Jose Valverde News

Don't be shocked if Crain is closing games against the White Sox when the teams meet in Detroit before the All-Star break.

Chris Davis cleared the fences twice, giving him a major-league leading 26 homers, to help the Baltimore Orioles beat the Detroit Tigers 13-3 Wednesday.

Detroit Tigers' Prince Fielder pulls off his batting helmet as he walks back to the dugout after striking out to end the game June 19, 2013.

Davis and Teagarden helped the Baltimore Orioles blow the game open against Porcello with a six-run fourth inning Wednesday afternoon as the Tigers suffered a 13-3 loss.

For Detroit Tigers skipper Jim Leyland, the responsibility means having his postgame meal interrupted by media.

Now that the Tigers don't have a full-time closer, many of the their relievers are candidates to pitch in the ninth inning with a lead.

Papelbon could make one of three very good teams -Boston, Detroit or St. Louis- even better.

After he was tagged for five runs, allowing seven hits - including a pair of home runs - and issued four walks, Justin Verlander's ERA climbed to a season-high 3.72.

One look at that fastball velocity and the heft of his slider, and it was clear Jonathon Crawford fit the typical draft-day profile for the Tigers.

Jim Leyland has made it clear; he's not talking about his closer and I guess I don't blame him.

He can't have Rocket, either, but he can start being mentioned with his best start to a season, too.

The Tigers added to their Draft signings by agreeing to terms with Corey Knebel, the 39th overall selection in the First-Year Player Draft two weeks ago.

The Tigers will be hoping that the return of Austin Jackson to the top of the lineup will have a positive cascading effect down the order by opening up more chances for Torii Hunter, Miguel Cabrera, and Prince Fielder.

Replacing Jose Valverde as the Tigers' closer isn't as easy for a manager as it is for a fantasy team owner.

What does he not see that is painfully obvious to the rest of the viewing public? W. Lisowski Clarkston Jose Valverde should never have been brought back, and he should be released before he pitches the Tigers right out of the post-season.

The maturation of Rick Porcello, Jim Leyland is concerned about Anibal Sanchez's shoulder, and questions still remain about Jose Valverde and the closer role.

Tigers 101 provides 24/7 obsessive sports coverage of the Detroit Tigers as a part of Sports Media 101 .

Lorenzo Cain hit a tying, two-run homer off Jose Valverde with two outs in the ninth inning and Eric Hosmer had a winning single in the 10th, helping the Kansas City Royals overcome Justin Verlander's seven scoreless innings Wednesday in a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Tigers.

Torii Hunter's first career home run came with the Minnesota Twins, against Detroit at Tiger Stadium.

The Tigers recently signed their 2013 first-round pick Jonathan Crawford. There isn't much that is remarkable about it: he was ranked 17th according to one agency, 24th according to another, and went with the 20th pick.