Tigers Vs. Angels Final Score: Detroit Falls Short In Series Finale, 3-2

The month of September continued to adversely affect the Detroit Tigers' playoff chances on Sunday afternoon, as Jim Leyland's team lost for the third consecutive time to Los Angeles, 3-2.

Now losers of five of their last six games, the Tigers could only manage five hits as a team against Angels starter Zack Greinke, who lasted seven innings to pick up his 14th victory of the season. Greinke out-dueled Detroit right-hander Anibal Sanchez, as Detroit's midseason pitching acquisition was unable to bounce back from the pair of home runs he served up in the first two frames.

Next up for the Tigers is a pivotal four-game set with the Chicago White Sox at U.S Cellular Field. Rick Porcello will take the mound on Monday to kick off the series, as the Tigers will be desperate to get back in the win column.

Check out Bless You Boys for more Tigers coverage, and head over to Halos Heaven for more Angels news. Also visit Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.

2012 MLB Playoff Standings: Detroit Tigers Trail Chicago White Sox By Two Games

Despite losing two straight games to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, the Detroit Tigers have only lost one game in the AL Central standings.

The Tigers began their weekend series with the Angels trailing the Chicago White Sox by one game, but thanks to the Kansas City Royals splitting the first two games of their series with Chicago, the Tigers remain in striking distance of the division lead with a four-game series with Chicago set to begin on Monday at U.S. Cellular Field.

The Tigers play the Angels one more time at 3:35 p.m. Sunday and the White Sox wrap up their series with Kansas City at 2:10 p.m. Detroit is 4.5 games back in the wildcard standings. The Oakland A's, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles are all tied atop the wildcard race.

Here are the full AL Central standings:

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Tigers Vs. Angels Game Preview: Detroit Looks To Avoid Sweep

The Los Angeles Angels have beaten the Detroit Tigers' top two pitchers in consecutive days -- Max Scherzer on Friday and Justin Verlander on Saturday. Anibal Sanchez (7-11, 4.08) will try to prevent the Tigers from getting swept at 3:35 p.m. ET Sunday.

Sanchez, who is just 2-4 with a 4.50 ERA in seven starts since the Tigers acquired him from the Miami Marlins, has pitched well lately. He's given up just two earned runs in his last three stars (19.2 innings), but has only one win to show for it.

He'll face Zack Greinke (13-5, 3.72 ERA), a pitcher, like Sanchez, who is still new to his team. He is 4-2 with a 4.36 ERA in eight starts since joining the Angels. One of those wins came against the Tigers on Aug. 24. Greinke gave up one run in 7.2 innings in a 2-1 Angels win.

The Tigers trail the Chicago White Sox by two games in the AL Central standings.

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Tigers Vs. Angels Final: Justin Verlander Struggles, Mike Trout Shines As Detroit Loses

Angels outfielder Mike Trout led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run and finished the game robbing Tigers first basemen Prince Fielder of a home run of his own to lead the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim over Justin Verlander and the Detroit TIgers, 6-1.

On the third pitch of the bottom of the first, Trout blasted one into the left field bleachers to put the Angels on top early, 1-0. It was his 26th of the season. Verlander followed by allowing one walk and three doubles before the inning was over, exiting the first inning with a 4-0 deficit. Angels second basemen Howie Kendrick had the big blow -- a two-run double scoring Albert Pujols and Kendry Morales.

Verlander (13-8, 2.91) had gone 80 consecutive starts with at least 100 pitches thrown before Saturday night, a streak that dated back to 2010, however, against the Angels he was pulled after six runs and only 97 pitches. He finished the night allowing nine hits and six earned runs in six innings, picking up his eighth loss of the season.

For the Angels, C.J. WIlson (12-9, 3.69) got the win after allowing only one unearned run on four hits in 7.2 innings of work. WIlson dominated a Detroit lineup missing Miguel Cabrera for most of the night as the Tigers third basemen was ejected for arguing balls and strikes following the fourth inning.

Be sure to visit Bless You Boys for more on the Tigers. Check out Halos Heaven for Angels coverage. Also visit Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.

Tigers Vs. Angels Game Preview: Verlander Aims To End Skid

Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander (13-7, 2.73 ERA) will look to put an end to his team's recent skid when he takes the mound Saturday against the Los Angeles Angels at 9:05 p.m. ET in Anaheim.

The Angels took the first of the three-game series Friday, 3-2, on a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth from pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo, handing the Tigers their third loss in four games. But the Tigers remain one-game back in the AL Central thanks to a Chicago White Sox loss Friday against the Kansas City Royals.

Verlander broke a four-game winless streak in his last start against the White Sox, allowing only one run and four hits in eight innings. He took a no-hitter into the eighth inning in his last start against the Angels in July 2011.

Left-hander C. J. Wilson (11-9, 3.85 ERA) will toe the rubber for the Angels. Wilson has won his last two decisions, giving up a combined five runs over 11 innings, after going winless in his previous 11 starts.

For more coverage of the the Tigers, check out Bless You Boys. Head over to Halos Heaven to find more news on the Angels.

Tigers Vs. Angels: Detroit Defeated On Walkoff Single By Alberto Callaspo

Pinch-hitter Alberto Callaspo drove in Peter Bourjos on a single off Octavio Dotel in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Angels a 3-2 walkoff win over Detroit early Saturday in Anaheim.

It was the Tigers' third loss in four games, coming after a three-game sweep of AL Central-leading Chicago. The White Sox were defeated, 7-5, by Kansas City Friday, but maintain their one-game lead going into Saturday's games.

Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer went eight innings, allowing five hits and surrendering two earned runs, picking up a no-decision. He left the game with the score tied, 2-2, when Dotel took over. He got two outs, and with two runners on, Callaspo hit for Mike Trumbo, driving in the winning run.

The Tigers look to regroup today, with Justin Verlander scheduled to pitch against C.J. Wilson. First pitch is scheduled for 9:05 p.m. ET.

Be sure to visit Bless You Boys for more on the Tigers. Check out Halos Heaven for Angels coverage. Also visit Baseball Nation for even more news and analysis from around the league.

Tigers Vs. Angels Lineups: Ramon Santiago In For Omar Infante

Detroit Tigers second baseman Omar Infante, who is hitting just .063 in five September games, will get the night off Friday in favor of Ramon Santiago as they face the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at 10:05 p.m.

Max Scherzer (15-6, 3.93 ERA) starts for Detroit against Ervin Santana (8-11, 5.32 ERA).

Here are the rest of the lineups:

Tigers:

1. CF Austin Jackson (R)

2. LF Andy Dirks (L)

3. 3B Miguel Cabrera (R)

4. 1B Prince Fielder (L)

5. DH Delmon Young (R)

6. RF Brennan Boesch (L)

7. SS Jhonny Peralta (R)

8. C Alex Avila (L)

9. 2B Ramon Santiago (S)

Angels:

1. CF Mike Trout (R)

2. RF Torii Hunter (R)

3. DH Albert Pujols (R)

4. 1B Kendrys Morales (S)

5. 2B Howie Kendrick (R)

6. SS Erick Aybar (S)

7. LF Mark Trumbo (R)

8. 3B Maicer Izturis (S)

9. C Chris Iannetta (R)

For more on the Tigers, check out Bless You Boys. For more on the Angels, check out Halos Heaven.

2012 MLB Standings: Tigers Trailing AL Central Lead By One Game As Series Begins In L.A.

The Detroit Tigers managed to secure a tie atop the American League Central division when they managed a sweep of the Chicago White Sox on Aug. 31 - Sept. 2, but they now sit one game back after dropping two of three against the Cleveland Indians. Detroit has struggled off and on with the Indians this season, so it wasn't surprising to see them drop games one and two 3-2, before finishing off that series with a 7-1 win.

Cleveland is 16.5 games back of the White Sox for the division lead, but they'd love nothing more than to continue to make things tough for Detroit and, when they can, Chicago. Still, the AL Central is a two team race between Detroit and Chicago. The latter has a 74-62 record, while the former is 73-63. The lead has changed multiple times this season.

Detroit will have another series against the White Sox on Sept. 10 - Sept. 13, a four-game affair that could feasibly decide the division. But they've got the Indians again after that and, of course, they've got a three-game set against the Los Angeles Angels starting on Friday as well. The race for the AL Central will likely come down to the wire either way.

You can head to this link to check out the full standings at SI.com, and we've got the AL Central standings below:

Head over to Bless You Boys for more Tigers coverage, and check out Baseball Nation for even more news from around the league.

Tigers Vs. Angels Preview: Max Scherzer Looks For Sixth Straight Win

Max Scherzer looks to continue his recent hot streak as the Tigers take on the Angels.