GDT: 9/4/09 - DET (72-61) at TB (72-61) - 7:38 p.m. ET

DETROIT -- Jim Leyland doesn't want his Tigers thinking they're in the driver's seat quite yet. To his relief, they aren't in that mindset.

"Just go play the game," Leyland said. "We don't need to be talking about anything, just like nobody else does. That's just the way it is. Just play the games.

"I want them to feel good about themselves, but to me, when you feel good about yourself, you come here with a concentration level, and you continue to compete your tails off, and you don't do a whole lot of talking."

They know better from past years than to get too confident, and they know full well what can happen to them under the roof of Tropicana Field.

Detroit's five-game lead in the American League Central is its largest since June 25, when a 6-0 homestand against the Brewers and Cubs seemingly had them set for a runaway summer. Less than a month later, they were tied with the White Sox.

Three years ago, they were up five games as late as Sept. 7 with just 21 games left. And they know what happened then.

"I hope not," pitcher Nate Robertson said when asked if they feel some sense of comfort, "because in '06 we lost the division on the last day."

That drop was part of a larger collapse that began in August, a month that began when the Tigers had to settle for a four-game split at Tampa Bay. Their long-shot postseason hopes last year were effectively dashed in early August with a three-game sweep at the Rays, capped by an extra-inning loss in which they blew two late-inning leads and watched closer Fernando Rodney walk in the winning run.

Add up the damage, and the Tigers actually haven't won a series at Tropicana Field since 2005. They've won only one of their last seven games there since 2006. It doesn't rank high on many lists of tough postseason venues, but it has to by the stats. The Tigers, as their exploits in Minnesota show, are not a team built to fare well on artificial turf.

If they can somehow fare well this weekend, they could slow any Minnesota momentum. The Twins are in Cleveland this weekend to face the same Indians squad that the Tigers just swept.

The problem for the Tigers on the road this season hasn't really been overconfidence, but underperformance. Even after taking two of three last week at Angel Stadium, Detroit's 27-39 record on the road remains the worst of any team with a winning record overall, and worse than three teams with losing records.

They continue to scratch and claw for runs on the road, and this weekend should be no different against Tampa Bay front-line starters Jeff Niemann on Friday and James Shields on Saturday. Sunday will mark the Major League debut of Wade Davis, and aside from the onslaught Detroit dished out to Cleveland's Carlos Carrasco on Tuesday, the Tigers generally haven't fared well against rookie pitchers they haven't seen.

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Pitching matchup

DET: RHP Justin Verlander (15-7, 3.38 ERA)
Verlander moved into a tie for the American League lead in wins by overcoming a three-run Rays rally to last eight innings Sunday at Comerica Park. Now Tampa Bay gets a rematch at Tropicana Field, giving Verlander back-to-back starts against the same opponent for just the second time this season. The other occasion came in early May against Cleveland, which he held to one run over seven innings at Comerica Park before he tossed a two-hit shutout five days later. He's 7-6 with a 4.73 ERA over 16 career regular-season starts in September and October.

TB: RHP Jeff Niemann (12-5, 3.80 ERA)
Niemann looked dominant against the Tigers on Sunday, holding them to two runs on five hits in seven innings, but he received a no-decision when Detroit came from behind against the Rays' bullpen to win. The right-hander's fastball command -- which included a nasty two-seamer -- set up his breaking pitches nicely against the Tigers. Because Niemann stands 6-foot-9, his arm action creates a difficult downward angle for opposing hitters.

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Tidbits

...With three right-handers on the mound, look for a heavy dose of left-handed hitters Carlos Guillen and Aubrey Huff in the middle of Detroit's lineup surrounding cleanup hitter Miguel Cabrera, who surprisingly hits just .246 for his career at Tropicana Field, dating back to Interleague Play with the Marlins.
... Curtis Granderson's next leadoff home run will tie him with Lou Whitaker for the Tigers' career record. Four of his last seven homers have been of the leadoff variety.
... Clete Thomas is batting .310 (9-for-29) with four runs and five RBIs over his last 13 games.
... Dontrelle Willis is scheduled to make one more rehab start for Triple-A Toledo on Saturday at Columbus.

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Up next (Probable Pitchers)

• Saturday: Tigers (Armando Galarraga, 6-10, 5.05 ERA) at Rays (James Shields, 9-10, 3.86 ERA), 7:08 p.m. ET
• Sunday: Tigers (Edwin Jackson, 11-6, 3.09 ERA) at Rays (Wade Davis, 0-0, 0.00 ERA), 1:38 p.m. ET
• Monday: Off-day

STARTING LINEUPS:

Detroit AVG
:curtis: Granderson, CF .256
:placido: Polanco, 2B .273
Thomas, C, RF .250
Cabrera, M, 1B .337
:huff: Huff, A, DH .243
Guillen, C, LF .246
Inge, 3B .235
Laird, C .222
Everett, SS .240

Tampa Bay AVG
Bartlett, SS .337
Crawford, LF .308
Zobrist, 2B .285
Pena, C, 1B .224
Burrell, DH .240
Longoria, 3B .275
Gross, RF .250
Navarro, C .227
Perez, F, CF .000

Inning 1
Top Half

B:0 S:3 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson swinging.


B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Placido Polanco pops out to first baseman Carlos Pena.

B:4 S:0 O:2 -
Clete Thomas walks.

B:2 S:1 O:3 -
Miguel Cabrera pops out to shortstop Jason Bartlett.

0-0 after .5 inning

Bottom Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Jason Bartlett swinging.

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Carl Crawford grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Ben Zobrist grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

0-0 after 1 inning

Inning 2
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Aubrey Huff doubles (27) on a ground ball to right fielder Gabe Gross.

B:1 S:1 O:0 -
Carlos Guillen singles on a ground ball to third baseman Evan Longoria. Aubrey Huff to 3rd.


B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Brandon Inge pops out to second baseman Ben Zobrist.

B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Gerald Laird swinging.


B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Adam Everett flies out to right fielder Gabe Gross in foul territory.

0-0 after 1.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:2 S:0 O:0 -
Carlos Pena doubles (25) on a line drive to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Pat Burrell grounds out, third baseman Brandon Inge to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:3 S:2 O:1 -
Evan Longoria doubles (39) on a soft line drive to left fielder Carlos Guillen. Carlos Pena scores.
TB 1, DET 0

B:3 S:3 O:2 -
Gabe Gross swinging.

B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Dioner Navarro pops out to third baseman Brandon Inge in foul territory.

TB 1, DET 0 after 2 innings

Inning 3
Top Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Curtis Granderson swinging.

B:0 S:2 O:1 -
Placido Polanco singles on a ground ball to second baseman Ben Zobrist, deflected by first baseman Carlos Pena.


B:2 S:3 O:2 -
Clete Thomas swinging.


B:0 S:1 O:3 - Miguel Cabrera grounds into a force out,
shortstop Jason Bartlett to second baseman Ben Zobrist. Placido Polanco
out at 2nd.

TB 1, DET 0 after 2.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:1 S:3 O:1 -
Fernando Perez swinging.

B:4 S:2 O:1 -
Jason Bartlett walks.

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Carl Crawford flies out to right fielder Clete Thomas.

B:0 S:1 O:3 -
With Ben Zobrist batting, Jason Bartlett caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Gerald Laird to shortstop Adam Everett.

TB 1, DET 0 after 3 innings

Inning 4
Top Half

B:2 S:2 O:1 -
Aubrey Huff grounds out, second baseman Ben Zobrist to first baseman Carlos Pena.

B:2 S:2 O:2 -
Carlos Guillen flies out to left fielder Carl Crawford.

B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Brandon Inge flies out to left fielder Carl Crawford.

TB 1, DET 0 after 3.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Ben Zobrist grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Carlos Pena grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

B:3 S:2 O:3 -
Pat Burrell flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

TB 1, DET 0 after 4 innings

Inning 5
Top Half

B:1 S:2 O:1 -
Gerald Laird grounds out, second baseman Ben Zobrist to first baseman Carlos Pena.

B:0 S:2 O:2 -
Adam Everett flies out to left fielder Carl Crawford.

B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Curtis Granderson flies out to center fielder Fernando Perez.

TB 1, DET 0 after 4.5 innings

Bottom Half

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Evan Longoria flies out to center fielder Curtis Granderson.

B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Gabe Gross lines out to second baseman Placido Polanco.

B:0 S:2 O:3 -
Dioner Navarro grounds out, shortstop Adam Everett to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

TB 1, DET 0 after 5 innings

Inning 6
Top Half

B:1 S:1 O:1 -
Placido Polanco grounds out, second baseman Ben Zobrist to first baseman Carlos Pena.

B:1 S:0 O:2 -
Clete Thomas flies out to left fielder Carl Crawford.

B:3 S:2 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera homers (28) on a fly ball to left field.
DET 1, TB 1

B:3 S:2 O:2 - Aubrey Huff doubles (28) on a line drive to right fielder Gabe Gross.

B:4 S:0 O:2 - Jeff Niemann intentionally walks Carlos Guillen.


B:4 S:0 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.

B:2 S:1 O:3 -
Brandon Inge flies out to left fielder Carl Crawford.

DET 1, TB 1 AFTER 5.5 INNINGS

Bottom Half

B:2 S:2 O:0 -
Fernando Perez singles on a ground ball to left fielder Carlos Guillen.

B:0 S:2 O:1 -
With Jason Bartlett batting, Fernando Perez caught stealing 2nd base, catcher Gerald Laird to shortstop Adam Everett.

wow G-Money throwing everybody out who tries to steal base!!!


B:0 S:3 O:2 -
Jason Bartlett swinging.


B:2 S:2 O:3 -
Carl Crawford flies out to left fielder Carlos Guillen.

DET 1, TB 1 AFTER 6 INNINGS

Inning 7
Top Half

B:0 S:1 O:1 -
Gerald Laird lines out to third baseman Evan Longoria.


B:2 S:1 O:2 -
Adam Everett grounds out, third baseman Evan Longoria to first baseman Carlos Pena.


B:2 S:3 O:3 -
Curtis Granderson swinging.

(darn it Curtis, you are not paid to just wave at bugs! get hits!)

DET 1, TB 1 AFTER 6.5 INNINGS

Bottom Half

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Ben Zobrist called out on .

B:2 S:0 O:1 -
Carlos Pena singles on a line drive to center fielder Curtis Granderson.


B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Pat Burrell lines out to left fielder Carlos Guillen.


B:3 S:3 O:3 -
Evan Longoria swinging.

DET 1, TB 1 AFTER 7 INNINGS

Inning 8
Top Half

B:0 S:0 O:1 -
Placido Polanco flies out to center fielder Fernando Perez.

B:1 S:3 O:2 -
Clete Thomas on foul tip.


B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Miguel Cabrera singles on a ground ball to left fielder Carl Crawford.

B:0 S:1 O:2 -
Coaching visit to mound.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Pitcher Change: J. Howell replaces Jeff Niemann.

B:0 S:0 O:2 -
Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Magglio Ordonez replaces Aubrey Huff.


B:1 S:3 O:3 -
Magglio Ordonez swinging.

DET 1, TB 1 AFTER 7.5 INNINGS

Bottom Half

B:0 S:0 O:0 -
Magglio Ordonez remains in the game as the designated hitter.

B:2 S:3 O:1 -
Gabe Gross swinging.

(7 for JV)


B:1 S:2 O:2 -
Dioner Navarro pops out to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.


B:1 S:2 O:3 -
Fernando Perez grounds out, second baseman Placido Polanco to first baseman Miguel Cabrera.

DET 1, TB 1 AFTER 8 INNINGS