Dontrelle Willis came back to Comerica Park (I said this was a road game but I’m still getting used to Yahoo’s new format where the opposition is always second) and while Armando Galarraga hardly outdueled him, the Tigers still walked away with their seventh straight win.  Galarraga didn’t make it out of the fifth inning but four relievers combined to give up just one run in 4 2/3 innings.  Brad Thomas pitched two shutout innings, Phil Cook threw one (and improved to 5-0) and then Jose Valverde pitched a shutout ninth for his fifteenth save of the season.

Willis looked like his old self and he gave up five runs in five innings with four walks and four strikeouts.  It was Chad Qualls who gave up the game winner though.  Brandon Inge tripled home Brennan Boesch to put the Tigers ahead in the eighth and then Al Avila singled home Inge for a little insurance.  Inge finished three for four with a double, a triple, and two runs.  Magglio Ordonez drove in two and he hit his ninth home run of the season.

Ordonez has now matched his season total in home runs last year.  He’s only five RBI’s back of last year’s total and his .931 OPS would be the best since his near-MVP season back in 2007.  Equally as impressive is that Ordonez is just third in OPS behind Miguel Cabrera and Brennan Boesch who are both over 1.000.

The Twins lost so the Tigers are now just a half game back of first place (tied in the loss column).  Rick Porcello gets the ball today and he’ll go up against former Tiger Edwin Jackson.  Both of these guys are down from their stellar 2009 seasons and Porcello hasn’t had a good start in June.  Hopefully he can turn that around here this afternoon (game time is 1:05).

UPDATE

I must need glasses.  It’s a night game tonight.

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