the season, making him the fastest Detroit pitcher to 20 wins since Mickey Lolich got his 20th win in Game No. 131 of the 1972 season.

But while he has been dominant all year, Saturday was a battle for Verlander.

"Name a pitch, any pitch," Verlander said. "I had trouble finding consistency with anything. I've got some work to do in between this last start and this next one. I've always said, right after the start's done, I focus on the next one. So I know there's some things I've got to get fixed, and that starts tomorrow. Tonight's a different story."

Verlander got out of a jam in the first, stranding the bases loaded before cruising through the next three innings.

He then surrendered back-to-back homers to lead off the fifth and allowed two more runs on a Luke Hughes double in the sixth, putting win No. 20 in doubt.

"We were battling pretty hard there," said Twins manager Ron Gardenhire. "We made him throw a lot of pitches in the ballgame, and pitch count was up. But that tells you a bit about him. He's a warrior. His team picked him up and got him runs late. ... It just tells you a little bit about the man. He's pretty good."

Verlander got the win thanks to a pair of Tigers runs to break the tie in the seventh. He finished with four runs allowed on eight hits over six-plus innings, with three walks against six strikeouts. Verlander tossed 76 of his 120 pitches for strikes.

It was the fourth time this season Verlander allowed four runs or more, and the first since July 26 against the White Sox. Six innings also matched Verlander's shortest outing of the season.

"It wasn't a good day, but we won," Verlander said. "I battled. I'd like to say I kept us in the game, but I made it a game. Our guys jumped out to an early lead, and those guys battled back and came right roaring back. We kept the momentum on our side by going right back out there and scoring a couple of runs, which is huge."

The Tigers gave Verlander an early lead with a pair of solo home runs in the second by Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila, and it looked, for a while, to be all Verlander needed. Detroit added two runs in the fifth -- when Ryan Raburn hit an RBI double and scored on Austin Jackson's single -- but the four-run lead was gone two innings later.

Detroit scraped together three singles, a sacrifice bunt and a walk in the seventh to plate a pair and knock Twins starter Carl Pavano out of the game. Pavano allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits with a walk and four strikeouts.

"I think it speaks to this team," Verlander said. "We really battled today, it was not an easy win. It could've been, it wasn't.

"It's just another example of why I am where I am. It's mostly to do with the 24 other guys on this roster."

Former Twins left fielder Delmon Young picked up two more hits against his former club, including the go-ahead RBI single in the seventh.

With the 2-for-4 performance, Young is batting .409 (9-for-22) with six RBIs in five games against the Twins since the Aug. 15 trade that sent him to the Tigers.

"Runners in scoring position, I like to be up there, especially when it comes down to late in the ballgames," Young said. "Bear down and try to get a lead, or extend a lead or tie a ballgame up."

Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Congrats to JV on his 20th win! We love ya Justin.
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I was surprised that there was no mention of Valverde's accomplishments?!?
Congrats to Valverde on his 39th straight Save and his 500th Major League Game appearance!
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According to Tigers Game notes ( http://presspass.mlb.com/DBDocs/77/113/2100_2381.pdf :

VALVERDE CLOSES IN ON 500 APPEARANCES: Jose Valverde enters today’s game at Minnesota with 499 appearances during his career. He will become the 18th pitcher born in the Dominican Republic to appear in 500 games at the major league level.

Penny hit hard as Tigers can't finish sweep

By Jordan Schelling / MLB.com | 8/28/2011 7:02 PM ET

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MINNEAPOLIS -- Throughout the road trip, the Tigers got strong starting pitching performances and rode to five wins in six games. But they could not do much to slow down the Twins on Sunday as the Tigers closed out the trip with an 11-4 loss at Target Field.

Minnesota, which had scored just nine runs in its last seven games, pounded out 12 hits, including three home runs, as it snapped a seven-game losing skid. For the Tigers, the 11 runs allowed also matched the total number of runs they had given up over the first six games of the seven-game trip.

"They jumped us today," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "Our pitching just didn't stop them today."

Right-hander Brad Penny delivered his worst start of the month, lasting just five-plus innings as he allowed seven runs on eight hits with five strikeouts against two walks.

It was the third time this season Penny gave up seven or more runs, and the second in his last six starts.

From the beginning, it was struggle for Penny, who gave up a single, threw a wild pitch and surrendered a two-run homer to Jason Kubel in the first inning.

"We had a tough stretch," Kubel said. "Yesterday we got it going a little bit, and today it got a little bit better. Hopefully we can keep it going."

Penny allowed another run in the third, and the game got away from him in a three-run fourth inning.

Twins third baseman Danny Valencia led off with a single, followed by Rene Tosoni's RBI triple on a ball that got by right fielder Magglio Ordonez in the gap. Luke Hughes then followed with a two-run blast into the Twins' bullpen, opening up a four-run lead for Minnesota.

"That was a hanging changeup," Penny said. "Right down the middle. I think if I would've stayed hard, it's probably a different outcome."

Penny made quick work of the Twins in the fifth, and got a couple runs back in the sixth to cut the lead to 6-4, but walked the last batter he faced to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Tosoni then came around to score on a Rene Rivera sacrifice fly as David Pauley relieved Penny.

In the seventh, Hughes crushed a three-run blast for his first career two-homer game and his third home run in the last two days. Hughes also added a nice diving stop on a hard-hit grounder by Miguel Cabrera in the eighth for good measure.

"Penny comes at you. This guy has a good fastball," Hughes said. "But I actually hit a changeup off him, which was kinda interesting. But [Twins pitcher Anthony] Swarzak spoke to me before the game and told me I was gonna hit another one. So I'll have to give him a shout-out."

The Tigers answered the Twins' first two runs, scoring a pair on Ramon Santiago's single in the second. A leadoff single by Delmon Young in the sixth was followed by a Cabrera double as Detroit scored two more runs off Twins lefty Brian Duensing.

Santiago was a bright spot for the Tigers with his third career four-hit game and first since June 17, 2010, against the Nationals. He also tied a season high with two RBIs.

"I was aggressive today," Santiago said. "I just put in my mind, 'I've got to be aggressive, swinging early.' Yesterday, I was taking a lot of strikes, and today I just came and decided to be aggressive and try to swing at good pitches."

Bouncing back from a pair of bad outings, Duensing delivered a quality start for the Twins, allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits over six innings. He also walked three and struck out four.

Despite the loss, the Tigers still finished 5-2 on the trip.

Over seven games, the Tigers' pitching staff posted a 3.16 ERA, while the starters went 5-1 with a 3.37 ERA. Entering Sunday's game, the Tigers had a 1.84 ERA through the first six games of the trip, including the starters with a 2.15 ERA.

"We got beat today," Leyland said. "[But] we won five out of seven in Florida and Minnesota. That's pretty good."

Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Scherzer can only point to himself for loss

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/30/2011 12:15 AM ET

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DETROIT -- Max Scherzer talked Monday night about not finishing off pitches. The stats said something about not finishing off hitters.

The first part, Scherzer said, is a mechanical tweak. The second part is either a statistical anomaly or a trend. Whether one has anything to do with the other, the latter stretches out past the Tigers' 9-5 loss to the Royals.

As the Royals sprayed key two-strike hits around Comerica Park, both issues were a big deal. Once Kansas City finished its onslaught and chased Scherzer with two homers, a single and nobody out in the fourth, he was looking for answers.

"I have an idea what I need to do," Scherzer said, "and I'm confident in my bullpen [session] I'll be able to fix it. ... I'm just not really finishing my pitches. It's just a small little tweak I have to do, and I'm sure in one day I can fix it."

The loss cost the Tigers a game in the standings against both of their pursuers in the American League Central, closing their gap to five games on the White Sox and 5 1/2 games over the Indians. The seven runs on 10 hits bumped Scherzer's ERA nearly a third of a run from 4.21 to 4.52.

Scherzer's two seasons in Detroit have shown that when he needs to make a fix, he usually finds it quickly. With a playoff race and a Sunday start against the White Sox looming, he'll be working on his tweak pretty aggressively.

For whatever reason, though, two-strike hits have been an issue for him on and off all season. With an aggressive Royals lineup Monday, it was definitely on.

"They charged some fastballs," manager Jim Leyland said, "and he just couldn't put it where he wanted it."

For a finesse pitcher who relies on making opponents mishit pitches for ground balls, two-strike contact wouldn't be an issue. But when Scherzer gets to two strikes, he tends to finish them off. He ranked sixth in the league in strikeouts per nine innings last year, averaging better than a strikeout an inning after returning from his midseason stint at Triple-A Toledo.

The strikeout rate is down this year, from 8.5 to 7.8, and the two-strike contact is up. When he put hitters in those counts last year, they batted just .176 and about 2.6 strikeouts for every two-strike hit. Six of Kansas City's 10 hits off Scherzer Monday came with two strikes, raising opponents' average in those situations on the year to .233. The ratio of strikeouts to two-strike hits, in turn, is down to 1.75.

When opponents put two-strike pitches in play off Scherzer, the batting average has risen from .286 last year to nearly .360 now. Alex Gordon's leadoff home run was one, a 1-2 fastball on the game's fourth pitch that he lined over the right-field corner for his 19th homer.

"We faced Detroit a little bit ago and Scherzer in my first at-bat came fastball, fastball, fastball when he led off the game," Gordon said, "so that's how he started -- four fastballs. And the last one, I was kind of expecting it."

Scherzer finished off Billy Butler and Jeff Francoeur in the first with 0-2 sliders, rendering Eric Hosmer's two-strike, two-out single harmless. A two-strike single from Johnny Giavotella the next inning, though, put a runner on base for Salvador Perez to double in on the second pitch he saw.

Giavotella homered and doubled off Scherzer on Aug. 7 in Kansas City. An inning after his single, Scherzer was an out away from escaping what was a bases-loaded, no-out jam. Instead, Giavotella's double into the left-field corner cleared the bases.

Giavotella's 2-for-5 night improved him to 7-for-16 against the Tigers this year. He's batting .211 against everyone else.

"I don't know what it is with Scherzer," he said. "I've been putting good swings on the ball the last couple weeks and just didn't have much to show for it. But tonight was a little different."

Scherzer could've overcome that or at least the Tigers could have. A three-run third inning, paced by RBI singles from Delmon Young and Victor Martinez, put the potential tying run on base before Royals starter Luke Hochevar (9-10) retired Alex Avila to escape. Come the fourth inning, however, two Scherzer pitches -- both two-strike fastballs on the inner half -- reinforced the lead.

The first was to Perez, whose first Major League home run one-hopped off the brick wall beyond left-center field.

"I crushed that ball," Perez said. "Unbelievable."

Leyland called that one of the mislocated fastballs.

"He had two strikes on the catcher," Leyland said, "and threw a fastball right in the middle of the plate."

The second was to Alcides Escobar, who fouled off one inside fastball before sending the next pitch down the left-field line.

"I thought he got some fastballs a little too much over the middle of the plate to some of the hitters," pitching coach Jeff Jones said. "It's a young, aggressive team and they're swinging."

Like Scherzer, Jones doesn't believe there's a common thread in the two-strike issues. It doesn't appear to be pitch selection. According to STATS, his mix of two-strike pitches isn't much different than last year. The results are.

Make the tweak, Scherzer believes, and the numbers will adjust.

"There were times where I was in 1-0 counts and they were able to hit the fastball," he said. "There were times when there were two strikes and I didn't execute the pitch fully and they were able to capitalize on that. And other times, I made a good pitch and they were able to hit it. Nothing really bounced my way, and you tip your cap to them."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Santiago's blast gives Tigers walk-off win
Fister flirts with perfect game by retiring first 18 batters of game

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/31/2011 12:36 AM ET

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DETROIT -- A night that began with a perfect-game bid by contact pitcher Doug Fister ended with a walk-off home run from pinch-runner Ramon Santiago. Welcome, again, to the American League Central, where races ebb and flow on games like that.

It wasn't just the start and the finish of Tuesday's 2-1 Tigers win over the Royals; it was the pace through everything else. As Fister and Kansas City starter Jeff Francis retired one batter after another in swift fashion, the innings peeled away in a hurry. The first five went by in 58 minutes.

From there on, the last four-plus innings took nearly two hours, seemingly a realization that each pitch could be the difference. It was almost jarring, then, when Santiago connected on an Aaron Crow fastball and sent it out in a hurry.

Santiago entered Tuesday with 23 homers in his 10-year Major League career, starting with his 2002 shot off the great Pedro Martinez in his prime, but he had never hit a walk-off. He had never homered in the ninth inning or later under any circumstances. As badly as the shaving cream from Jose Valverde's postgame pie still stung in Santiago's eyes after the game, it was a good feeling for him.

"This one is more exciting," Santiago said. "Pedro was the first, and that was really exciting. This one was very special. You're playing for something, in a pennant race."

In Tuesday's case, the Tigers were playing to keep their race from getting any closer. With wins by the White Sox and Indians, the Tigers maintained their five-game lead atop the division, ending a two-game losing streak in the process.

For a brief while, that almost seemed like a secondary concern. The way Fister was sending down Royals batters, he seemingly had an unscheduled date with history.

One by one, Fister sent down a Royals lineup that was coming off a nine-run outburst against Detroit on Monday night. Moreover, he sent them down quickly with ground balls and strikeouts, fanning three of Kansas City's first six batters.

Melky Cabrera's flyout with one out in the fourth was the first ball out of the infield. Kansas City's first three-ball count didn't come until the next batter, when Billy Butler went to 3-1. Fister blew a 91-mph fastball past him off the inside corner, then threw another on the corner that Butler grounded to second to finish the inning.

"He just changed speeds and used both sides of the plate," manager Jim Leyland said. "He threw some other stuff behind in the count and got ahead very good as well. He pitched."

The power-hitting center of Kansas City's order -- Eric Hosmer, Jeff Francoeur and Mike Moustakas -- all grounded out to the middle of the infield in the fifth inning, tossed off-balance by Fister's change of speeds. Johnny Giavotella, 7-for-16 with four extra-base hits off Tigers pitching entering the night, led off the sixth and check-swung at a curveball that bounced in front of home plate before watching a fastball hit the outside corner for strike three.

"Just attacking hitters," Fister said. "I had good communication back there with [catcher] Alex [Avila] tonight. He called a great game, really using the fastball and getting outs."

And getting them quickly. By the time he finished off the fifth inning, the sky was still light. The game, meanwhile, was still scoreless.

The problem for the Tigers was that Francis wasn't allowing much more, reliving the finesse lefty success against Detroit that Bruce Chen enjoyed in 2009. Francis' only baserunners allowed through six innings were a Ryan Raburn infield single in the third inning and a Jhonny Peralta walk in the sixth.

"Two starting pitchers really did a job tonight, maybe not the traditional 93-94 [mph] guys, but really good pitchers," Leyland said. "And I think you saw the art of pitching at its best tonight from both sides."

It was a familiar low-scoring duel for Fister, who counted 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 scores among his 12 defeats with the Mariners this year before his July 30 trade to Detroit. But none of those were quite like this. He was aware of history, but worried about a tie game.

"Obviously, you know it, but it's not crossing my mind," Fister said. "It's not going to change what the hitter's trying to do. It's not going to change what I'm trying to do."

Once Alex Gordon's drive to the left-field fence broke up the perfect-game bid with a double leading off the seventh, the result was foremost on his mind. The Royals didn't need another runner to pull ahead, capitalizing on Butler's sacrifice fly.

Fister left with two outs in the eighth, allowing four hits and striking out six. Add in his gem five days earlier at Tampa Bay and his win over the Indians before that, and he has allowed two earned runs on 15 hits with 18 strikeouts over his last 21 2/3 innings.

"What we're seeing here is what we saw in Seattle -- great pitchability and good stuff," Leyland said.

They're also seeing low-scoring games, at least the last couple outings. A Moustakas error and Miguel Cabrera single chased Francis in the seventh, but Greg Holland retired Victor Martinez and Avila to end the threat. Back-to-back two-out singles through the middle from Austin Jackson and Magglio Ordonez brought Raburn around to score the tying run in the eighth.

Santiago pinch-ran for Ordonez, but didn't advance. By the time he actually came to bat, there was one out in the 10th. He fouled off a tough two-strike slider from Crow to stay alive for the 95-mph heater he was looking for.

"He ran into a fastball," Leyland said, "and got all of it."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Jackson leads late charge to beat Royals

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 8/31/2011 6:25 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Austin Jackson had to have a good feeling it was his day when his leadoff hit bounced off third-base umpire Phil Cuzzi and rolled into foul territory. His teammates had to have a good feeling about their chances at a comeback when he tripled leading off the eighth.

For a change, the last leadoff hit for Jackson was more important than the first. It wasn't the game-tying run, but it was the catalyst for a go-ahead three-run rally off Royals reliever Blake Wood for a 5-4 win. The Tigers might have been able to make a comeback without him, the way their fortunes have gone lately, but there's no denying there's a different feel to Detroit's offense.

Get Jackson on base, and the trickle-down effect usually puts the middle of the Tigers' lineup in RBI situations all the way around. That was the feeling Wednesday, all the way down to Wilson Betemit's go-ahead double.

Considering the difference in the standings, there should be confidence. But when Jackson reaches base, or when he's racing around the bases as he did while his line drive rolled to the out-of-town scoreboard in right-center field, he might as well be holding the road map.

Jackson scored three of Detroit's five runs on Wednesday, and he set up the other two in the eighth. His four hits comprised nearly half of the Tigers' total, and lacked only a home run for the cycle. Just two other Tigers reached scoring position the first seven innings.

On a day when the Royals seemingly had defensive gems galore, Jackson was the one Tiger they couldn't defend.

"He had a great day, no question about that," manager Jim Leyland said. "That would be really good tonic for us around this time. Hopefully he can keep that going. That would be really good for us."

It was very good on Wednesday, helping keep the Tigers in position to take the four-game series if they can win Thursday's series finale. Once the White Sox comeback against the Twins fell short minutes later, stretching Detroit's lead to six games over Chicago, it was even more important. Cleveland's extra-inning win late Wednesday night kept the Indians at 5 1/2 games back.

"Every win is important, but this one was really huge, coming from behind like that," said Ramon Santiago, whose sacrifice fly scored Jackson after his triple.

The Tigers feared Jackson's early-season passiveness at the plate reflected pressure he was feeling to take pitches and get on base. It was to the point that Leyland sat down with Jackson and told him he doesn't have to take pitches he shouldn't or tone down his approach just because he's leading off.

Jackson said his aggressiveness, up or down, reflected his comfort at the plate. It waned early in the season and has been up and down at times all summer, and it shows in his stats.

"I think that it's just a matter of feeling confident up there," said Jackson, who had a key two-out single Tuesday night that set up the game's tying run. "When you're not swinging it as well, you tend to want to see some pitches. You don't want to go up there and swing at a first pitch that's not a strike and roll it over or pop it up. I think that's just not seeing the ball as well.

"As of lately, I've been seeing it well. I can be aggressive early in the count when I'm seeing it better."

His first three bats encompassed five total pitches, a reflection of a team-wide aggressive approach against fill-in starter Nathan Adcock. They all ended with Jackson on base and manufacturing offense. Santiago's sacrifice and Delmon Young's sac fly scored him for the game's opening run.

Two innings later, Jackson's leadoff single opened the right side of the infield for Santiago to shoot a ground ball through. Young couldn't drive him in, but his groundout to third advanced Jackson into position to sprint home on an Adcock wild pitch.

Both runs pulled Detroit ahead. Both times, Eric Hosmer tied the game the next inning with leadoff homers off Tigers starter Rick Porcello.

"The first home run was a changeup middle and down in the plate," said Porcello, who gave up four runs over seven innings. "But the second one was exactly where I wanted it to be. It was a good pitch and you've got to tip your cap to him. He put some good swings on the ball today and you can see why he's a highly-touted hitter."

Jackson nearly created another run with a two-out single and a stolen base, taking third on a bad throw from rookie catcher Salvador Perez, before Adcock escaped.

Adcock and Tim Collins retired seven of Detroit's eight batters after that, allowing two sixth-inning runs to put the Royals in front. Once Jackson greeted Wood (5-2) with a drive to right-center, the downfall was set.

"Automatically, we know it's three," said Young, whose single two batters later put the tying run on. "If it happens to hit gravel a little bit or someone misplays it, it has a chance for four. With his speed and his ability to drive the ball, anything can happen with him."

That one came on a full count. The ensuing damage followed quickly, from Young's hit to Victor Martinez's game-tying double on a 2-0 pitch. The Royals intentionally walked Avila to bring up their former teammate Betemit, who sent a line drive off the right-field fence to bring around Martinez.

"I liked the matchup better with Betemit over Avila," Royals manager Ned Yost said. "Avila's an All-Star hitting over .300. We took our shot with Wilson and it didn't pay off."

Once Jose Valverde finished the ninth for his 40th save in as many chances, the Tigers' rally was complete.

"We had a great comeback," Betemit said. "Martinez had a great swing to tie the game and then I come in, looking for one pitch middle-in, and I got a good swing and I had a good day."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Magglio's big day spoiled in loss to Royals

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 9/1/2011 6:35 PM ET

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DETROIT -- Sometime soon, Jacob Turner could be a difference-maker for the Tigers in a playoff race. This isn't his time yet, and the suddenly dangerous Royals provided a sharp reminder of that on Thursday.

For Magglio Ordonez, however, September in a pennant race is historically his time. Still, nobody expected this.

"Today, he looked like the old Magglio," manager Jim Leyland said after Ordonez's three-hit, three RBI performance in an 11-8 loss.

It couldn't change the bottom line for the Tigers, who watched a barrage of Royals hits put them behind three separate times. The result meant little in the American League Central standings, with an Indians loss earlier in the day keeping Cleveland 5 1/2 games back of first-place Detroit.

The only difference was that the idle White Sox gained a half-game and moved into a second-place tie with the Indians heading into a critical three-game series this weekend at Comerica Park.

What the Tigers do over the next six days -- first against the White Sox, then in Cleveland for three games next week -- will likely determine whether there's still a race in the division. That's why seeing Ordonez slashing the outfield gaps could be meaningful well after the sting of Thursday's loss ends, if he can carry it forward.

The track record on Ordonez, young and old, suggests he can. When he gets to September in good health, he's usually one of the Tigers' best hitters. His .439 average and 1.057 OPS down the stretch two years ago, coming off an anemic first half, kept the Tigers' lineup clicking opposite the red-hot Twins. His .393 average and 20 RBIs in September 2007 couldn't win the Tigers a division, but it earned him a batting title. His .340 average and 19 RBIs in the final month of '06 did his part to keep the Tigers in the postseason picture.

That, critics will say, was the old Magglio, So, Leyland answered, was what he saw on Thursday. That doesn't mean he's going to play regularly this September, but with Brennan Boesch still unable to swing a bat in a game, the Tigers need Ordonez right now. Leyland was pondering starting him against White Sox lefty John Danks in Friday night's series opener, given his 15-for-29 track record against Danks. He's also 17-for-38 against Mark Buehrle, who's scheduled to start for the White Sox Sunday night.

If Leyland can get anything close to what he saw out of Ordonez on Thursday, he'll gladly take it. It gave the Tigers new life twice in the game, only for the Royals to take it away.

Both of Ordonez's first two hits were doubles off mid-90s fastballs from left-hander Danny Duffy. He pulled Duffy's 94 mph fastball into left-center field with one out in the opening inning, then his first steal of third base in two years set up a scoring opportunity that went unrewarded.

Two innings later, Ordonez had his answer to a 95 mph heater from Duffy, sending it into right-center for the first of back-to-back RBI doubles in a three-run third inning that put Turner back ahead.

After Duffy fell behind on Ordonez in the fifth inning following an Austin Jackson single, he tried a different approach, playing off his aggressiveness with a changeup inside. He left it too far up, and Ordonez turned on it, lining it over the left-field fence for his fifth home run of the year.

"I feel like I got lazy on a couple pitches and left one up to Jackson, and left a changeup to Magglio," Duffy said later, "but those guys are a really good team."

Ordonez hadn't posted multiple extra-base hits in a game this year. He hadn't had three extra-base hits since driving in five runs on June 3, 2010, against the Indians. Add the stolen base, and it's the kind of game Ordonez didn't even enjoy as a batting champ in '07.

"He had a big day," Leyland said. "Usually when a guy has a day like that, it's in a winning cause. We just let this one get away and that's too bad."

That was the problem. It wasn't just a learning experience for Turner, but a rough day for Phil Coke and a cold welcome for Luis Marte in his Major League debut.

Turner had recovered nicely from Jeff Francoeur's two-run homer in the second inning, but a slew of smaller hits downed him in the fifth. Alcides Escobar hit his curveball for an RBI double, Alex Gordon got enough of his changeup to bloop it into left, then Melky Cabrera tagged his fastball for an RBI single.

Once Billy Butler greeted Ryan Perry by doubling in Cabrera, Turner's line was done with six runs on seven hits over 4 1/3 innings.

"My fastball command was OK, and the changeup was there from time to time," Turner said, "but the biggest thing was my breaking ball was just inconsistent."

Still, Ordonez's homer slugged them back in it before Jackson's two-run shot in the sixth off Aaron Crow gave the bullpen an 8-6 lead to protect. The Royals made sure it didn't last through the seventh-inning stretch.

Coke had tossed 12 scoreless innings with 20 strikeouts over his last 13 appearances, but he didn't have that stuff in this one once he followed Ryan Perry to face Eric Hosmer. After Hosmer walked and Coke fell behind Francoeur, he had no choice but to challenge him. Francoeur, whose earlier homer was his 1,000th Major League hit, struck again, doubling in Hosmer before back-to-back singles led to two more runs.

All three batters Coke faced led to runs.

"Obviously the walk to Hosmer was not necessarily my best location," Coke said. "The pitch that Francoeur hit broke his bat, it was a few inches off the plate. I tip my hat there. The next one jammed him, and it got in there and fell in. What do you do? I'm not happy with the outcome. Nobody's going to be more irritated about the outcome than I am."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Early support gives Verlander win No. 21

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 9/2/2011 11:53 PM ET

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DETROIT -- As statement games go, Friday was a big one for the Tigers, whether they felt like they needed one or not.

As the normally calm Jhonny Peralta rolled into second base on his bases-clearing double in the fifth inning, giving the Tigers their eighth run, he had what for him qualifies as an emotional display. He clapped his hands. Justin Verlander, normally focused on his game between innings, jumped up from the dugout bench and pointed out toward Peralta at second. The sellout crowd of 42,353 at Comerica Park roared like it was a playoff game.

They still had four innings to go to finish off what ended up being an 8-1 Tigers win. At that point, it felt done. Whether anyone can say the same about this part of the American League Central race remains to be seen.

The White Sox still have two games left in this series to try to pick up ground, and another three-game series coming up in a week and a half in Chicago. But they now trail the Tigers by 6 1/2 games, while Detroit maintained its 5 1/2-game lead on Cleveland, which won at Kansas City on Friday night.

For the Tigers and White Sox, this was the headline tilt. Both managers had lined up their frontline arms, Verlander and John Danks, on an extra day's rest to face each other. The result was no contest.

"This was a premier matchup, in my opinion," manager Jim Leyland said. "[White Sox manager] Ozzie [Guillen] had Danks ready for us, and we had Justin ready for them. It was a premier matchup. Fortunately tonight, we got the best of it."

It wasn't by coincidence. The extra day for Verlander was supposed to be for rest, but Verlander was concerned enough about this matchup and his stuff for it that he threw three side sessions in between, a rarity for him. The Tigers were concerned enough about Danks that they changed their approach against him after he struck them out 10 times over six innings of one-hit ball here last July.

Frontrunner or no, the Tigers wanted this one bad.

"It can't hurt," Verlander said. "It's always nice to win the first one, especially against an interdivisional team that's trying to catch up to us. Hopefully, we come in here tomorrow and win another one."

Whether Verlander deserves Most Valuable Player consideration is up to personal preference and awards interpretation. But as much as his statistics speak for themselves, it can't be measured how he seems to lift the team around him.

With Verlander on the mound, three first-inning runs can be called backbreakers with a straight face, as Leyland termed them. A defensive alignment that has had its share of errors lately turned in a stellar stop up the middle from Peralta, a diving catch from Ramon Santiago up the middle, and a mad dash from Magglio Ordonez to run down a ball at the warning track.

Once the add-on runs came in the fifth, they were piling on.

"It was kind of a neat night really," Leyland said. "Justin picked the guys up, and the guys picked Justin up, and that's a nice combination."

Danks (6-10) had pitched at least six innings in 11 of his last 12 outings against the Tigers dating back to 2007, lasting five innings in the other one. His win against Detroit in Chicago on July 27 was one of six wins against one loss since the start of June.

Detroit's early onslaught, however, chased him with two outs in the fifth. Delmon Young's RBI triple and run-scoring singles from Miguel Cabrera and Alex Avila put Detroit in command early before Austin Jackson's two-run homer helped the Tigers pull away.

"I never thought they would score that many runs against Danks, even the way Danks is pitching right now," Guillen said. "I don't say surprised, but he was off a little bit, and they got him early."

Seven of the nine hits Danks allowed came with two strikes. Three of them came from Jackson, who has nine hits in his last three games.

"We got a different approach tonight," said Miguel Cabrera, whose second stolen base of the year set up one of those first-inning runs. "Last time we faced him, he always got ahead and got that cutter. This time, we were aggressive early in the count. We made him think a lot when we got to two strikes."

Early outs got Verlander rolling. He needed just six pitches to send down the White Sox in the opening inning, before getting three runs of support, then kept going. With leadoff runners on in the second, third and fourth innings, it wasn't his most dominant form, but only one of those leadoff runners advanced past first.

"It was nice to get ahead early," Avila said, "so we could go into trying to get quick hits."

Verlander (21-5) became the first to win 21 games in a Tigers uniform since Jack Morris in 1986, overpowering the team that beat him at Comerica Park coming out of the All-Star break for his last defeat. He has won his last nine starts after winning seven in a row earlier in the summer.

Those leadoff runners comprised the entire White Sox offense against him through six innings before Paul Konerko's double leading off the seventh. It took a one-out infield single in the eighth and an argument with first-base umpire Jeff Kellogg, who ruled that Verlander missed the bag trying to cover on Eduardo Escobar's grounder to first, to get Verlander out of the game.

"Like I said, team win," Verlander said. "Those guys went out there and swung the bats for me. They played defense behind me. That's all you can ask for."

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Tigers shock White Sox with ninth-inning homers

By Jason Beck / MLB.com | 9/3/2011 10:30 PM ET

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DETROIT -- The home runs were no-doubters. So was the game they turned, or so it seemed a couple hours earlier.

Saturday's game-tying two-run homer from Ryan Raburn and walk-off shot from Miguel Cabrera two batters later traveled an estimated 824 feet. The resulting 9-8 Tigers win over the White Sox opened up a 7 1/2-game cushion between them in the American League Central standings, and pushed Detroit 6 1/2 games ahead of second-place Cleveland, who lost to the Royals. The Tigers' largest comeback in three years, and the sudden fashion in which it finished, might go miles with this team.

Detroit faced a seven-run deficit and had a defense withering in 93-degree weather at the game's midway point. Eight runs, a downpour and three homers later, they had another confidence boost.

"As far as the feeling for me, that's probably one of the biggest wins we've had in a long time," said Raburn, whose 12th home run was possibly the biggest of his career.

"As far as game-wise, Game 163 [in 2009] was probably the best game I've been involved in. Tonight was ... I mean, the feeling was awesome, just the way the game played out. From being down 8-1 to being able to come back and walk it off like that, it was just unbelievable."

White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen sounded semi-surprised.

"That's the type of ballclub that they are right now, playing very well," he said. "You can't take anything for granted. Those guys are professional hitters out there. They showed today how good they are."

It was even a little hard to fathom for a manager who has been in baseball for nearly 40 years.

"When we leave here, it doesn't mean anything anymore," Jim Leyland tried to caution reporters. "We have to get ready to play [Sunday]. But it was a heckuva win, a dramatic win.

"I don't know that I've been involved with many, if any, exactly like that. Boom, a two-run homer to tie it. Boom, a home run to win it. I'm not sure I've ever been involved in one exactly like that."

It wasn't just the statistics, but the feeling involved. When Alexei Ramirez's three-run homer in the fourth inning put the White Sox in command, the Tigers were dragging. The unseasonably hot weather and the deliberate pace while starter Brad Penny searched for his pitch contributed to it. Once Alejandro De Aza and Brent Morel hit back-to-back homers in the fifth, with Penny one strike away from retiring the side, the boos came down from a sellout crowd of 40,635.

It looked more like a game to get out of the sun and look ahead to Sunday night, not like a setup.

"That inning was tough," Cabrera said, "but we didn't lay down and wait to lose."

Part of that, Cabrera said, came from Leyland.

"He always pushes us to play hard," Cabrera said. "He always pushes every inning. He always pushes the offense to get it going, every inning. He was like clapping, saying 'Let's go, one run at a time. If we can do that every inning, we have a chance to tie it.'"

That's pretty much how it came together, with one final burst in the ninth.

The sight of Tigers defenders waiting for a ball in play in the fourth contrasted with the speed from Austin Jackson an inning later, legging out an RBI triple before Delmon Young's home run made it 8-4.

By the time Raburn entered the game in the seventh, pinch-hitting for Andy Dirks, the potential tying run was on deck following a Wilson Betemit homer and a Jackson single. He struck out on a 95-mph fastball, the same pitch Jesse Crain used to fan Young, but it only stopped the damage.

Meanwhile, the barrage of White Sox hits that pummeled Penny had gone quiet. David Pauley, who went 10 days unused in Detroit's bullpen last month, tossed three scoreless innings. Once Luis Marte retired Chicago in the ninth, Detroit retired Chicago's final 11 batters in order.

Marte (1-0) was set up for his first Major League win if the Tigers could somehow come back on Santos. But once he struck out Betemit to lead off the ninth, he seemed primed to protect an 8-6 lead.

Then came Jackson, who turned a liner into the left-field corner into his AL-leading 11th triple.

"With Jackson on third, the most I was actually trying to do was just get him in," Raburn said. "I definitely wasn't trying to hit a home run, that's for sure."

Santos was trying for the strikeout when he went to the 1-2 slider. He said later he tried to put it in the dirt. If he had, Raburn said, "I'm probably swinging and striking out."

Santos got it up. Raburn got it out, 424 feet down the line in left.

"I just lucked out, Raburn shrugged. "That guy's got great stuff. I'd seen him quite a few times. I was just able to get the barrel on the bat and the good lord helped me out there."

Santos got Young to chase the slider, striking him out on three pitches. That left Cabrera, whom he had struck out twice to close out White Sox wins earlier this summer.

"I wanted to get a first-pitch slider over, and he hit it out," Santos said.

Cabrera didn't say he was waiting for that pitch. But his words sounded like he wasn't going to wait for Santos to get ahead.

"You have to be ready for a pitcher like that," Cabrera said. "He's one of the best closers in the game. He can throw it hard. He can throw a slider. You have to be ready for a strike.

"I was looking for a good pitch to hit. I was focused on trying to hit it hard, trying to make something happen."

What happened was the Tigers' biggest comeback since July 30, 2008, the day they traded Ivan Rodriguez and beat the Indians.

"Heckuva win," Leyland repeated.

Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. Read Beck's Blog and follow him on Twitter @beckjason. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.