Playoff hopeful Tigers and Mariners begin big set in Detroit

Baseball Betting Lines

09/07/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Two teams with playoff aspirations square off this weekend when the Detroit Tigers welcome the Seattle Mariners to Comerica Park for the opener of a three-game series.

Both teams enter the critical series three games back of the wild card-leading New York Yankees.

The Tigers moved into a tie for the second spot on Thursday, as Placido Polanco singled home the winning run to cap a two-run rally in Detroit's 3-2 win. Inge homered for the Tigers, who won the final two games of this series with the White Sox, but posted only the fourth victory in their last nine games and, with Cleveland's loss to the Angels, now trail the Tribe by six games in the American League Central

Gary Sheffield, who ended 0-for-3, returned from the disabled list where he had been sidelined since August 21 because of a sore shoulder. The Tigers had been just 6-8 without him.

Right-hander Chad Durbin, who got the start in place of the injured Jair Jurrjens, gave up just four hits with a walk and strikeout over five frames for the Tigers. Bobby Seay (3-0) earned the win with a perfect ninth.

Justin Verlander gets the call this evening, as he tries to win his third straight start. Verlander won for the fourth time in his last five starts on Saturday against the Oakland Athletics, as he allowed a run and six hits in 6 2/3 innings to improve to 15-5, while lowering his earned run average to 3.67.

Verlander has defeated the Mariners twice already this year and is a perfect 3-0 against them with 3.26 ERA in three starts.

Seattle, meanwhile, comes into this series as cold as can be after dropping the final two games of their three-game series with the Yankees. The Mariners fell 10-2 in Wednesday's finale and were outscored 22-5 in the final two contests.

The Mariners have been in a tailspin since climbing to within a game of the Los Angeles Angels in the AL West. They have dropped 11 of their last 12 and now find themselves eight games back of the Halos.

Hoping to get the Mariners back in the win column tonight will be right-hander Miguel Batista, who is 13-10 with a 4.59 ERA on the year. Batista received a no-decision on Saturday against the Toronto Blue Jays, despite giving up just one run and five hits in seven innings of a 2-1 loss.

Batista beat the Tigers the last time he faced them and is 1-2 lifetime against them with two saves and a 3.72 ERA in eight games, four of which have been starts.

Detroit has won four of seven from the Mariners this season and is 20-14 in the series since the start of the 2004 campaign. Seattle, though, has split its last six in the Motor City.

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