Chad Durbin (1-1, 6.39) vs. Zach Greinke (1-3, 4.70)
Could it be? A second straight sweep? A seven-game winning streak? That's what the Tigers can accomplish with a win this afternoon at Kauffman Stadium.
Of course, the team might still be trying to deal with the news of Joel Zumaya's freakish finger injury, suffered last night in the bullpen. For those who wondered how a mortal man could throw a baseball that hard, his middle finger might have just given you the answer. (Literally, that is. Not in terms of gesture.) We already knew how tightly Zumaya gripped the ball, and how that led to previous injury problems. But maybe this is yet another indication that there are some things a human body just wasn't meant to do on a regular basis, and some things will have to change in order for him to sustain a longer career.
Zumaya was immediately placed on the DL and would be eligible to return a week from Thursday, but early indications are that this could keep Zumaya out for at least a month. (The Tigers' blogosphere's version of Will Carroll, Dr. Samela, takes a much closer look at what happened and its repercussions for the team. I'm sure the real Will Carroll will have something to add soon at Baseball Prospectus.) I was already rattling a can for Detroit to ask the Astros what they want in return for Brad Lidge. I'm betting the price just went up.
Back to more immediate matters, Durbin will start in place of Jeremy Bonderman, who had his turn in the rotation pushed back to Tuesday, due to a blister on his pitching hand. (And I think I had the finger wrong; it's his index finger, not his middle.) He followed up an eye-opening performance against the White Sox with an outing that again raises the question of whether or not the Tigers can count on him to provide quality starts. Perhaps the most troubling aspect of his 3 2/3 inning stint against the Orioles were his six walks.
Meanwhile, Greinke might still be having nightmares about the last time he faced the Tigers, in which he couldn't even make it out of the first inning. He hasn't won in his three starts since then (though he did pitch seven shutout innings against the Twins). However, Greinke still has a 6-2 career record (and 2.86 ERA) against Detroit.