The Tigers could have played spoiler at least for one day but they failed in an ugly loss to the Yankees this afternoon.  Justin Verlander fell to 10-15 and while 20 losses is probably out of the question, this certainly has been a rough season for the right hander.  Yeah, three of the eight runs he gave up were unearned but he was pummelled for seven hits and he gave up two walks before getting pulled with two outs in the second inning.  Bobby Seay (three runs in 1/3 of an inning) and Aquilino Lopez (two runs in 3 2/3 innings) couldn’t stop the damage and by the end of three frames, the Yankees had eleven runs on the board.

The offense did it’s best but fell well short of a miraculous comeback.  Magglio Ordonez had three hits and three RBIs and he’s still a dark horse in the batting title race.  Curtis Granderson had two hits and two walks to go along with three runs to bring his season run total up to 94.  He also has 12 twelve triples after getting two over the weekend series and he’s the first Tiger since Barney McCoskey (remember him) to have back to back seasons with twelve or more triples.  If Granderson can make it to 15, he’ll be the first Tiger since Charlier Gehringer in 1929-30 to have back to back seasons with 15 triples.

Gary Sheffield hit homerun number 494 and he has an outside of chance of getting to 500 by the end of this year.  If he can make it, he’ll be the first player to his 500th homerun in a Tiger uniform.  Brandon Inge hit his eleventh, and Miguel Cabrera became the first Tiger since Bobby Higginson in 2000 to hit 30 homers in a season.  He and Bobby are also the only two Tigers to hit 30 in a season since the Tigers began playing in Comerica Park.

You should see more and more faces coming up from the minors as for the first time in a while, the Mud Hens won’t be in the post season.  For that matter, neither will the SeaWolves or the Flying Tigers.  The White Caps begin their quest for a third straight Midwest League crown beginning Wednesday and unless the Oneonta Tigers have a strong final week of the season, West Michigan will be the lone Tiger farm system in the post season.

Next up is three against the team with the best record in the American League.  The Angels roll in for three and in tomorrow’s game, we’ll see Chris Lambert make his first start against Joe Saunders.  The Angels could wrap up their division title as early as this week if they can put together a run at the Tigers expense.

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