Justin Verlander crossed the 170 inning threshold yesterday.  We’re really getting into uncharted territory.  He also leads the team and is 34th in the majors in Pitcher Abuse Points (PAP).  This is one of prices we’re going to pay for blowing that big lead.  Even if the Tigers do still make the playoffs, if we had a six or seven game lead right now, we’d be able to rest guys like Verlander to get ready for the playoffs.

The cycle by Gary Matthews, Jr. was particularly interesting because he had it done by the sixth inning.  It was also a natural cycle, in which he singled, doubled, tripled and homered in succession.  I’m not sure I’ve ever watched a game where either of those things happened. 

The Twins lost, but they go today so we could be heading into this series with Baltimore with only a one game lead.  The Twins might be without Francisco Liriano for the rest of the season, so that’ll hurt them a ton.  Then again, they seem to have been doing fine without him the last month or so.

On Friday, we’ll see Jeremy Bonderman go up against Hayden Penn.  It’s interesting because people tend to forget Bonderman is only 23 even though this is his fourth season in the majors.  Hayden Penn is a couple of years younger but this is a solid matchup up potentially future star starters.

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