The Tigers take the field for game 161 a single game behind the Rangers for 1st round home field advantage in the ALDS.  That’s nice to write.  Because we hold the tiebreaker, our magic number is 3.  The Rangers will have to lose at least once tonight or tomorrow.

Scherzer looks to notch win #15 tonight against Jeanmar Gomez.  Scherzer has been up and down over the last month, including a season low 65 pitch outing when he gave up 7 earned against the Royals on August 29th.  Scherzer has given up 5 ER or more in 1/4 of his 32 starts; but he’s give up 2 ER or fewer in 20 of his 32 starts.  So he can be just as dazzling as he can be disappointing.

Betemit is back at 3B tonight.  That’s nice to write as well.

Did you know? – If the Tigers’ pen gets a save in each of the next two games, that would beat out ’84 (51) as the most saves in franchise history?

Tonight’s Player of the Game Prediction is Austin Jackson.  AJax bangs out two hits (one bunt and one XBH) and scores twice as he heats up for the playoffs.

Tonight’s Playoff Tune-Up Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Wilson Betemit, 3B
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Magglio Ordonez, RF
8. Jhonny Peralta, SS
9. Ryan Raburn, 2B

Two months ago, the internet was buzzing with Ubaldo Jimenez rumors.  The Tigers were one of the teams thought to be most active, though they likely never got close because the asking price was too high.  During the height of the Jimenez rumors, Doug Fister quietly put up quality starts and took loss after loss despite an ERA around 3.  I don’t think any of us had him on our radar. Thank goodness DD did.  All he’s done in a Tigers uniform is post an Alexandrian like 7-1 record, 2.02 ERA and .90 WHIP.

The most obvious/exciting matter still at hand for the Tigers is the possibility of home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs against Bos/Tampa/LAA.  The Tigers start tonight a game behind the Rangers, but the Rangers are at LAA who are fighting for the Wild Card, while we get to host the Indians.  Remember, a tie and we get home field.  95 wins looks nice, but I think we get to 94, tie the Rangers, and insert Maggs into the 2 hole against David Price on Friday night.

Some other things to watch out for these next three nights:
– TB hosting the Yankees, while the Red Sox go to Baltimore.
– JV holds the slimmest of margins in the AL ERA race, 2.40 to 2.41 over Jeff Weaver.  He’s got the other 2 parts of the pitching triple crown wrapped up.  Weaver against the Rangers on Wed…possibly for a playoff spot.
– Cabrera is now leading the AL batting race by a three points over Adrian Gonzalez and Michael Young.

Caught this nugget in today’s Freep:  “By allowing six runs in five innings, Matusz’s ERA rose to 10.69, which means he could finish the season with the highest earned-run average by a pitcher with more than 10 starts in league history, according to Elias Sports. In 2000, Roy Halladay, who would go on to win two Cy Young Awards, finished with a 10.64 ERA with Toronto.”

Tonight’s 1st Round Home Field Advantage Going For Lineup Is:

1. Will Rhymes, 2B
2. Don Kelly, 3B
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Ryan Raburn, RF
8. Ramon Santiago, SS
9. Andy Dirks, CF

I like resting Jackson.

The Tigers try to even the series with Baltimore using the time-tested strategy of starting Brad Penny in a day game.  In theory, he could even show that he is worth keeping on the playoff roster.

Player of the Pre-Game: Brandon Inge

You wouldn’t think it, but Inge is actually hitting .355 since his return from Toledo.

Today’s Who’s-At-Third Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Magglio Ordonez, RF
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Brandon Inge, 3B
9. Ryan Raburn, 2B

Justin Verlander looks to become the first MLB 25-game winner since Bob Welch in 1990.  Either that or he will just mess around, with the intention of giving future playoff opponents false hope that they can beat him.

Verlander will also look to finish off the pitching triple crown–he has a lock on the win title at 24, a lock on the strikeout title at 245, and only has Jered Weaver to worry about for the ERA title (Verlander is at 2.29, Weaver at 2.41).

Detroit is still tied with Texas for 2nd best AL record (and Detroit holds the tie-breaker).

Today’s Player of the Pre-game: Ryan Raburn. Mr. September gets the start even with a RHP on the mound.

Today’s Righty-vs-Righty Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Magglio Ordonez, RF
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Ryan Raburn, 2B
9. Don Kelly, 3B

The Tigers are still neck-and-neck with Texas for the 2nd-best AL record, and tonight send out their presumed playoff #4 guy Rick Porcello to try to cool down the hot Baltimore Orioles.

Not-so-hot is today’s Orioles starter Alfredo Simon (4-9, 4.96), who is 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA for the month of September.

Hidden in last night’s loss was a gem of encouragement:  Al Alburquerque returned, and promptly struck out 2 of 3 batters he faced.  A healthy Alburquerque has the potential to make a huge difference in the playoffs.  Leyland said he will rest today, then pitch one inning each on Saturday and Sunday.

As far as that clarified playoff rotation goes (Verlander Game 1 and 5, Fister Game 2), Jason Beck tweets that Verlander went into Leyland’s office today and said, hey, I can pitch game 4, and got a thanks-but-no-thanks.

Player of the Pre-Game: Don Kelly

This really should be Raburn again.  Raburn’s September numbers are now up to .412 BA, 1.224 OPS.  Really.  But he isn’t in the lineup.  So we’ll go with the Donkey, who is hitting .324 in September and has had 2 home runs in his last 4 starts.

Today’s Raising-Bail-For-Denny-McLain Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Don Kelly, 3B
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Andy Dirks, RF
9. Ramon Santiago, 2B

The Tigers try to keep pace with the Texas Rangers for 2nd-best AL record, and try to take one last look this season at what rookie prospect Jacob Turner has to show.  Turner will be pitching to his old Mudhen buddy, Omir Santos.

The Orioles will be no pushovers;  in fact they just finished throwing a monkey wrench in the wild card plans of the Red Sox, taking the series with them after a series win against Tampa Bay which similarly wrenched their plans.  The Orioles have played the Tigers even so far this season, splitting the 6 games they have played.

To make things even more difficult, the Tigers have to face the dreaded Rookie Pitcher Guy They’ve Never Seen, this one named Zach Britton (10-10, 4.28).

Jim Leyland has clarified the playoff rotation (inasmuch as anything is clear with him).  Verlander will not pitch on short rest;  he will start games 1 and 5 (regardless of opponent), Fister game 2.

Player of the Pre-Game: Ryan Raburn

Raburn continues his typical September surge:  he is hitting .367 for the month and leading the team in OPS with 1.158

Today’s Omir-Goodness Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Magglio Ordonez, RF
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Ryan Raburn, 2B
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Brandon Inge, 3B
9. Omir Santos, C

The two headed monster of Scherzer Fister tries to get the Tigers back on track tonight against the Royals.  Has anyone worked out the playoff rotation yet?

I’m guessing Scherzer will go 4-5 tonight.  If he can qualify for a W, he can get to 15 wins for the season.

With a Rangers win yesterday, and a Yankees win this afternoon, a win tonight is as important as ever.  Though John Lowe made a compelling argument today that short of Tampa Bay sneaking into the WC, the Tigers would have the better rotation against their likely first round foe.

A few notes:
– ALCS tickets go on sale Monday at 1oam.  Prices range from $95 – $170.  Details here.
– With 3 more RBI, Cabrera will join 4 other Tigers with 100/100/100 RBI/Runs/Walks.  Any guesses?  Note, none of them have played in the last 4 decades.
– Since May 20th, Benoit has a 1.47 ERA and 45Ks in 43 IPs.

AJax is the Pregame Prediction for Post Game Player of the Game.  I really want him to heat up again, because when he gets on base, he scores.  And runs are good.

Don Kelly at 1B tonight, as Cabrera gets a rare rest.

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Don Kelly, 1B
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Victor Martinez, DH
5. Alex Avila, C
6. Jhonny Peralta, SS
7. Andy Dirks, RF
8. Ramon Santiago, 2B
9. Brandon Inge, 3B

Good thing the Tigers’ announcers aren’t playing the Royals’ announcers, as Frank White would likely smoke us, according to an article in today’s WSJ.  In fact, Rod and Mario have the unfortunate distinction as being the worst TV announcer’s WAR-wise.  I see you WSJ.

Anyway, the ballplayers determine the outcome, and some think that our recent pitching has been good enough to propel the Tigers to the World Series.  Speaking of playoffs, JL announced today that both Scherzer and Fister would pitch tomorrow to get things lined up for the playoffs. Not sure how this works since one of them will still not get normal rest, but I’ll trust Leyland here.

With the division under wraps, the remaining week and a half will be spent focusing on seeding in the AL.  The Tigers start tonight 3.5 games behind the Yankees for the top overall spot, and 1 game ahead of the Rangers for the 2nd spot.  The Yankees are opening a 4 game set in three days against a hard-charging Rays team only 2 games out of the wild card, and then follow that up with a weekend match against the Red Sox.  So the opportunity may be there.

On the other hand, the Rangers are in Oakland for 3, and then host Seattle for 3, so now is not the time to get complacent.

Tonight’s Series W Opening Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Don Kelly, 3B
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Andy Dirks, RF
9. Ramon Santiago, 2B

A bit of  post-celebration malaise perhaps?  At any rate, the Tigers are in danger of losing their first series since approximately the invention of styrofoam.

Magglio Ordonez continued his September surge with 3 more hits, raising his September batting average to .464.  Seriously.

Taking the mound today at the absurdly named O.co Coliseum (shouldn’t Bud Selig be doing something about that?) is Justin Verlander, looking for win 24, and his 12th consecutive start, which no Tiger has ever done.  He will also be competing against the Sports Illustrated jinx–this is his first start since appearing on the cover.

Best Record Standings:

NY Yankees      91  59  —

Detroit Tigers     88  64   4

Boston Red Sox 87  64  4 1/2

Texas Rangers   87  65   5

Player of the Pre-Game: Justin Verlander

Verlander is Justin Time with a good outing to save his #1 spot in the rotation (relax, just playing here).

Today’s Verlander’s-Pitching-So-It-Doesn’t-Matter Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Don Kelly, 3B
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Carlos Guillen, 2B
8. Andy Dirks, RF
9. Ramon Santiago, SS

This afternoon the Tigers take the field in Oakland as AL Central Division Champions,  the first time the Tigers have won the Central Division, and their first division championship since 1987.

The improbable big bat belonged to Don Kelly, who made Jim Leyland look like a lineup genius, while on the mound Doug Fister was as good as advertised.

Fister continued to make Dave Dombrowski look like GM of the Year,  mowing through Oakland in 8 innings with only 91 pitches.  The Tigers suddenly have what looks like the best 1-2 playoff rotation in baseball:  over the last month Verlander and Fister are each 5-0,  with Verlander’s 2.70 ERA bested by Fister’s stunning 0.81, and both averaging almost a strikeout an inning (Verlander 9.2 K per 9 innings, Fister 8.3).

The Tigers look like they had penty of fun celebrating after the game. Jason Beck has some nice bits about how clinching the title effected Jim Leyland and Miguel Cabrera. And for those of a nostalgic bent, an old Mitch Albom column about the Tigers taking the 1987 title.

As we all wake up this morning and shake off the effects of the celebratory Stroh’s, or champagne, or Zinfandel, or celery, it would be easy to fall into wake-me-when-the-playoffs-start mode.  But last night’s victory also brought the Tigers to within 3 games in the AL best record race.

Today Rick Porcello will take the mound against Gio Gonzalez, looking to stake his claim in the playoff rotation order.  Porcello has improved over his last 3 starts, but goes into battle today backed by a lineup anchored by the likes of Inge, Worth, and Santos.  Perhaps today’s game post photo will inspire him.

Best Record Standings:

NY Yankees      90  59  —

Detroit Tigers     88  63    3

Boston Red Sox 87  63   3 1/2

Texas Rangers   86  65   5

Player of the Pre-Game: Magglio Ordonez

Mr. September:  .417 BA, 1.087 OPS, a stolen base, a 13-game hitting streak, and a famous October home run on the resume.

Today’s Champy Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Magglio Ordonez, RF
3. Ryan Raburn, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Jhonny Peralta, SS
7. Brandon Inge, 3B
8. Danny Worth, 2B
9. Omir Santos, C

Well, they didn’t clinch, and they didn’t extend the winning streak to 13, and they didn’t look particularly good. (Actually, they did clinch a playoff spot, if you count the game 163 thing as a 1-game playoff). Some of the credit has to go to Brandon McCarthy, who shut down the hottest offense in the league and struck out 8 in 7 innings.  Some of it may have been fatigue from the west coast trip, the unusually cold conditions (57, not counting the freezing wind), or that thing that says you can’t win them all.  At any rate, nothing to worry about, the champagne will wait until today.

OK, just for fun, let’s worry.  Fister and Verlander have been consistently good, but what is going to happen after that?  Porcello and Scherzer have been off-and-on all season, and you never really know what you’re going to get until they start throwing.  Scherzer has now given up 29 home runs, 2nd-most in the American League, and managed to give up 3 last night to the anemic A’s offense (only the Twins have fewer home runs).  And that on a cold night where the ball was not traveling well at all.  Now picture him pitching to a bunch of Yankee lefties with that short RF porch behind him…

Then there is the bullpen. The back end of the bullpen still looks rock-solid with Benoit and Valverde, but the rest…not so much.  Below and Pauley both had trouble finding the strike zone, and neither looked like a guy you might envision pitching a playoff inning against the Yankees.  The Amazing Alburquerque once again has been shelved indefinitely, this time with something “in the hip area.”  In fact Al has only pitched 10 innings since the all-star break (though he has managed 15 strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA in those 10 innings).  The bullpen looks completely different with-Al than without-Al.

And they have a leadoff hitter averaging 2 strikeouts per game in September.

Also that cold weather excuse thing.  Every time the Tigers start out slowly, everyone jumps in and points out that they are a warm-weather team, and the bats will heat up when it gets warmer.  The bats definitely were chilled last night.  Well, guess what?  The playoffs are IN OCTOBER!  It’s COLD!  So, worry away.  There, that was kind of fun.

On the whole though, losing yesterday may actually be good for the team.  If nothing else, now the coaching staff can do their laundry.

Anyway, tonight Doug Fister will take his long strides to the mound with a fist full of clinch.  Since the Tigers have acquired him, Fister has been another Verlander:  his post-break ERA of 2.28 bests Justin’s 2.75,  and like Verlander (0.988) he has a sub-1.00 WHIP (0.994).  He has hit 3 batters already, which will be something to keep an eye on:  Oakland players were getting a bit testy after their 2nd HBP last night, and another one tonight may not go over so well.

The Tigers will face Trevor Cahill, who has to like seeing the old English D.  Cahill is 2-0 against the Tigers this season, and has only given up 2 runs in 14 1/2 innings against them.  All-in-all it looks to be a low-scoring affair tonight.

Magic Number:  1

Best Record Standings:

NY Yankees       90  58  —

Detroit Tigers      87  63  4

Boston Red Sox  86  63 4 1/2

Texas Rangers   86  64  5

Player of the Pre-Game: Magglio Ordonez

Magglio has been hitting lately, and even singled last night off of Cy McCarthy in the chilly night air. Try these numbers for the month of September:  .417 BA, 1.087 OPS, and even a stolen base.

Today’s Clinchy Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Don Kelly, RF
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Wilson Betemit, 3B
9. Ramon Santiago, 2B

The Tigers pulled off the Grand Sweep in stunning fashion,  sweeping their 4th consecutive Central series (and back-to-back Sox-series-sweeps) with 2 9th-inning pinch-hit home runs, the first time that has been done since…well, I don’t know.  That’s harder to look up than you would think.

The Tigers have won 12 in a row, even overcoming a Daytime-Bad Penny start, have everyone contributing, have a Cy Young pitcher, even Ol’ Smokey is on a roll.  Their team batting average for September is .326 (Their WORST regular in September, Austin Jackson, is hitting .278). Their team ERA is 2.90  What could go wrong?

Oops. Justin Verlander is featured on the cover of the latest Sports Illustrated. At least they waited until the division title was no longer in doubt before unleashing the jinx.

You know who else is having a good season?  Over 139 games he is hitting .305 with an .864 OPS, with 29 HRs and 95 RBI.  Answer below.

The Tigers could take the field tonight with a magic number of 1, as  Max “Clinch” Scherzer looks to solidify his spot in the playoff rotation.  It might be helpful if his spot in the postseason rotation were to fall on home game dates:  Scherzer’s ERA at Comerica this season is 3.66, on the road 5.09.

The forecast in Oakland calls for 50% chance of Clown Show:  The A’s lead the AL in errors with 119, and have 9 in their last 7 games.

Magic Number:  2

Best Record Standings:

NY Yankees        90   58    —

Detroit Tigers       87  62   3 1/2

Boston Red Sox   86  62   4

Texas Rangers     85  64   5 1/2

Player of the Pre-Game: Ryan Raburn

The mystery player’s “season” above is Ryan Raburn’s career numbers for August-September.  Detroit needs to find a Chris Shelton-type early season guy and do a seasonal platoon in 2012. Sure, he isn’t in the lineup tonight, but there’s always pinch-hitting.

Today’s Baker’s-Dozen Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Magglio Ordonez, RF
3. Delmon Young, LF
4. Miguel Cabrera, 1B
5. Victor Martinez, DH
6. Alex Avila, C
7. Jhonny Peralta, SS
8. Wilson Betemit, 3B
9. Ramon Santiago, 2B