Chad Durbin (3-1, 5.08) vs. Curt Schilling (4-1, 3.63)

A doubleheader and series split is on the line tonight, with the second part of today's rain-forced twin bill.  The Tigers couldn't give Mike Maroth's stand-in the same generous run support, and Zach Miner took the loss in a 2-1 final.  (D-Town Baseball has a more detailed recap.)  And if you feel like spoiling your appetite for dinner, ponder how the Tigers' lineup might perform against Schilling if they could only muster one run in seven innings against Julian Tavarez.  Maybe Schill will contemplate that same question in 5,000 words or less over at his blog.

At first glance, this appears to be a glaring mismatch, but Durbin's been a pleasant surprise in three of his last four starts, and might just be ready to blow our minds yet again.  In three career appearances (two starts) against the Red Sox, he has a 1-0 record and 9.59 ERA.  Eight runs (and ten walks) allowed in 7 2/3 innings will give you that kind of inflated number.

Last season, Schilling went 1-1 facing Detroit, giving up only two runs in each start.  He also struck out 12 Tigers batters in 13 innings, while walking zero.  Over his career, however, Schilling has a 1-3 record with a 5.14 ERA in six career appearances (four starts).  And in his last outing vs. Baltimore, he gave up four runs in 5 1/3 innings.

Short Hops:

▪▪ At SI.com, Schilling is #3 on Jon Heyman's list of best players who are 40 or older this calendar year.

▪▪ If you didn't see this already, Sean Casey helped feed the hungry on Tuesday morning for the Labels Are For Jars organization, which he helped found.  (via Roar of the Tigers)