DETROIT -- This city is gearing up for Game 7: Red Wings/Coyotes, with the face-off tonight at 8 p.m. (Central). Red Wings fans have to be nervous about seeing their aging dynasty go down, at the hands of Phoenix goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov.
But first, the Twins and Tigers will square off at 6:05 p.m. It's Justin Verlander vs. Francisco Liriano, which sounds like a great way to kick off the season series. Once again, these teams are scheduled to play 18 times, but last year it took 19, including a Game 163 for the ages.
I wrote about the Tigers for today's paper, and La Velle's series preview is here. Here are some other tidbits about the Tigers, I picked up in reading today's Detroit Free Press and Detroit News:
1. Jim Thome has seven home runs against Verlander. No other hitter has more than four. La Velle noted that Jason Kubel is batting .360 for his career against Verlander, but Kubel's had a tough month. Delmon Young has batted .278 against Verlander. Should be an interesting lineup decision.
2. RHP Joel Zumaya is not going to pitch for the next two days, Tigers manager Jim Leyland told reporters last night, after Zumaya gave up his first runs of the season. The fireballer is tired.
2.5: Actually, the entire Tigers squad might be sleepy tonight. They had a night game in Texas last night (an 8-6 victory) and weren't expected to land in Detroit until the wee hours. It was the second overnight trip in five days for the Tigers, who also had a night game in Anaheim last Thursday before playing a night game in Texas on Friday.
I'll have the starting lineups later this afternoon from Comerica Park.
