Phil Hughes (2-1, 4.96) vs. 
Jair Jurrjens (1-1, 3.29), 1:05 p.m. EST
After Jeremy Bonderman failed to keep the good juju going last night, is it possible that a 21-year-old rookie is exactly who the Tigers need on the mound today? If Jair Jurrjens pitches as well as he did against the Indians on Tuesday, the bleeding can at least be stanched for one afternoon.
Of all the games I've missed while vacationing in Braves country, Jurrjens' last start might be the one I most regret not seeing. In just over six innings, holding Cleveland to one run (and one hit), he showed why the Tigers were reluctant to deal him away at the trade deadline. And Jurrjens might not just be a key part of Detroit's pitching future; he might also be the stopgap this team needs to stay in the AL Central race for the rest of the season. (Here's a quickie Q&A with him from today's Free Press.)
Phil Hughes represents the same hopes for the future and the present for the Yankees. He's gone winless in his last two starts, but probably pitched well enough in each game to have earned the win, only to be let down by his bullpen or poor run support.
Cameron Maybin is back in the lineup today, batting ninth and playing in left field. Hopefully, both Maybin and Pudge Rodriguez (who sat out last night's game) give the bottom portion of Detroit's lineup a little more pop.
Short Hops:
▪▪ Dirk mentioned this in the comments of the last post, so you probably know about this already, but Placido Polanco's error from Friday night was wiped off the record after the official scorer consulted with the first-base umpire. So Polanco's errorless streak (now a Major League record 149 games for a second baseman) lives on.
I didn't see the play in question, so can't really comment on whether or not the scoring decision should've been changed. But to me, this sort of home cooking shows exactly why such streaks aren't exactly beyond dispute. Of course, this sort of thing happens in other sports, too. How many of John Stockton's NBA record 15,806 assists were the beneficiary of generous home court interpretation?
▪▪ Jon Paul Morosi mentions several veteran hitters that have cleared waivers, if the Tigers feel they need to pick up some extra hitting help.