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

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

Smokin’ September continues. as the Tigers extend their win streak to 8 games, the longest September win streak since the magical 1984 season.

The last time through the Tiger rotation Fister, Porcello, and Scherzer were all better than Verlander, and with Alburquerque back the pitching staff looks in top form right now.

Tonight Doug Fister takes the mound with a fist full of broom as Detroit goes for the Three-Sweep. It’s too bad the Royals aren’t up next.

Magic Number:  9
Division Series tickets go on sale Monday 10 am.

Player of the Pre-game: Brandon Inge. Inge has the best walkoff to home run ratio in the majors.

Today’s Avila-Gets-A-Day-Off 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

Leyland’s plan to use yesterday’s game as an opportunity to practice the comeback worked to perfection, thanks to the mighty bat of Ramon Santiago, and the Tigers remain on track for the Three-Sweep.

Today Max Scherzer tries to keep pace with Kid Rick for the 3rd spot in the playoff rotation, and bring the Tigers’ magic number into the single digits.  You couldn’t blame him if he expects a lot of run support:  Detroit has a 7-game win streak going, in which it has averaged over over 9 per game (65 runs).

Anthony Swarzak has only pitched against the Tigers this season in relief, allowing 2 runs in 6 innings.  He may find the going a bit tougher today.

Magic Number:  10

Division Series tickets go on sale Monday 10 am.

Player of the Pre-Game:  Ramon Santiago.

Rockin’ Ramon gets another start after a big blast yesterday.  If he keeps a hot bat to go with his good glove at 2nd, it could make for some difficult lineup decisions down the line.

Today’s Back-to-Back-Ramon Lineup:

1. Austin Jackson, CF
2. Andy Dirks, 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 have roared into September with consecutive series sweeps against their closest division rivals, and now head back to Comerica with a chance for the Three-Sweep against the struggling Twins.

Tonight’s game features the epic pitching matchup of Slowey and Slower.

The Tigers, perhaps in the spirit of sportsmanship, will lead off the series with Brad Penny, who has given up 15 runs (and 5 HRs) in his last 10 innings. At least they are finally using him in a night game.

The Twins go with Kevin Slowey,  making his 4th start after missing 2 months with an abdominal strain.  He had a good last outing against the Angels, giving up only 2 runs in 7 innings, but got the loss, because that’s life on the Twins right now–Slowey has gotten just 3 runs of offensive support in his last 4 starts.

And just for fun,  ESPN’s Aaron Boone’s power rankings has the Tigers as the #2 team in MLB right now, behind the Phillies.

Magic Number:  12.  Division Series tickets go on sale Monday 10 am.

Player of the Pre-Game:  Austin Jackson.

Since I last put the pre-game focus on Jackson, he has gone 2-for-16.  This constitutes an un-jinxing. In games in which AJax scores a run, the Tigers have a .730 winning percentage.

Today’s Three-Sweep 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

Brad Penny was daytime Bad, and surrounded by a bit of clown show defense, but the Tigers made an improbably comeback from a 7-run deficit to put the White Sox on the verge of a sweep, and an 8 1/2 game Central hill to climb.

Max Scherzer  (13-8, 4.52) climbs the mound for the Tigers, auditioning for the Since-We-Can’t-Pitch-Justin-Every-Game role for the playoff rotation.

And speaking of Justin, after a rough outing by Jared Weaver he is now the pitching Triple Crown leader (thanks Kevin).  Verlander has 21 wins (2nd:  Sabathia 19), a 2.34 ERA (Weaver 2nd at 2.49), and 224 strikeouts (Sabathia 2nd with 211).

Mark Buehrle will be taking the mound for Chicago, and looking for a solution to the Austin Jackson problem.

Over the last week Jackson has been red-hot, hitting at a .552 pace (1.586 OPS), with more extra-base hits than strikeouts, and 2 stolen bases.  For most of the season Jackson has been a weak spot in the Tiger lineup, leaving the Tigers 12th of 14 teams in hitting with the leadoff spot in the lineup, and 11th in OBP leading off games with a tepid .266 On Base Percentage.  If Jackson can go into the last month of the season at even league average or above the Tiger lineup suddenly looks a lot more potent.

In case we get Bad Max on the mound today, it may be useful that the Tigers have recalled Al Alburquerque from his rehab assignment and activated him from the DL.

Player of the Pre-Game:  Austin Jackson (see above).

Today’s Bring-Out-The-Broom 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. Brandon Inge, 3B

We all knew what it meant last night with Justin Verlander taking the mound following a Tiger loss, and he did not disappoint, becoming the first Tiger pitcher to record 21 wins since Jack Morris in 1986.  It was also a milestone for Ol’ Smokey, as Jim Leyland notched his 500th win as a Tiger manager.

Today features the odd 4:10 start time, which means we don’t quite know what to expect.  Is it a day game?  A night game?  Does it begin as a day game and end as a night game?  This is relevant because Brad Penny takes the mound for Detroit.

Penny’s day game stats have gotten worse since we last visited them, so to update:  Day ERA: 5.58, Night ERA 4.19, which makes Penny easily the worst day starter on the team (unless we count Turner’s one outing yesterday).  Which is why Leyland throws him out there in the daytime more than any other pitcher (Day starts:  Penny 17, Porcello 11, Scherzer 9, Verlander 8)–clearly, he’s due.

The Tiger hitters don’t seem to like the daytime much either–team BA/OPS for day games is .258 / .723, at night .278 / .769.  Maybe they should work on scheduling fewer day games next season.

Player of the Pre-Game:  Wilson Betemit

Wilson is the one Tiger starter with positive day game splits, hitting .323 (.848 OPS).

Today’s Return of Carlos Lineup:

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

The Tigers lost yesterday and Justin Verlander  (20-5, 2.38) is pitching today, we we all know what that means.

Tonight will be Verlander’s 20th start of the season following a Tiger loss (which says something about the bottom of the rotation, doesn’t it?), and his record in those games is 14-3.

Verlander was a bit shaky his last start, but the Tigers pulled out a win.  Tonight the stakes are high, since Chicago has won 7-of-10 and pulled into a 2nd place tie, 5 1/2 games behind Detroit, with 6 games between the teams remaining (3 this weekend at Comerica and 3 more in Chicago in 2 weeks).

The always entertaining Ozzie Guillen has decided to celebrate the pennant race by demanding a contract extension beyond next year, has threatened to walk if he doesn’t get one, and by all accounts is openly feuding with his general manager.

Chicago has proved to be a bit tricky for the Tiger ace–he is 3-1 this season against the Sox, but with a rather unimpressive 4.03 ERA.  He does enjoy a bit of Adam Dunn though, who has struckout 9 times in 13 AB against Verlander.

The White Sox send out John Danks, who has been inconsistent, but when he is good he is quite good.  His last start was a 3-hitter with 10 strikeouts, beating Seattle 3-0.

In other news Al Alburquerque has been cleared to resume pitching again, and is beginning a rehab assignment at Toledo.

Player of the Pre-Game:  Magglio Ordonez

Where did THAT Magglio come from yesterday?  2007?  And look at that:  Magglio is a career 15-for-29 against the Dank One.  Go Magglio!

Today’s Maybe-Magglio-Batting-2nd-Ain’t-So-Bad 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. Ramon Santiago, 2B
9. Brandon Inge, 3B

Previously here at DTW we pointed out how much better Brad Penny was pitching at night vs pitching during the day, and hoped that Leyland would change the rotation to get him off of the day shift.

Sure enough, he returned with a solid night start against Minnesota and a great 1-run evening win against Tampa Bay.

Leyland, being the scientific type that he is, clearly decided to test whether the night start was responsible or Penny was just getting better, but starting him in another day game.  So even if he is awful this afternoon, the knowledge gained will be invaluable, so the Tigers really can’t lose.

Meanwhile, the Tigers can bask in the glory of Justin Verlander’s 20th win, especially since, for a change, it was a real team effort, as Justin had a merely human outing.  Verlander becomes the earliest 20-game winner in MLB since Curt Schilling in 2002.

Detroit faces Brian Duensing (8-13, 5.12) who has had a rough August (0-5, 8.65).  Duensing said “I’m just kind of wrong right now.”  Stay wrong Brian, stay wrong.

And just for fun:  Detroit is now only 1 game behind Texas for the playoff 2nd-seed.

Player of the Pre-Game:  Alex Avila

He just keeps going.  August Alex is now hitting .408 (1.300 OPS), with 7 HR and 17 RBI for the month.  The Tigers are 16-8 for the month, which ties them with Tampa Bay for AL best (the Brewers have somehow gone 20-5).

Today’s Because-Whoever-Plays-RF-Has-To-Bat-2nd 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. Ramon Santiago, 2B
9. Brandon Inge, 3B