• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Verlander takes the hill as Tigers try to gain ground

Sep 12, 2007 - 2:13 PM Texas (69-75) at Detroit (79-67) 7:05 pm EDT

DETROIT (Ticker) -- Justin Verlander needs to continue his strong push if the Detroit Tigers are going to stay in the playoff hunt.

Verlander takes the hill Wednesday when the Tigers and Texas Rangers wrap up their three-game series.

The 24-year-old Verlander (16-5, 3.56 ERA) was brilliant once again, yielding one run through eight innings to defeat the Seattle Mariners in Friday's 6-1 win. It was the righthander's longest outing since his no-hitter on June 12.

Verlander has strengthened his candidacy for the American League Cy Young Award, allowing just two runs in his previous two trips to the hill.

On June 6, Verlander blanked the Rangers over seven innings to help the Tigers post a 10-0 win. He is 2-1 with a 2.95 ERA in three lifetime starts in the series.

Texas hit seven home runs and scored 10 runs in the first five innings en route to a 13-6 thrashing in the opener of Tuesdays' day-night doubleheader.

But Gary Sheffield, Magglio Ordonez and Ivan Rodriguez all drove in runs during the first frame to lead the Tigers to a 4-1 victory in the nightcap.

Despite the win, Detroit remained four games behind the New York Yankees (82-62) in the American League wild card chase and 6 1/2 back of the first-place Cleveland Indians (85-60) in the AL Central.

"We're a huge, huge longshot for the division," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "But we've got a legitimate shot at the wild card."

Texas hands the ball to Edison Volquez (2-0, 2.45), who threw six scoreless frames and struck out five batters in a 5-3 triumph over Oakland on Friday. The Dominican righthander has won both starts since being recalled from Class AAA Oklahoma on September 1.

The 24-year-old Volquez has faced Detroit only once, allowing three runs and eight hits through 3 2/3 innings on August 17, 2006.