Sometimes the numbers don't tell the whole story. The Tigers will enter the weekend in first place in the American League Central despite just three wins in June from their two best pitchers.

Justin Verlander was 2-1 in June with a 2.91 ERA, while Edwin Jackson, sporting the same ERA, was 1-1. Verlander also lost his first July start.

The Tigers were 15-13 for the month, as a strong effort by the bullpen picked the club up.

The chief reason the aces didn't win more and the club wasn't able to get closer to 20 victories was the offense.

The Tigers hit just .249. Thanks to 35 home runs, they were able to score 108 times, one more run than they had in April but down from 137 in May.

"We're going to have to step it up the second half if we're going to...

Rick Porcello's raw ability made him the top prep pitcher in the nation. That talent, along with a steely demeanor, turned the Detroit Tigers right-hander into one of baseball's best newcomers. "He hates to get beat, and he hates to get hit," Tigers catcher Gerald Laird said. "When guys hit him, he takes offense to it.

Jason Giambi and Jack Cust know that if they both start hitting more consistently, it could do a lot for Oakland's chances heading into the second half. Giambi and Cust broke out of funks with two-run homers, Dallas Braden ended a four-start winless stretch and the Athletics beat the Detroit Tigers 5-1 on Wednesday.

Armando Galarraga yielded three times more walks than hits, and his Detroit teammates made a big baserunning blunder, gave up a ninth-inning homer and committed two fielding errors. Manager Jim Leyland knew it all could have cost the AL Central-leading Tigers -- against a better opponent than the Oakland Athletics, that is.

Mark Ellis has always possessed an ineffable knack for timely hits during his years with the Oakland Athletics. Now that he's back from a two-month injury absence, maybe he can show his light-hitting teammates how to get it. Ellis hit a two-run homer in his second game back in the A's lineup, and Ryan Sweeney homered and drove in two runs in Oakland's 7-1 win over the Detroit Tigers on...

Brandon Inge knew what pitch was coming, and he salvaged the Detroit Tigers' final game in Houston with a single swing. Inge hit a two-run homer off Jose Valverde with two outs in the ninth inning and the Tigers averted a sweep with a 4-3 win over the Astros on Sunday. Kaz Matsui's RBI double off Edwin Jackson in the seventh gave Houston a 3-2 lead.

Houston manager Cecil Cooper thought Felipe Paulino could develop into a good pitcher for the Astros. But even he was a bit surprised at just how good the rookie right-hander was Saturday night. Paulino pitched seven solid innings and the Astros used a five-run third to pull away from the Detroit Tigers for an 8-1 victory.

Miguel Tejada hopes ending the major leagues' longest current winning streak will help the Houston Astros to start one of their own. Tejada had a double and drove in two runs to lead the Astros to a 5-4 victory over Detroit on Friday night, ending the Tigers' seven-game winning streak. "For our team it's really, really big," Tejada said of the Astros, who have won two straight...

Maybe the slump was in his hair. Magglio Ordonez ended a career-long drought without a homer by connecting on a go-ahead shot, leading the Detroit Tigers over the Chicago Cubs 6-5 Thursday for their seventh straight victory. "It was huge for us," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said. It had to be big for Ordonez, too, but the quiet player didn't talk to reporters after ending his 40-game...

Lou Piniella is ready to take a page out of his mentor's book. Three decades after Billy Martin pulled the Detroit Tigers batting order out of a hat, Piniella said he's ready to try the same thing after his Chicago Cubs stranded 13 runners in a 5-3 loss to the Tigers Wednesday night. "I might leave the couple guys that are doing their jobs in their places and draw out the rest of...

The streaking Detroit Tigers put slumping Magglio Ordonez back on the field, batting him seventh. They got a game-winning hit from that spot in the lineup. But it wasn't from Ordonez. Pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning, lifting Detroit to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday night.