PREGAME: The Tigers will try and bounce back from their first late inning blown lead. It won’t be easy as Mike Maroth takes on Johan Santana. Then again, the Tigers keep showing the ability to hit Twins pitching – even if they haven’t had success in the past.

POSTGAME: Jim Leyland sent out a substitution laden lineup against arguably the best pitcher in the game. That’s why it wasn’t that much of a shock that the Tigers were being no hit into the 7th inning. Despite that, the Tigers weren’t that far off. A couple of drives that were just out of the reach of Thames, actually one was within his reach, and Minnesota has as hard a time scoring against Mike Maroth. Not to say that Maroth pitched as well as Santana, because it wasn’t close, just that despite being dominated Detroit stayed in the game without their best players.

And speaking of could-ofs, the Tigers had a bevy of pinch hitters available today. Yet in the 7th inning with the tying run on second base and one out, Leyland left Ramon Santiago to hit against Santana. That move made little sense, and it made even less sense in the 9th inning when he sent Carlos Guillen in to pinch hit with two outs and nobody on. Who knows if Guillen would have been successful, but if I have a choice between two contests where one gives me a one in three chance and the other gives me a one in five chance – the choice is simple.