2006 Detroit Tigers season

2006 Detroit Tigers
American League Champions American League Wild Card Winners
League	American League
Division	Central
Ballpark	Comerica Park
City	Detroit, Michigan
Record	95–67 (.586)
Divisional place	2nd
Owners	Mike Ilitch
General managers	Dave Dombrowski
Managers	Jim Leyland
Television	FSN Detroit WDWB (Mario Impemba, Rod Allen)
Radio	The Detroit Tigers Radio Network (Jim Price, Dan Dickerson)
Seasons

The 2006 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 106th season. They won the ALCS. They represented the American League in the World Series before falling to the St. Louis Cardinals 4 games to 1. The season was their 106th since they entered the AL in 1901. It was their seventh season since opening Comerica Park in 2000, and the first since 1993 where the team finished with a winning record and made the playoffs for the first time since 1987.

Regular season

The Detroit Tigers were baseball's surprise success story of 2006. After years of futility, including 12 consecutive losing seasons and an AL-record 119 losses in 2003, the season had the Tigers surging to the top of the major league standings in May, a position they did not relinquish until the final day of the season. The play of veterans like Kenny Rogers and Todd Jones, the emergence of previously unestablished players Curtis Granderson, Brandon Inge, Craig Monroe and Marcus Thames, and significant production from erstwhile All-Stars Iván Rodríguez, Magglio Ordóñez and Carlos Guillén all contributed to the team's success.

A great deal of credit was also given to manager Jim Leyland. On April 17, after an uninspiring 10–2 loss at home to the Cleveland Indians dropped the team's record to 7–6, the manager launched into a tirade against the team about its lack of effort, telling the media, "We stunk. They [the players] were already on the plane to Oakland." It appeared to light a fire under the players, spurring them on to a stretch in which they won 28 of 35 games. Leyland consistently emphasized the importance of playing with intensity throughout all nine innings, a philosophy embraced not only in the players' words but also demonstrated by the team's knack for late-inning clutch hits, rallies, and comebacks.

Statistically, the biggest factor in the team's success was its pitching, which led the major leagues in ERA and shutouts. Rookie Justin Verlander won the AL Rookie of the Year Award, and fellow starters Kenny Rogers, Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Robertson, as well as rookie reliever Joel Zumaya, all had noteworthy seasons. There was concern when starter Mike Maroth—who had lost 20 games in 2003, but had since rebounded—had to undergo surgery early in the season, but his replacement Zach Miner proved to be adequate.

The Tigers' newfound success attracted a new generation of fans, many of whom who had never seen winning baseball in Detroit. Detroit hit 16 home runs in their first four games, the most ever by any team in their first four games of the season. Tigers fans traveled to road games in large numbers, most notably at the interleague series with the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field from June 16–18. The crowd could be heard chanting "Let's Go Tigers!" throughout all three games, all of which were Detroit victories.

The major doubt many fans and pundits had was whether the Tigers could compete against other top-tier American League teams. Early in the season, the team lost series to the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, and lost five of six games to the reigning World Series champion (and AL Central rival) Chicago White Sox. However, on July 20, at a game which featured a particularly stirring rendition of the national anthem by local opera singer Eugene Zweig, and a standing-room-only crowd that included actor Tom Hanks and director Ron Howard, the Tigers beat White Sox pitching ace José Contreras to take the series two games to one from the White Sox, the team's first series victory against an upper-echelon AL team in 2006. In their next two series, against the AL West division-leading Oakland Athletics, and the red-hot Minnesota Twins, who were 34–8 over their previous 42 games, the Tigers also won two out of three.

On July 31, Tigers management traded minor-league pitcher Brian Rogers to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for left-handed hitting and three-time All Star first baseman Sean Casey. The move added a left-handed bat to the lineup, especially necessary after Dmitri Young was released in September.

By August 7, the Tigers were an astonishing 40 games above .500 (76–36) and cruising. They would lose their next five games, sixteen of their next 22, and the last six weeks of the season were punctuated by a nosedive, as a suddenly silent offense led to a 19–31 record in the last 50 games of the season. Perhaps the biggest loss the team suffered was not a singular game, but one of their best all-around players, Plácido Polanco, who separated his shoulder making a spectacular over-the-shoulder catch in Fenway Park against the Red Sox on August 15.

Only the big cushion built in the summer saved the Tigers from what would have been baseball's most statistically infamous collapse, as they clinched a playoff berth on September 24 with an 11–4 win over the Kansas City Royals. But even that cushion couldn't save a division title. On October 1, despite a rare relief appearance from Kenny Rogers, the Tigers fell out of the top spot in the American League Central with a 10–8 extra-inning loss to the 100-loss Royals in their last regular season game.

Detroit lost their last five regular season games, all at home, against the Toronto Blue Jays and the Royals. The final loss gave the Twins the AL Central title, and made the Tigers the American League wild card entrant in the postseason. Their opening-round opponent would be the New York Yankees.

The Tigers ended the regular season with a 95–67 record, marking the team's first winning season since 1993 and their most wins since 1987. They were the only team outside the American League East to win the AL Wild Card between 2003 and 2011.

Highlights

There were many memorable moments during the regular season. Some of the highlights:

• On April 16, Chris Shelton became the fastest player to eight home runs in American League history, and the Tigers won a 1–0 game behind a sparkling three-hitter by Mike Maroth and one-hit relief by Joel Zumaya and Fernando Rodney.
• On April 20, the Tigers came into the ninth down 3–1, but clutch hits tied the game, and Brandon Inge's resolute 15-pitch walk (Jim Leyland called it a "1½ Marlboro" at-bat, in reference to his noted chain-smoking when in the dugout) forced in the winning run.
• On May 3, in the eighth inning of a tense pitching duel, Brandon Inge beat a throw to second to avoid a double play, then Alexis Gómez singled him in for a 2–1 comeback victory.
• Oy May 14, the Tigers swept the Indians in a three-game series with a 3–2 victory, the first time Detroit swept a series from the Indians in Cleveland since 1990.
• On May 20, Cincinnati's Ken Griffey Jr. hit a grand slam that put the Reds up, 6–5, but with two outs in the ninth inning, Curtis Granderson hit a home run that tied the game, and the Tigers won in extra innings.
• On June 1, hits by Ivan Rodríguez and Magglio Ordóñez (and gum-chewing by Nate Robertson) set up Carlos Guillén's game-winning ("walk-off") single, completing a five-run comeback and defeating the Yankees.
• On June 18, Kenny Rogers won his 200th game, becoming only the 26th left-hander in baseball history to do so; Detroit hit eight home runs to set a club record.
• On June 27, Roger Clemens hurled a three-hitter, but Nate Robertson outpitched him and the Tigers won, 4–0.
• On July 11, the 2006 All-Star Game featured three Tigers—Rodríguez, Kenny Rogers and Ordóñez—for the first time since 1987. Rodríguez was voted as a starter, while Rogers was named the starting pitcher. The battery combination of Rogers and Rodríguez was the first time a Tigers pitcher threw to a Tigers catcher to start the Mid-Summer Classic since Denny McLain threw to Bill Freehan in 1966.
• On July 14, in a tie game, with two out and two on in the top of the ninth, reliever Todd Jones faced dangerous slugger Mark Teahen, who had already hit two home runs in the game. Jones threw Teahen every pitch he could, and Teahen repeatedly fouled each pitch off. Finally Jim Leyland walked to the mound—where he told Jones his visit was a ruse, designed to fool Teahen into thinking Jones would be throwing anything but a fastball. Leyland walked off the field, Jones threw a fastball, and Teahen swung and missed for strike three. Then, in the bottom of the ninth, Carlos Guillén hit the Tigers' first walk-off home run of the season for the victory. After the game, Jones said of Leyland's visit to the mound: "I thought, 'Wow, you're a really good manager.'"
• On July 19, Craig Monroe hit a grand slam in a Tigers victory over the Chicago White Sox.
• On July 20 (see above), the Tigers essentially beat the White Sox on a Marcus Thames slide into second. The slide broke up a seemingly sure double play, which allowed the winning run to score later that inning.
• On July 24, the Tigers became the first team since the 1891 St. Louis Cardinals to score 5 runs or more in the first inning in three consecutive games.
• On July 28, the Tigers weathered 12 strikeouts by rookie Twins phenom Francisco Liriano, and won another tight game with a 10th-inning single by Craig Monroe.
• On August 1, Carlos Guillén hit for the cycle, becoming the first Tiger since Damion Easley did it in 2001, and the third since 1950, to do so.
• On August 5, Iván Rodríguez hit a walk-off home run with two outs in the ninth inning to complete a comeback against the Cleveland Indians.
• On August 27, a 7–1 victory over the Cleveland Indians secured the Tigers an 82nd victory—and their first winning season since 1993.
• On August 30, with two outs in the top of the ninth, Craig Monroe hit a dramatic three-run home run, erasing a one-run deficit, stunning the crowd at Yankee Stadium, and giving the Tigers a 5–3 come-from-behind victory over the Yankees.
• On September 12, Craig Monroe tied a club record with three outfield assists, including throwing two runners out at the plate, and Carlos Guillén hit two home runs, one from each side of the plate, the second being a walk-off in the bottom of the ninth that won the game, 3–2, over the Texas Rangers.
• On September 23, the Tigers scored ten runs in the first inning in a 15–4 victory over the Kansas City Royals. The game marked Plácido Polanco's return from the disabled list; he had three hits.
• On September 24, the Tigers scored nine runs in the second inning en route to an 11–4 victory. The win secured their first playoff appearance since 1987.

Season standings

AL Central

Team	W	L	Pct.	GB	Home	Road
Minnesota Twins	96	66	.593	—	54‍–‍27	42‍–‍39
Detroit Tigers	95	67	.586	1	46‍–‍35	49‍–‍32
Chicago White Sox	90	72	.556	6	49‍–‍32	41‍–‍40
Cleveland Indians	78	84	.481	18	44‍–‍37	34‍–‍47
Kansas City Royals	62	100	.383	34	34‍–‍47	28‍–‍53

Record vs. opponents

2006 American League record Sources: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14]
Team	BAL	BOS	CWS	CLE	DET	KC	LAA	MIN	NYY	OAK	SEA	TB	TEX	TOR	NL
Baltimore	—	3–15	2–5	4–2	3–3	5–1	4–6	3–6	7–12	2–4	4–6	13–6	3–6	8–11	9–9
Boston	15–3	—	4–2	3–4	3–3	4–5	3–3	1–5	8–11	3–7	4–6	10–9	5–4	7–12	16–2
Chicago	5–2	2–4	—	8–11	12–7	11–8	6–3	9–10	2–4	3–3	5–4	3–3	5–5	5–4	14–4
Cleveland	2–4	4–3	11–8	—	6–13	10–8	4–5	8–11	3–4	3–6	4–5	6–1	5–4	4–2	8–10
Detroit	3–3	3–3	7–12	13–6	—	14–4	3–5	11–8	2–5	5–4	6–3	5–3	5–5	3–3	15–3
Kansas City	1–5	5–4	8–11	8–10	4–14	—	3–7	7–12	2–7	4–5	3–5	1–5	3–3	3–4	10–8
Los Angeles	6–4	3–3	3–6	5–4	5–3	7–3	—	4–2	6–4	11–8	10–9	7–2	11–8	4–6	7–11
Minnesota	6–3	5–1	10–9	11–8	8–11	12–7	2–4	—	3–3	6–4	5–3	6–1	4–5	2–5	16–2
New York	12–7	11–8	4–2	4–3	5–2	7–2	4–6	3–3	—	3–6	3–3	13–5	8–2	10–8	10–8
Oakland	4–2	7–3	3–3	6–3	4–5	5–4	8–11	4–6	6–3	—	17–2	6–3	9–10	6–4	8–10
Seattle	6–4	6–4	4–5	5–4	3–6	5–3	9–10	3–5	3–3	2–17	—	6–3	8–11	4–5	14–4
Tampa Bay	6–13	9–10	3–3	1–6	3–5	5–1	2–7	1–6	5–13	3–6	3–6	—	3–6	6–12	11–7
Texas	6–3	4–5	5–5	4–5	5–5	3–3	8–11	5–4	2–8	10–9	11–8	6–3	—	4–2	7–11
Toronto	11–8	12–7	4–5	2–4	3–3	4–3	6–4	5–2	8–10	4–6	5–4	12–6	2–4	—	9–9

Roster

2006 Detroit Tigers
Roster
Pitchers 38 Jeremy Bonderman 43 Román Colón 52 Chad Durbin 49 Jason Grilli 59 Todd Jones 41 Wilfredo Ledezma 36 Colby Lewis 46 Mike Maroth 50 Andrew Miller 31 Zach Miner 29 Nate Robertson 56 Fernando Rodney 37 Kenny Rogers 44 Bobby Seay 48 Chris Spurling 53 Jordan Tata 35 Justin Verlander 32 Jamie Walker 54 Joel Zumaya		Catchers  7 Iván Rodríguez 13 Vance Wilson Infielders 21 Sean Casey  9 Carlos Guillén 36 Jack Hannahan 19 Kevin Hooper 20 Omar Infante 15 Brandon Inge  8 Neifi Pérez 14 Plácido Polanco 39 Ramón Santiago 26 Chris Shelton 25 Dmitri Young		Outfielders 24 Brent Clevlen 45 Alexis Gómez 28 Curtis Granderson 27 Craig Monroe 30 Magglio Ordóñez 33 Marcus Thames Other batters 58 Mike Rabelo 25 Matt Stairs		Manager 10 Jim Leyland Coaches 17 Rafael Belliard (infield) 55 Chuck Hernandez (pitching) 22 Gene Lamont (third base) 21 Lloyd McClendon (bullpen) 34 Don Slaught (hitting) 18 Andy Van Slyke (first base)

2006 Game Log: 95–67 (Home: 46–35; Away: 49–32)
April: 16–9 (Home: 5–5; Away: 11–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 1 April 3 @ Royals 3–1 Rogers (1–0) Elarton (0–1) Rodney (1) 41,054 1–0 W1 2 April 5 @ Royals 14–3 Bonderman (1–0) Mays (0–1) 11,265 2–0 W2 3 April 6 @ Rangers 10–6 Robertson (1–0) Dickey (0–1) 21,713 3–0 W3 4 April 7 @ Rangers 5–2 Maroth (1–0) Koronka (0–1) Rodney (2) 21,155 4–0 W4 5 April 8 @ Rangers 7–0 Verlander (1–0) Millwood (0–2) 35,066 5–0 W5 6 April 9 @ Rangers 5–3 Padilla (2–0) Rogers (1–1) Cordero (1) 31,032 5–1 L1 7 April 10 White Sox 5–3 Garcia (1–1) Bonderman (1–1) Jenks (2) 44,179 5–2 L2 8 April 12 White Sox 4–3 Contreras (1–0) Robertson (1–1) Jenks (3) 12,601 5–3 L3 9 April 13 White Sox 13–9 Garland (1–1) Verlander (1–1) 14,027 5–4 L4 10 April 14 Indians 5–1 Rogers (2–1) Westbrook (2–1) 27,358 6–4 W1 11 April 15 Indians 7–2 Carmona (1–0) Bonderman (1–2) 30,107 6–5 L1 12 April 16 Indians 1–0 Maroth (2–0) Lee (1–1) Rodney (3) 14,303 7–5 W1 13 April 17 Indians 10–2 Byrd (2–1) Robertson (1–2) 19,126 7–6 L1 14 April 18 @ Athletics 4–3 Duchscherer (1–0) Verlander (1–2) Street (4) 16,857 7–7 L2 15 April 19 @ Athletics 11–4 Rogers (3–1) Blanton (1–2) 18,309 8–7 W1 16 April 20 @ Athletics 4–3 Rodney (1–0) Duchscherer (1–1) 15,489 9–7 W2 17 April 21 @ Mariners 2–1 Maroth (3–0) Washburn (1–3) Jones (1) 35,237 10–7 W3 18 April 22 @ Mariners 2–0 Robertson (2–2) Meche (1–1) Rodney (4) 27,893 11–7 W4 19 April 23 @ Mariners 6–4 Verlander (2–2) Hernandez (0–3) Jones (2) 28,659 12–7 W5 20 April 24 @ Angels 3–0 Santana (2–0) Rogers (3–2) Rodriguez (8) 39,776 12–8 L1 21 April 25 @ Angels 5–2 Bonderman (2–2) Carrasco (0–1) Jones (3) 40,007 13–8 W1 22 April 26 @ Angels 4–0 Lackey (3–1) Maroth (3–1) 37,532 13–9 L1 23 April 28 Twins 9–0 Robertson (3–2) Radke (2–3) 23,263 14–9 W1 24 April 29 Twins 18–1 Verlander (3–2) Silva (1–4) 24,258 15–9 W2 25 April 30 Twins 6–0 Rogers (4–2) Lohse (1–2) 24,323 16–9 W3
May: 19–9 (Home: 10–6; Away: 9–3) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 26 May 1 Kansas City 3–2 Bonderman (3–2) Hernandez (1–1) Jones (4) 9,597 17–9 W4 27 May 2 Kansas City 4–1 Maroth (4–1) Redman (0–2) Jones (5) 12,415 18–9 W5 28 May 3 LA Angels 2–1 Zumaya (1–0) Weaver (1–4) Rodney (5) 17,171 19–9 W6 29 May 4 LA Angels 7–2 Gregg (2–0) Verlander (3–3) 24,879 19–10 L1 30 May 5 at Minnesota 9–6 Rogers (5–2) Lohse (1–3) Jones (6) 23,892 20–10 W1 31 May 6 at Minnesota 7–6 Rincon (2–0) Jones (0–1) 20,907 20–11 L1 32 May 7 at Minnesota 4–2 Santana (3–3) Maroth (4–2) Nathan (4) 20,548 20–12 L2 33 May 9 at Baltimore 7–6 Hawkins (1–1) Rodney (1–1) Ray (8) 16,566 20–13 L3 34 May 10 at Baltimore 6–3 Verlander (4–3) Lopez (1–5) Jones (7) 15,548 21–13 W1 35 May 12 at Cleveland 5–4 Rogers (6–2) Lee (2–4) Jones (8) 23,588 22–13 W2 36 May 13 at Cleveland 3–0 Bonderman (4–2) Sabathia (2–1) Jones (9) 24,051 23–13 W3 37 May 14 at Cleveland 3–2 Maroth (5–2) Johnson (2–3) Rodney (6) 21,875 24–13 W4 38 May 16 Minnesota 7–4 Robertson (4–2) Lohse (2–4) Jones (10) 18,115 25–13 W5 39 May 17 Minnesota 2–0 Verlander (5–3) Santana (4–4) Jones (11) 16,669 26–13 W6 40 May 18 Minnesota 5–3 Rogers (7–2) Radke (4–5) Jones (12) 26,732 27–13 W7 41 May 19 Cincinnati 9–4 Claussen (3–4) Bonderman (4–3) 26,933 27–14 L1 42 May 20 Cincinnati 7–6 Rodney (2–1) Weathers (1–2) 43,128 28–14 W1 43 May 21 Cincinnati 1–0 Rodney (3–1) Harang (5–3) Jones (13) 31,515 29–14 W2 44 May 22 at Kansas City 8–0 Verlander (6–3) Affeldt (2–4) 9,746 30–14 W3 45 May 23 at Kansas City 8–5 Zumaya (2–0) Dessens (2–4) Jones (14) 15,556 31–14 W4 46 May 24 at Kansas City 6–3 Bonderman (5–3) Gobble (0–1) Jones (15) 10,745 32–14 W5 47 May 25 at Kansas City 13–8 Zumaya (3–0) Dessens (2–5) 11,488 33–14 W6 48 May 26 Cleveland 8–3 Robertson (5–2) Westbrook (4–3) 31,241 34–14 W7 49 May 27 Cleveland 3–1 Verlander (7–3) Byrd (4–4) Jones (16) 37,102 35–14 W8 50 May 28 Cleveland 9–0 Johnson (3–4) Rogers (7–3) 37,908 35–15 L1 51 May 29 NY Yankees 4–0 Johnson (7–4) Bonderman (5–4) 39,759 35–16 L2 52 May 30 NY Yankees 11–6 Rivera (3–3) Jones (0–2) 24,765 35–17 L3 53 May 31 NY Yankees 6–1 Mussina (7–1) Robertson (5–3) 23,757 35–18 L4
June: 20–7 (Home: 11–3; Away: 9–4) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 54 June 1 NY Yankees 7–6 Rodney (4–1) Farnsworth (1–3) 27,231 36–18 W1 55 June 2 Boston 3–2 Seanez (1–0) Jones (0–3) Papelbon (20) 35,531 36–19 L1 56 June 3 Boston 6–2 Bonderman (6–4) Wakefield (4–7) Rodney (7) 40,872 37–19 W1 57 June 4 Boston 8–3 Clement (5–4) Miner (0–1) 35,764 37–20 L1 58 June 6 at Chicago Sox 4–3 McCarthy (3–3) Rodney (4–2) Jenks (16) 37,192 37–21 L2 59 June 7 at Chicago Sox 4–3 Contreras (6–0) Verlander (7–4) Jenks (17) 37,612 37–22 L3 60 June 8 at Chicago Sox 6–2 Rogers (8–3) Garland (4–3) 37,354 38–22 W1 61 June 9 at Toronto 10–5 Frasor (2–1) Jones (0–4) 21,425 38–23 L1 62 June 10 at Toronto 5–3 Miner (1–1) Lilly (5–7) Jones (17) 27,021 39–23 W1 63 June 11 at Toronto 10–5 Robertson (6–3) Taubenheim (0–3) Zumaya (1) 30,404 40–23 W2 64 June 12 Tampa Bay 4–3 Jones (1–4) Meadows (1–1) 16,302 41–23 W3 65 June 13 Tampa Bay 7–1 Rogers (9–3) McClung (2–9) 20,935 42–23 W4 66 June 14 Tampa Bay 5–1 Meadows (2–1) Jones (1–5) 25,265 42–24 L1 67 June 15 Tampa Bay 6–2 Miner (2–1) Fossum (2–3) 28,269 43–24 W1 68 June 16 at Chicago Cubs 5–3 Robertson (7–3) Rusch (2–7) Jones (18) 40,683 44–24 W2 69 June 17 at Chicago Cubs 9–3 Verlander (8–4) Marmol (1–1) 41,459 45–24 W3 70 June 18 at Chicago Cubs 12–3 Rogers (10–3) Prior (0–1) 39,938 46–24 W4 71 June 19 at Milwaukee 3–1 Bonderman (7–4) Wise (4–4) Jones (19) 29,623 47–24 W5 72 June 20 at Milwaukee 10–1 Miner (3–1) Helling (0–1) 33,119 48–24 W6 73 June 21 at Milwaukee 4–3 Capuano (8–4) Zumaya (3–1) Turnbow (21) 31,222 48–25 L1 74 June 23 St. Louis 10–6 Verlander (9–4) Carpenter (6–4) 42,238 49–25 W1 75 June 24 St. Louis 7–6 Zumaya (4–1) Johnson (0–1) 42,535 50–25 W2 76 June 25 St. Louis 4–1 Ledezma (1–0) Ponson (4–3) Jones (20) 40,644 51–25 W3 77 June 26 Houston 10–4 Miner (4–1) Rodriguez (8–5) 24,285 52–25 W4 78 June 27 Houston 4–0 Robertson (8–3) Clemens (0–2) 39,852 53–25 W5 79 June 28 Houston 5–0 Verlander (10–4) Pettitte (6–9) 29,249 54–25 W6 80 June 30 at Pittsburgh 7–6 Colon (1–0) Wells (0–3) Jones (21) 27,318 55–25 W7
July: 15–10 (Home: 7–3; Away: 8–7) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 81 July 1 at Pittsburgh 9–2 Capps (3–1) Grilli (0–1) 37,111 55–26 L1 82 July 2 at Pittsburgh 9–8 Miner (5–1) Snell (7–6) Jones (22) 28,136 56–26 W1 83 July 3 at Oakland 5–3 Blanton (8–7) Robertson (8–4) Street (19) 35,077 56–27 L1 84 July 4 at Oakland 2–1 Gaudin (1–2) Rodney (4–3) 21,096 56–28 L2 85 July 5 at Oakland 10–4 Rogers (11–3) Saarloos (3–5) Colon (1) 22,210 57–28 W1 86 July 7 at Seattle 6–1 Bonderman (8–4) Pineiro (6–8) 31,727 58–28 W2 87 July 8 at Seattle 2–1 Miner (6–1) Washburn (4–9) Jones (23) 32,404 59–28 W3 88 July 9 at Seattle 3–2 Meche (8–4) Robertson (8–5) Putz (16) 37,364 59–29 L1 89 July 13 Kansas City 6–4 Bonderman (9–4) Duckworth (1–2) Jones (24) 31,967 60–29 W1 90 July 14 Kansas City 10–9 Jones (2–5) Affeldt (4–6) 38,442 61–29 W2 91 July 15 Kansas City 6–0 Verlander (11–4) Gobble (3–3) 40,210 62–29 W3 92 July 16 Kansas City 9–6 Elarton (4–9) Miner (6–2) MacDougal (1) 37,893 62–30 L1 93 July 18 Chicago Sox 7–1 Garland (9–3) Robertson (8–6) 39,153 62–31 L2 94 July 19 Chicago Sox 5–2 Bonderman (10–4) Vazquez (9–5) 39,593 63–31 W1 95 July 20 Chicago Sox 2–1 Zumaya (5–1) Contreras (9–2) Jones (25) 41,075 64–31 W2 96 July 21 Oakland 7–4 Verlander (12–4) Haren (6–9) 40,687 65–31 W3 97 July 22 Oakland 9–5 Blanton (10–8) Ledezma (1–1) 38,923 65–32 L1 98 July 23 Oakland 8–4 Robertson (9–6) Loaiza (4–6) 40,355 66–32 W1 99 July 24 at Cleveland 9–7 Bonderman (11–4) Lee (9–8) Jones (26) 19,045 67–32 W2 100 July 25 at Cleveland 12–7 Davis (3–1) Rogers (11–4) 28,085 67–33 L1 101 July 26 at Cleveland 4–1 Verlander (13–4) Sabathia (7–7) Jones (27) 31,220 68–33 W1 102 July 28 at Minnesota 3–2 Rodney (5–3) Rincon (3–1) Jones (28) 45,478 69–33 W2 103 July 29 at Minnesota 8–6 Robertson (10–6) Radke (9–8) Jones (29) 45,496 70–33 W3 104 July 30 at Minnesota 6–4 Neshek (1–0) Bonderman (11–5) Nathan (22) 43,204 70–34 L1 105 July 31 at Tampa Bay 7–3 Fossum (5–4) Rogers (11–5) 15,065 70–35 L2
August: 13–16 (Home: 7–7; Away: 6–9) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 106 August 1 at Tampa Bay 10–4 Verlander (14–4) Howell (0–1) 13,808 71–35 W1 107 August 2 at Tampa Bay 8–3 Grilli (1–1) Switzer (2–2) 13,126 72–35 W2 108 August 3 at Tampa Bay 2–1 McClung (3–10) Robertson (10–7) Meadows (7) 12,665 72–36 L1 109 August 4 Cleveland 7–6 Colon (2–0) Cabrera (1–2) Jones (30) 41,502 73–36 W1 110 August 5 Cleveland 4–3 Zumaya (6–1) Carmona (1–7) 43,015 74–36 W2 111 August 6 Cleveland 1–0 Ledezma (2–1) Sabathia (8–8) Jones (31) 39,178 75–36 W3 112 August 7 Minnesota 9–3 Miner (7–2) Liriano (12–3) 34,870 76–36 W4 113 August 8 Minnesota 4–2 Radke (11–8) Robertson (10–8) Nathan (24) 35,624 76–37 L1 114 August 9 Minnesota 4–3 Santana (13–5) Zumaya (6–2) Nathan (25) 36,339 76–38 L2 115 August 11 at Chicago Sox 5–0 Contreras (11–4) Verlander (14–5) 39,378 76–39 L3 116 August 12 at Chicago Sox 4–3 MacDougal (1–0) Rogers (11–6) Jenks (32) 38,873 76–40 L4 117 August 13 at Chicago Sox 7–3 Garcia (11–7) Miner (7–3) Jenks (33) 38,931 76–41 L5 118 August 14 at Boston 7–4 Robertson (11–8) Beckett (13–7) Jones (32) 36,392 77–41 W1 119 August 15 at Boston 3–2 Rodney (6–3) Timlin (5–2) Jones (33) 36,179 78–41 W2 120 August 16 at Boston 6–4 Wells (2–2) Verlander (14–6) Papelbon (32) 36,304 78–42 L1 121 August 17 Texas 4–2 Rogers (12–6) Volquez (1–2) Jones (34) 34,756 79–42 W1 122 August 18 Texas 2–1 Millwood (12–8) Miner (7–4) Otsuka (24) 39,327 79–43 L1 123 August 19 Texas 3–1 Tejeda (2–3) Robertson (11–9) Otsuka (25) 41,643 79–44 L2 124 August 20 Texas 7–6 Benoit (1–1) Grilli (1–2) Otsuka (26) 39,071 79–45 L3 125 August 21 Chicago Sox 7–1 Verlander (15–6) Contreras (11–6) 39,278 80–45 W1 126 August 22 Chicago Sox 4–0 Rogers (13–6) Buehrle (10–11) 39,361 81–45 W2 127 August 23 Chicago Sox 7–5 Garcia (12–8) Miner (7–5) Jenks (36) 40,187 81–46 L1 128 August 24 Chicago Sox 10–0 Garland (15–4) Robertson (11–10) 41,565 81–47 L2 129 August 25 at Cleveland 4–2 Sowers (6–3) Bonderman (11–6) Betancourt (1) 33,416 81–48 L3 130 August 26 at Cleveland 8–5 Westbrook (11–8) Verlander (15–7) Mastny (3) 29,138 81–49 L4 131 August 27 at Cleveland 7–1 Rogers (14–6) Lee (10–10) 28,342 82–49 W1 132 August 29 at NY Yankees 2–0 Wang (16–5) Robertson (11–11) Rivera (32) 52,585 82–50 L1 133 August 30 at NY Yankees 5–3 Grilli (2–2) Proctor (5–4) Jones (35) 54,509 83–50 W1 134 August 31 at NY Yankees 6–4 Johnson (15–10) Bonderman (11–7) Rivera (33) 54,771 83–51 L1
September/October: 12–16 (Home: 6–11; Away: 6–5) # Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record Streak 135 September 1 LA Angels 9–0 Rogers (15–6) Santana (13–7) 37,509 84–51 W1 136 September 2 LA Angels 7–2 Rodriguez (2–2) Jones (2–6) 37,826 84–52 L1 137 September 3 LA Angels 2–1 Escobar (10–12) Ledezma (2–2) Rodriguez (38) 38,688 84–53 L2 138 September 4 Seattle 6–2 Robertson (12–11) Washburn (8–13) 32,948 85–53 W1 139 September 5 Seattle 4–3 Pineiro (8–11) Miller (0–1) Putz (30) 23,583 85–54 L1 140 September 6 Seattle 5–4 Huber (1–0) Zumaya (6–3) Putz (31) 23,066 85–55 L2 141 September 7 at Minnesota 7–2 Verlander (16–7) Baker (4–8) 21,229 86–55 W1 142 September 8 at Minnesota 9–5 Neshek (4–1) Ledezma (2–3) 29,042 86–56 L1 143 September 9 at Minnesota 2–1 Bonser (5–5) Robertson (12–12) Nathan (30) 39,160 86–57 L2 144 September 10 at Minnesota 12–1 Santana (18–5) Bonderman (11–8) 40,158 86–58 L3 145 September 12 Texas 3–2 Rodney (7–3) Mahay (1–3) 24,196 87–58 W1 146 September 13 Texas 11–3 Millwood (15–10) Verlander (16–8) 24,672 87–59 L1 147 September 15 Baltimore 17–2 Bonderman (12–8) Penn (0–3) 38,261 88–59 W1 148 September 16 Baltimore 2–0 Robertson (13–12) Benson (10–11) Jones (36) 39,030 89–59 W2 149 September 17 Baltimore 12–8 Ray (3–4) Grilli (2–3) 37,464 89–60 L1 150 September 18 at Chicago Sox 8–2 Rogers (16–6) Buehrle (12–13) 39,427 90–60 W1 151 September 19 at Chicago Sox 7–0 Garcia (15–9) Verlander (16–9) 38,850 90–61 L1 152 September 20 at Chicago Sox 6–2 Bonderman (13–8) Garland (17–6) 38,971 91–61 W1 153 September 21 at Baltimore 4–3 Benson (11–11) Rodney (7–4) Ray (33) 17,877 91–62 L1 154 September 22 at Kansas City 7–3 Ledezma (3–3) Hudson (7–6) 13,151 92–62 W1 155 September 23 at Kansas City 15–4 Rogers (17–6) Redman (10–10) 15,459 93–62 W2 156 September 24 at Kansas City 11–4 Verlander (17–9) Hernandez (6–10) 10,922 94–62 W3 157 September 26 Toronto 4–3 Bonderman (14–8) McGowan (1–2) Jones (37) 27,908 95–62 W4 158 September 27 Toronto 7–4 Lilly (15–13) Robertson (13–13) Ryan (36) 26,430 95–63 L1 159 September 28 Toronto 8–6 Burnett (10–8) Rogers (17–7) Ryan (37) 28,670 95–64 L2 160 September 29 Kansas City 9–7 Greinke (1–0) Walker (0–1) Peralta (1) 37,243 95–65 L3 161 September 30 Kansas City 9–6 Wellemeyer (1–2) Miner (7–6) Gobble (2) 40,071 95–66 L4 162 October 1 Kansas City 10–8 Gobble (4–6) Rogers (17–8) 40,155 95–67 L5

Player stats

Batting

Note: Pos = Position, G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in

Player	Pos	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Carlos Guillén	SS	153	543	174	.320	19	85
Iván Rodríguez	C	136	547	164	.300	13	69
Magglio Ordóñez	RF	155	593	177	.298	24	104
Plácido Polanco	2B	110	461	136	.295	4	52
Vance Wilson	C	56	152	43	.283	5	18
Brent Clevlen	OF	31	39	11	.282	3	6
Omar Infante	2B	78	224	62	.277	4	25
Chris Shelton	1B	115	373	102	.273	16	47
Alexis Gómez	LF	62	103	28	.272	1	6
Curtis Granderson	CF	159	596	155	.260	19	68
Marcus Thames	LF	110	348	89	.256	26	60
Craig Monroe	LF	147	541	138	.255	28	92
Brandon Inge	3B	159	542	137	.253	27	83
Dmitri Young	DH	48	172	43	.250	7	23
Sean Casey	1B	53	184	45	.245	5	30
Matt Stairs	DH	14	41	10	.244	2	8
Ramón Santiago	SS	43	80	18	.225	0	3
Neifi Pérez	2B	21	65	13	.200	0	5
Jack Hannahan	1B	3	9	0	.000	0	0
Kevin Hooper	2B	8	3	0	.000	0	0
Mike Rabelo	DH	1	1	0	.000	0	0
Pitcher Totals	—	162	25	3	.120	0	1
Team Totals	—	162	5642	1548	.274	203	785

Note: Individual pitchers' batting statistics not included

Pitching

Starting and other pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched, IP = Innings pitched, W = Wins, L = Losses, ERA = Earned run average, SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Wil Ledezma (2 HLD)	24	60.1	3	3	3.58	39
Justin Verlander	30	186.0	17	9	3.63	124
Kenny Rogers	34	204.0	17	8	3.84	99
Nate Robertson	32	208.2	13	13	3.84	137
Jeremy Bonderman	34	214.0	14	8	4.08	202
Mike Maroth	13	53.2	5	2	4.19	24
Zach Miner (1 HLD)	27	93.0	7	6	4.84	59

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched, IP = Innings Pitched; W = Wins, L = Losses, SV = Saves, HLD = Holds, ERA = Earned run average, SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	SV	HLD	ERA	SO
Chad Durbin	3	6.0	0	0	0	0	1.50	3
Joel Zumaya	62	83.1	6	3	1	30	1.94	97
Jamie Walker	56	48.0	0	1	0	11	2.81	37
Colby Lewis	2	3.0	0	0	0	0	3.00	5
Chris Spurling	9	11.1	0	0	0	0	3.18	4
Fernando Rodney	63	71.2	7	4	7	18	3.52	65
Todd Jones	62	64.0	2	6	37	0	3.94	28
Jason Grilli	51	62.0	2	3	0	9	4.21	31
Román Colón	20	38.2	2	0	1	3	4.89	25
Andrew Miller	8	10.1	0	1	0	1	6.10	6
Jordan Tata	8	14.2	0	0	0	0	6.14	6
Bobby Seay	14	15.1	0	0	0	0	6.46	12
Team Pitching Totals	162	1448.0	95	67	46	75	3.84	1003

Playoffs

American League Division Series

The New York Yankees were heavy favorites over the Tigers to win the series because of their "modern-day Murderers' Row" lineup. All nine batters were current or former All-Stars. The Yankees won the first game, 8–4.

In Game 2, the Tigers took an early 1–0 lead before Johnny Damon hit a three-run homer for New York in the 4th inning. The Tigers came back with single runs in the 5th, 6th, and 7th, including a game-tying home run by Carlos Guillén and a go-ahead RBI triple by Curtis Granderson, to come from behind to win, 4–3.

In Game 3, which was the first postseason game played in Detroit since 1987 (and the first ever at Comerica Park), the Tigers shut out the Yankees, 6–0. Kenny Rogers pitched 7+2⁄3 scoreless innings and struck out eight in winning for the first time in his postseason career and defeated the Yankees for the first time since 1993.

In Game 4, the Tigers defeated the Yankees 8–3 to win the American League Division Series, 3 games to 1. Jeremy Bonderman threw a perfect game through five innings, and allowed just one run on five singles over his 8+1⁄3 innings in giving the Tigers a second straight dominating starting pitching performance. It gave the Tigers their first Postseason series victory since 1984

The final out kicked off a joyous celebration of players and fans throughout Comerica Park and Downtown Detroit. The celebration even included Kenny Rogers pouring champagne over a Detroit Police officer's head. In the process of winning the final three games, the Tigers held the fearsome Yankees lineup scoreless for 20+2⁄3 consecutive innings (from the 4th inning of Game 2 until the 7th inning of Game 4) while scoring 17 runs in that span.

American League Championship Series

The Tigers faced the Oakland Athletics, winners of the American League Western Division, marking their first postseason matchup since 1972.

The A's had defeated the Twins in a three-game sweep in the ALDS.

The Tigers won Game 1, 5–1, as Nate Robertson scattered six hits and three walks over his five shutout innings. In the fourth inning, with men on second and third and nobody out, Robertson memorably struck out the side to preserve his own victory.

Detroit won Game 2, 8–5. Oakland had an early two-run lead before the Tigers' four-run fourth inning gave them the lead for good. Seldom-used outfielder Alexis Gómez got the surprise start as the designated hitter. Gómez hit a homer and drove in four runs, providing another example of Jim Leyland pushing all the right buttons this season.

Returning to Comerica Park for Game 3, the Tigers shut out the A's, 3–0 behind Rogers who allowed only two singles and ran his scoreless streak to 15 innings. The A's did not get a hit off relievers Fernando Rodney and Todd Jones. The two hits were the fewest allowed in a postseason game in franchise history.

In Game 4, with Detroit looking for the sweep, Oakland jumped out to an early 3–0 lead. The Tigers fought back with two runs in the fifth inning, on RBI doubles by Granderson and Monroe, before Magglio Ordóñez tied it with a solo home run in the sixth.

In the bottom of the ninth with the game still tied, two outs and Polanco and Monroe on first and second base respectively, Ordóñez hit his second home run of the night, a three-run walk-off home run off of A's closer Huston Street that sent the Tigers to their first World Series since 1984. The Pennant was the 10th in Tigers history, and the ALCS was won on a walk-off home run for only the third time ever.

Both prior instances were by the Yankees: in 1976 when Chris Chambliss homered to defeat Kansas City and in 2003 when Aaron Boone hit a 10th inning home run to beat the Boston Red Sox.

World Series

Regardless of the outcome for the 2006 World Series, one manager would join Sparky Anderson as the only skippers in history to manage teams from both the AL and NL to a title. Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, who considers Anderson his mentor, won the 1989 World Series with the Athletics, while Tigers manager Jim Leyland had won the 1997 World Series with the Marlins.

The Cardinals won the first game of the World Series in Detroit 7–2, behind excellent pitching from unheralded Cardinals starter Anthony Reyes.

In Game Two, Kenny Rogers continued his astounding postseason, allowing two hits and no runs through eight innings, as the Tigers triumphed 3–1.

But the Tigers lost the next three games. They were shut out 5–0 in game three by Cardinals starter Chris Carpenter; they lost a 5–4 heartbreaker in game four; and in game 5, the Tigers committed two costly errors, lost a 2–1 lead, and fell 4–2. In the first inning rookie pitcher Justin Verlander threw two wild pitches, tying the Series record (AP); this was in sharp contrast to the five total that he had thrown in all of his previous games. Verlander would go on to commit a throwing error in the fourth inning, allowing the tying run to score.

In the series, the Tigers committed eight errors, five by the pitching staff alone, the most in World Series history.

The Tigers would not return to the postseason until 2011 and they would not appear in the Fall Classic again until 2012

Postseason player stats

Batting

Note: G = Games played, AB = At bats, H = Hits, Avg. = Batting average, HR = Home runs, RBI = Runs batted in

Player	G	AB	H	Avg.	HR	RBI
Sean Casey	10	37	16	.432	2	9
Carlos Guillén	13	47	17	.362	1	4
Alexis Gómez	6	12	4	.333	1	4
Omar Infante	2	3	1	.333	0	0
Plácido Polanco	13	51	16	.314	0	4
Brandon Inge	13	44	12	.273	1	4
Craig Monroe	13	50	12	.240	5	9
Marcus Thames	8	21	5	.238	0	1
Curtis Granderson	13	53	12	.226	3	7
Magglio Ordóñez	13	51	10	.196	3	8
Iván Rodríguez	13	48	8	.167	1	5
Ramón Santiago	6	12	1	.083	0	0
Neifi Pérez	3	4	0	.000	0	0
Jeremy Bonderman	3	2	0	.000	0	0
Justin Verlander	4	2	0	.000	0	0

Pitching

Starting pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched, IP = Innings pitched, W = Wins, L = Losses, ERA = Earned run average, SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	IP	W	L	ERA	SO
Kenny Rogers	3	23	3	0	0.00	19
Jeremy Bonderman	3	20+1⁄3	1	0	3.10	11
Nate Robertson	3	15+2⁄3	1	2	5.17	8
Justin Verlander	4	21+2⁄3	1	2	5.82	23

Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched, W = Wins, L = Losses, SV = Saves, HLD = Holds, ERA = Earned run average, SO = Strikeouts

Player	G	W	L	SV	HLD	ERA	SO
Todd Jones	7	0	0	4	0	0.00	4
Jason Grilli	5	0	0	0	1	0.00	1
Zach Miner	1	0	0	0	0	0.00	0
Wilfredo Ledezma	4	1	0	0	1	2.25	2
Fernando Rodney	7	0	0	0	2	2.35	9
Joel Zumaya	6	0	1	0	1	3.00	6
Jamie Walker	5	1	0	0	0	4.15	3

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball

Level	Team	League	Manager
AAA	Toledo Mud Hens	International League	Larry Parrish
AA	Erie SeaWolves	Eastern League	Duffy Dyer
A	Lakeland Tigers	Florida State League	Mike Rojas
A	West Michigan Whitecaps	Midwest League	Matt Walbeck
A-Short Season	Oneonta Tigers	New York–Penn League	Tom Brookens
Rookie	GCL Tigers	Gulf Coast League	Kevin Bradshaw

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Toledo, West Michigan

External links

• Game Logs:

1st Half: Detroit Tigers Game Log on ESPN.com

2nd Half: Detroit Tigers Game Log on ESPN.com

• Batting Statistics: Detroit Tigers Batting Stats on ESPN.com
• Pitching Statistics: Detroit Tigers Pitching Stats on ESPN.com
• 2006 Detroit Tigers at Baseball Reference