Chad Gaudin (8-8, 4.18) vs. 
Chad Durbin (7-4, 4.44), 7:05 p.m. EST
These days, it's all about being thankful for the small things (like two-game winning streaks). But if the Tigers can get the series win tonight, especially considering how disastrously it began, I think many of us will take that as an encouraging sign.
Can I be the first to say it? Oooh! Can I? Can I? Tonight, it's a battle of Chads at Comerica Park. (Okay, I'm probably the eighth person to say that. In the last hour.) Both Chads have remarkably similar last names, enough to make me triple-check those links to make sure I put the right stats with the right Chad.
Detroit's Chad, The Durbin, probably pitched as well as could be expected in his last start, given that he'd spent the past six weeks working out of the bullpen. Of course, fewer runs and hits would've been nice. Durbin also contributed to the disturbing trend of allowing big first innings to the opposition. But now that he's had four days to prepare, with his arm presumably stretched out, he'll hopefully have a better outing tonight.
Oakland's Chad, The Gaudin, is winless in his past six starts. Draw that out a bit further, and you'll see that he's only won two of his past 12 starts. Back in May, Gaudin looked like one of the pleasant surprises of the season and was helping to keep the A's above .500. But as he's struggled, so has the rest of his team. During that six-game winless streak, by the way, Gaudin has been very generous, giving up five runs or more in five of those games.
Short Hops:
▪▪ In case you missed it, the Tigers and A's traded minor leaguers this afternoon. Jack Hannahan will join the A's big-league roster, while Jason Perry heads down to Toledo.
▪▪ And Jair Jurrjens will make the start for Detroit on Wednesday vs. Cleveland. In 19 starts with Double-A Erie, he's posted a 7-5 record and 3.20 ERA, with 94 strikeouts in 112 2/3 innings. (via D-Town Baseball)