With all of the injuries the bullpen has suffered, Zach Miner has stepped up and been an unsung hero this season for the Tigers.  He has worked 32 games (1 start) for the Tigers this season and he is 3-4 with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.  He has pitched 51.1 innings and he has allowed 52 hits, walked 21 batters and whiffed 31.  The Tigers are now 83-70 which has them 7.5 games behind the Indians and 5 games behind the Yankees for the Wild Card.

The Detroit Tigers are 79-67 this season which has them in 2nd place in the American League Central, 6.5 games behind the Indians.  The Tigers best chance to make the playoffs will likely be winning the Wild Card as they are 4 games behind the Yankees.  The problem with that is that the Yanks are getting hot as they have won 6 games in a row.  The Tigers will need to be almost perfect the rest of the season to make the playoffs.

Timo Perez was just biding his time in AAA this year trying to stay sharp in case the Tigers needed him.  After rookie Cameron Maybin appeared to be overmatched after the Tigers called him up to replace Craig Monroe in left field they decided to stick Timo Perez out there and he hasn’t looked back.  Perez has played in 18 games this season for the Tigers and he is 23 of 56 (.411 avg, 1.048 OPS) with 9 runs scored and 6 RBIs.  It looks like he may have found a home in Detroit.

The Tigers are shutting Jeremy Bonderman down as he has a sore right elbow.  He started 28 games this season for the Tigers and he was 11-9 with a 5.01 ERA.  In 174.1 innings this season he allowed 193 hits, 23 homers, walked 48 batters and whiffed 145 batters.  This sounds bad but this will help the Tigers chances to make the playoffs as Bonderman has been awful the last month or so.

The Detroit Tigers are fading in the American League Central as the Cleveland Indians have gotten hot.  The Tigers are 73-64 on the season which has them in 2nd place in the American League Central, 6 games behind the Indians.  But the Tigers are 3rd in the Wild Card Standings, 2.5 games behind the Yankees and 1.5 games behind the Mariners.  So, if they get hot they will have a good chance to make the playoffs.  They will need better pitching to make a playoff run as only Justin Verlander has pitched well this season among the key pitchers on the Tigers as he is 15-5 with a 3.67 ERA so far this year.  The offense has been pretty darn good as they have scored 761 runs (5.6 runs per game) this season.  Magglio Ordonez is leading the way with an MVP type season as he is hitting .355 with 102 runs scored, 26 homers and 102 RBIs.  Curtis Granderson has been one of the most dangerous lead-off hitters in the majors this season as he is hitting .300 with 104 runs scored, 21 triples, 19 homers, 67 RBIs and 17 stolen bases.  Placido Polanco is also having an outstanding year as he is hitting .343 with 90 runs scored, 8 homers and 57 RBIs.  The Tigers really miss Gary Sheffield who is injured right now.