Tigers Today: September 3, 2010

Tigers’ Record:

66-68, 3rd Place; 11 GB

Today’s Game

Tigers @ Royals | 8:10 p.m. ET – Kauffman Stadium | On the air: FSD/AM 1270 and 97.1 FM

Pitching Matchup

Jeremy Bonderman (7-9, 5.27 ERA) vs. Zack Greinke (8-11, 3.81 ERA)

Yesterday’s Results

Tigers 10 – Twins 9 (13 innings)

• W: Jose Valverde (2-3)
• L: Nick Blackburn (8-9)
• HR: Don Kelly (5), Jhonny Peralta (14), Ryan Raburn (11), Casper Wells (1), Gerald Laird (5)

Tigers History Lesson

Today’s Birthdays

• Nate Robertson, 33

• Luis Gonzalez, 43

• Steve Boros, 74

On this Date in Tigers History

• 2002 — Andy Van Hekken, with a fastball topping out in the mid-80s, becomes the first American Leaguer to throw a complete game shutout in his debut since Mike Norris in 1975, and the first Tigers pitcher since Schoolboy Rowe in 1933. He stops Cleveland 4-0. The Holland, Mich., native was 5-0 at Toledo before his promotion. (Care to guess who the Tigers’ leadoff hitter was that night? How about Hiram Bocachica.)

• 1967 — Before a Twins crowd of 43,494, Earl Wilson pitches a 5-0 shutout for his 19th win to narrow the Twins’ lead to half a game over the Tigers.

• 1938 — Rudy York hits his fourth grand slam, tying the major-league season record.

• 1906 — Ty Cobb is back in the Tigers lineup for the first time in six weeks. He has a single and steal, but he misplays a Charlie Hemphill fly ball into a home run, and the Tigers lose 1-0 to the Browns’ Barney Pelty. Rain stops the game after seven innings.

• 1903 — Cleveland’s Jesse Stovall throws an 11-inning shutout in his first major-league start, defeating Detroit 1-0. It’s the longest shutout ever in a pitching debut.