GDT: 9/25/08 - DET (71-86) VS TB (96-62) - 1:05 p.m. ET

DETROIT -- The Tigers have a quick turnaround for their final series of the season on Thursday. The Rays have a tougher one, but they could have a celebration waiting for them at the end of the day.

Detroit's first glimpse of baseball's surprise team of the year comes in the last games of the season, and it could be the culmination of the Rays' journey from worst to first. A Tampa Bay victory would clinch the club's first American League East title, a historic achievement for a team that had never had a winning season until this year.

Their success has caught most of baseball by surprise. Their ability to sustain it has surprised Tigers manager Jim Leyland.

"I'll be the first one to say [that] I didn't know if they'd hold up to win the division," Leyland said. "I knew they were going to be good. I thought they'd have a real good year. But midway through the season, I'm not going to lie about it, I wasn't convinced that they would carry it out and win the division. I thought they'd have a heck of a year.

"But you have to give them all the credit in the world. They've been remarkable. And they're having fun, they're young, they've got energy and they're good. They're doing what all good teams do in good years. They're having fun. They should be. They should enjoy every second of it."

If they can clinch their division crown on Thursday, it'll be an enjoyable evening in Detroit, after an odd afternoon game to start a series. Nearly all of the Tigers' Thursday contests at home have been day games, and they stuck to that scheduling for the final one of the season.

It's Detroit's challenge to keep the Rays from celebrating on Thursday. Yet the Tigers have their own concerns in the standings to worry about. They've lost 12 of their last 13 games and have fallen into last place in the AL Central, now 1 1/2 games behind the Royals after Kansas City completed a three-game sweep at Comerica Park on Wednesday night. The fourth-place Royals are idle before beginning a season-ending three-game series at Minnesota on Friday.

"We're just in a horrible funk," Leyland said after Wednesday's 10-4 loss. "We're way out of sync right now, and we have been for a little bit. It's not a matter of guys not caring, guys not trying. That's not it. We're just in a year-end funk, and to be honest with you, I think it plays mind games with you. You're trying to run as hard as you can, and sometimes you can't."


Pitching matchup


DET: RHP Armando Galarraga, (12-6, 3.58 ERA)
Galarraga's incredible rookie season, which began as a Spring Training long shot and a season-opening stint at Triple-A Toledo, will close out with his final start against the Rays. He tossed seven innings of four-hit, one-run ball at Tampa Bay on Aug. 3 but left with a no-decision. He won three straight starts after that, but has gone winless in five outings since, including a no-decision for his 7 2/3 quality innings last Friday at Cleveland.


TB: LHP Scott Kazmir, (12-7, 3.36 ERA)
The Rays ace made history on Saturday night, as Kazmir's six-inning performance helped Tampa Bay clinch its first playoff spot. The lefty scattered five hits over six scoreless frames with five strikeouts. Kazmir stumped a potent Twins offense and exited after throwing 93 pitches. He will be facing Detroit for the second time this season, exiting with a no-decision after 4 2/3 innings on Aug. 1. He is a career 2-3 in seven starts against the Tigers, with a 4.33 ERA.

Tidbits

Thursday is expected to push the Tigers over the top for the franchise's single-season attendance record. The season total currently stands at 3,045,649. The franchise mark, set last year, was 3,047,139. ...

Reliever Todd Jones is scheduled for an 11 a.m. ET press conference at the ballpark, where he's expected to talk about his retirement. Jones is also slated to join Mario Impemba and Rod Allen on Thursday's telecast on FSN Detroit. ...

The Tigers are 9-8 on Thursdays. The only other day of the week in which they own a winning record is Wednesday, when they're 15-10. ...

Thursday is the final day of Gary Sheffield's four-game suspension. He's expected to be available again on Friday night.

On the Internet

MLB.TV
Gameday Audio
• Gameday
• Official game notes

On television
• FSN-HD


On radio
• 97.1FM/1270AM

Up next

• Friday: Tigers (RHP Justin Verlander, (10-17, 4.87 ERA)) vs. Rays (RHP Andy Sonnanstine, (13-8, 4.27 ERA)), 7:05 p.m. ET

• Saturday: Tigers (LHP Dontrelle Willis, (0-2, 10.61 ERA)) vs. Rays (RHP Matt Garza, (11-9, 3.66 ERA)), 7:05 p.m. ET

• Sunday: Tigers (RHP Zach Miner, (8-5, 4.26 ERA)) vs. Rays (RHP James Shields, (14-8, 3.57 ERA)), 1:05 p.m. ET

STARTING LINEUPS:

Scott Kazmir vs.

Rays
CF Upton
2B Zorbrist
1B Pena
3B Longoria
DH Aybar
C Navarro
RF Gross
LF Hinske
Bartlett

Tigers
SS
DH :thames:
RF
1B
3B :hessman:
2B :ryan:
CF
LF :joyce:
C :dusty:

Tampa Bay is going to kill us... just for fun

I predict 4 losses heading our way.

I predict 82 degrees on Thursday Afternoon; 78 at game time


Can't believe I will be trying to sit up in the mezzainne for a day game in late September


Actually, I can

After all. Comerica Park is the hottest ballpark on Earth!

SoulRat wrote:

Tampa Bay is going to kill us... just for fun

and to cement their first-place status

Why an afternoon game?

so they can have us for afternoon hors d'oeuvres?

seriously, they're gonna eat us ALIVE.....

bobrob2004 wrote:

Why an afternoon game?

I have been asking myself that all morning?


Night game would have been better


And cooler

laprimamirala wrote:

seriously, they're gonna eat us ALIVE.....

I say the Tigers gonna win at least 3 games this weekend

they haven't won a game in nearly 2 weeks! why would that change now??

Kind of like how the Royals beat the Tigers the last weekend in 2006

BIG difference between then and now

laprimamirala wrote:

seriously, they're gonna eat us ALIVE.....

You still think they're ALIVE? I've been calling them DEAD for awhile now.

laprimamirala wrote:

they haven't won a game in nearly 2 weeks! why would that change now??

Even more of a reason


Even the worst teams win a series from time to time


I just got a feeling the Tigers will go out on a positive

bobrob2004 wrote:

laprimamirala wrote:

seriously, they're gonna eat us ALIVE.....

You still think they're ALIVE? I've been calling them DEAD for awhile now.

okay so they're necrophiliacs! either way we die! slow and painful!

Not

laprimamirala wrote:

okay so they're necrophiliacs! either way we die! slow and painful!

necrophiliacs?


It too early in the day to be throwing big words at me

Damn

Where did I put my dictionary

bobrob2004 wrote:

gs78 wrote:

Not

He better be Starting next year, too

Imagine how much worse the Tigers be without and

gs78 wrote:

laprimamirala wrote:

okay so they're necrophiliacs! either way we die! slow and painful!

necrophiliacs?


It too early in the day to be throwing big words at me

Damn

Where did I put my dictionary

I'll PM you

JL, if you play Inge in the field, put him on 3B please. Not CF.

Tigers losing 1-0 on Zobrist's HR. 1 out.

Bobrob

gdennis59 wrote:

Bobrob

Gdennis

Back-to-back ends the inning. 1-0 Rays.

HOME RUN RAMON SANTIAGO!!!

1-1 Tie.