26-year old lefty rookie reliever Fu-Te Ni is pitching great for the Detroit Tigers this season. He has stepped up giving the Tigers a second lefty in the pen to team with Bobby Seay. Ni has pitched in 33 games for the Tigers this season and he is 0-0 with a 2.70 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. Ni has been nasty only allowing 20 hits in 30 innings this season for the Tigers. It will be interesting to see if Ni is included on the post season roster for the Tigers.

22-year old lefty swinging catcher Alex Avila is looking more and more like Gerald Laird’s backup for next season. Avila has played in 26 games for the Tigers this season and he is 16 for 58 (.276 avg, .971 OPS) with 9 runs scored, 5 homers and 14 RBIs. Avila was the Tigers’ #20 rated prospect heading into this season according to Baseball America. Everything is looking good for Avila who has passed up Dusty Ryan on the depth chart.

The Detroit Tigers were able to hang on to there two game lead one all was said and done today.  The Minnesota Twins got within one game of the Tigers today, after they took the first game of a doubleheader 3-2 in extra innings.  The Tigers and pitcher Justin Verlander battled back in the second game and held off the pesky Twins for the 6-5 victory.  Verlander went 8 innings, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits and had 8 strikeouts.  The Tigers have kept their two game lead for one day longer and need to make sure the Twins don’t get both of the next two games.  There are five games left in the season, so if the Tigers can win just one more game in this series they can give themselves a lot more breathing room in the final days of the 2009 season.

The Tigers are up two games in the American League Central as they open a 4-game series with the Twins at Comerica Park starting tonight. The Twins have not been good at all on the road as they are 36-41 on the season and the Tigers are stout at home with a 48-26 record at Comerica Park. The Twins do appear to have some advantages in the pitching matchups. Tonight is Nick Blackburn (11-11, 4.18) vs. Rick Porcello (14-9, 4.14). Blackburn has started 2 games against the Tigers this season and he is 1-1 with a 5.11 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP. Porcello has not pitched too bad against the Twins. He has started 3 games against them this season and he is 1-2 with a 3.71 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP. This should be a really good baseball game tonight. Tomorrow it’s rookie lefty Brian Duensing (5-1, 3.33) against Justin Verlander (17-9, 3.41 ERA). This is not as bad as it looks as the Tigers have had some problems with lefties this season. Duensing has pitched in 3 games (1 start) against the Tigers this season and he is 1-0 with a 0.61 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. Justin Verlander has not pitched too well against the Twins this season. He has started 3 games against the Twins this season and he is 0-2 with a 5.49 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP. Wednesday the matchup is Carl Pavano (13-11, 4.86) vs. Eddie Bonine (0-1, 4.60 ERA). Carl Pavano is a Tiger Killer and that was part of the reason the Twins wanted him. He has started 5 games against the Tigers this season and he is 4-0 with a 1.69 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. Bonine has not pitched against the Twins this season. You have to wonder if Bonine can handle the bright lights of the playoff hunt. In the final game of the series it’s Scott Baker (14-9, 4.48 ERA) vs. Nate Robertson (2-2, 5.56 ERA). Baker has been awful against the Tigers so far this season as he has started three games against them and he is 0-1 with a 9.00 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP. The Twins need him to step up in this game as they are not that good against lefty starting pitchers. Robertson has pitched in 2 games (1 start) against the Twins this season and he is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA and a 1.67 WHIP. This series will likely determine the winner of the American League Central so it will be very interesting to see who wants it more…….the Twins or the Tigers.

The Tigers have a big need at shortstop as Adam Everett and Ramon Santiago are playing there this year. The thought was that Cale Iorg would be ready to take over in 2010 at SS for the Tigers. But that won’t happen. Iorg came into this season as the Tigers’ #3 rated prospect coming into this season according to Baseball America but he hasn’t played like it. Iorg played in 129 games in AA-ball this season and he was 110 for 492 (.224 avg, .612 OPS) with 57 runs scored, 11 homers, 41 RBIs and 13 stolen bases. He also whiffed a stunning 149 times this season which is way too many for a hitter like him. The 24-year old righty swinging Iorg is running out of time as a prospect at 24 years old. He needs to have a big season in 2010 to regain his top prospect status.