Jeremy Bonderman (10-1, 3.50) vs. 
Scott Baker (4-3, 5.43), 1:10 p.m. EST
Could we have a third one-run nail-biter this afternoon in Minneapolis? The last time Jeremy Bonderman and Scott Baker faced off, before a national Sunday night audience, they fought each other hard through eight scoreless innings. Marcus Thames (who, if you haven't heard, was put on the 15-day disabled list this morning) finally broke the deadlock with a solo home run, and the Tigers prevented a Twins sweep at Comerica Park with a 1-0 victory.
Today, Detroit's going for a sweep at the Metrodome. And I'm just too lazy to look up the last time that happened. Wait - check that. According to the MLB press notes, the Tigers last won three straight in Minnesota back in 2004. But that was a four-game series. Detroit hasn't swept the Twins at Minnesota since 1999. Not so lazy after all. Thanks, Google.
And yes, a Tigers win might mean that tonight they're going to party like it's 1999. Okay, that was completely unnecessary. You may groan and throw tomatoes... now.
Short Hops:
▪▪ MLB.com's Mike Bauman praised Jim Leyland for his unusual decision to pull Bobby Seay out of the game with a 1-2 count on Mike Redmond last night.
▪▪ I'm sure everyone else has noticed this, but Todd Jones always calls for the ball after he finishes for the game, and I was curious about that. Turns out he collects the game ball from each one of his saves.
▪▪ If you've ever wondered how Jason Grilli's "Who's Your Tiger?" campaign might go, the Mickey Tettleton Memorial Overpass has the post for you.