# 2009 Detroit Tigers season

The 2009 Detroit Tigers season was the team's 109th season. The Tigers' new slogan for 2009 was "Always a Tiger." It replaced the 2006–2008 slogan "Who's Your Tiger?"
The Tigers ended the season on October 6 with a 6–5 loss in 12 innings to the Minnesota Twins in the tie-breaker game to win the American League Central. The Tigers spent 146 days in first place and became the first team in Major League history to lose a three-game lead with four games left to play.

## 2008–2009 offseason events

* The Tigers announced on September 29, 2008, that they would not pick up the $12 million option on shortstop Édgar Rentería's contract, although the team did not rule out the possibility of re-signing him in the offseason. The buyout was worth $3 million. The option was part of the contract Rentería signed with the Boston Red Sox in 2004. He had changed teams twice since then. The roster move was finalized on October 30. The team could have offered him arbitration and received a draft pick from Rentería's new team, but formally chose not to offer Rentería arbitration on December 1. On December 4, 2008, Rentería signed a two-year deal with the San Francisco Giants.
* On October 17, the Tigers hired Rick Knapp as their new pitching coach, replacing Chuck Hernandez, who took part of the blame for the team's poor pitching in 2008. Knapp had worked for 12 years as the minor league pitching coordinator for the Minnesota Twins.
* The Red Sox claimed Tiger reliever Virgil Vasquez off waivers on October 28. Vasquez had spent the entire season as a starter with the Toledo Mud Hens, the Tigers' AAA affiliate.
* On December 8, the Tigers acquired catcher Gerald Laird from the Texas Rangers, in exchange for minor league pitching prospects Guillermo Moscoso and Carlos Melo.
* On December 10, the Tigers traded outfielder Matt Joyce to the Tampa Bay Rays for starting pitcher Edwin Jackson. Joyce had divided his time in the previous season between the Tigers and Class AAA Toledo.
* On December 12, the Tigers signed infielder Ramón Santiago to a one-year contract, avoiding arbitration.
* Also on December 12, in a Rule 5 draft, the Tigers selected left-handed pitcher Kyle Bloom from the Pittsburgh Pirates double-A affiliate, Altoona. Detroit would return Bloom to the Pirates in March 2009. In the same draft, they lost James Skelton, a left-handed hitting catcher, to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Skelton was on Detroit's 2008 40-man roster but was not included on the 40-man cast for 2009.
* On December 13, relief pitcher Aquilino López became the Tigers' only arbitration-eligible player this offseason to not be offered a contract by the team, making him a free agent.
* On December 15, the Tigers finalized a one-year, $1 million contract with free-agent shortstop Adam Everett, previously with the Minnesota Twins.
* On December 18, former Marlins catcher Matt Treanor signed with the Tigers.
* On January 6, 2009, the Tigers signed former utility outfielder Alexis Gómez to a minor-league contract. Gómez had played on the 2006 World Series team, but had spent the subsequent two seasons in the Colorado Rockies and Florida Marlins systems.
* On January 13, the Tigers signed Taiwanese sidearm relief pitcher Fu-Te Ni to a minor-league contract with an invitation to training camp. Ni had pitched for Taiwan at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
* On January 14, the team avoided arbitration with relief pitcher Fernando Rodney and utility outfielder Marcus Thames by signing both to one-year contracts.
* On January 20, the team avoided arbitration with catcher Gerald Laird, starting pitcher Edwin Jackson, and relievers Joel Zumaya and Bobby Seay by signing each to one-year contracts. The same day, the Tigers signed Juan Rincón to a minor-league contract with an invite to spring training.
* On January 26, the Tigers signed relief pitcher Brandon Lyon to a one-year contract. The same day, the team signed Timo Pérez to a minor-league contract.
* On February 3, the Tigers avoided arbitration with starting pitcher Justin Verlander by signing him to a one-year, $3.7 million contract.
* On February 4, the organization outrighted pitcher Eddie Bonine to the Mud Hens after clearing waivers. He had spent most of the 2008 season with the Mud Hens.
* On February 24, the Tigers came to terms with relief pitchers Clay Rapada and Freddy Dolsi, and outfielders Brent Clevlen, Ryan Raburn and Wilkin Ramírez, all to one-year contracts.
* On March 19, the Tigers outrighted relief pitcher Macay McBride to Toledo.
* On March 29, the Tigers placed relievers Joel Zumaya and Dontrelle Willis on the 15-day disabled list. Zumaya, who had had a history of shoulder problems, was due to be activated April 11, one day after the Tigers' home opener against Texas. Willis was placed on the list due to an anxiety disorder.
* On March 30, the Tigers acquired speedy outfielder Josh Anderson from the Atlanta Braves for pitching prospect Rudy Darrow. Anderson hit .294 with three home runs, 12 RBIs and ten stolen bases with Atlanta in 2008.
* In a surprise move, the Tigers released nine-time All-Star Gary Sheffield on March 31. Sheffield, who joined the Tigers before the 2007 season, was one home run short of the 500 club when he was released.

## Trades

On July 30, the Tigers traded outfielder Josh Anderson to Kansas City for cash considerations.
On July 31, the Tigers traded rookie left-handed pitcher Luke French and left-handed pitcher Mauricio Robles to Seattle for veteran left-handed starting pitcher Jarrod Washburn.
On August 17, the Tigers traded pitcher Brett Jacobson to Baltimore for Aubrey Huff.

## Season highlights

The Tigers' home opener was on April 10 against the Texas Rangers. The Tigers won that game 15–2, which included a grand slam by Miguel Cabrera and finished the series with a sweep.
The Tigers swept their rivals the Indians in Cleveland during the second weekend of May. The Tigers also completed back-to-back sweeps in May, against the Athletics and the Rangers. The Tigers also completed back-to-back sweeps in late June, over the Brewers and Cubs.
On May 15, the Tigers hit 2 grand slams in a game, only the third time in team history.
On June 19, Instant replay was used twice in the Tigers' 10–4 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Comerica Park, the first time that's happened in league history. Miguel Cabrera's third-inning single off the top of the wall is called a home run after instant replay review shows that it had actually cleared the wall. Contrarily, Dusty Ryan's fourth-inning home run was overturned to a ground rule double. Later that weekend, the Tigers won the series with a sweep.
On May 19, Dontrelle Willis and four relief pitchers combined to throw a one-hitter in a 4–0 Tigers Victory. Willis had a stretch in which he retired 17 straight batters
The Tigers completed back-to-back sweeps against the Indians and Rays in early September.
The Tigers held the 1st-place position from May 8 until they lost it to the Twins in the tiebreaker game on October 6.
The Tigers swept the Indians for the third time of the season in late September.

## Regular season
### Season standings

vteAL Central :
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
| Minnesota Twins | 87 | 76 | .534 | — | 49‍–‍33 | 38‍–‍43 |
| Detroit Tigers | 86 | 77 | .528 | 1 | 51‍–‍30 | 35‍–‍47 |
| Chicago White Sox | 79 | 83 | .488 | 7½ | 43‍–‍38 | 36‍–‍45 |
| Cleveland Indians | 65 | 97 | .401 | 21½ | 35‍–‍46 | 30‍–‍51 |
| Kansas City Royals | 65 | 97 | .401 | 21½ | 33‍–‍48 | 32‍–‍49 |

### Record vs. opponents

| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KC | LAA | MIN | NYY | OAK | SEA | TB | TEX | TOR | NL |
| Baltimore | – | 2–16 | 5–4 | 2–5 | 3–5 | 4–4 | 2–8 | 3–2 | 5–13 | 1–5 | 4–5 | 8–10 | 5–5 | 9–9 | 11–7 |
| Boston | 16–2 | – | 4–4 | 7–2 | 6–1 | 5–3 | 4–5 | 4–2 | 9–9 | 5–5 | 2–4 | 9–9 | 2–7 | 11–7 | 11–7 |
| Chicago | 4–5 | 4−4 | – | 10–8 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 5–4 | 6−12 | 3–4 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 6–2 | 2–4 | 1–6 | 12–6 |
| Cleveland | 5–2 | 2–7 | 8–10 | – | 4–14 | 10–8 | 2–4 | 8–10 | 3–5 | 2–5 | 6–4 | 5–3 | 1–8 | 4–4 | 5–13 |
| Detroit | 5–3 | 1–6 | 9–9 | 14–4 | – | 9–9 | 5–4 | 7–12 | 1–5 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 5–2 | 7–2 | 3–5 | 10–8 |
| Kansas City | 4–4 | 3–5 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–9 | – | 1–9 | 6–12 | 2–4 | 2–6 | 5–4 | 1–9 | 3–3 | 4–3 | 8–10 |
| Los Angeles | 8–2 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 4–2 | 4–5 | 9–1 | – | 6–4 | 5–5 | 12–7 | 10–9 | 4–2 | 8–11 | 4–4 | 14–4 |
| Minnesota | 2–3 | 2–4 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 12–7 | 12–6 | 4–6 | – | 0–7 | 4–6 | 5–5 | 3–3 | 6–4 | 3–5 | 12–6 |
| New York | 13–5 | 9–9 | 4–3 | 5–3 | 5–1 | 4–2 | 5–5 | 7–0 | – | 7–2 | 6–4 | 11–7 | 5–4 | 12–6 | 10–8 |
| Oakland | 5–1 | 5–5 | 5–4 | 5–2 | 4–5 | 6–2 | 7–12 | 6–4 | 2–7 | – | 5–14 | 6–4 | 11–8 | 3–6 | 5–13 |
| Seattle | 5–4 | 4–2 | 5–4 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 9–10 | 5–5 | 4–6 | 14–5 | – | 5–3 | 8–11 | 3–4 | 11–7 |
| Tampa Bay | 10–8 | 9–9 | 2–6 | 3–5 | 2–5 | 9–1 | 2–4 | 3–3 | 7–11 | 4–6 | 3–5 | – | 3–6 | 14–4 | 13–5 |
| Texas | 5–5 | 7–2 | 4–2 | 8–1 | 2–7 | 3–3 | 11–8 | 4–6 | 4–5 | 8–11 | 11–8 | 6–3 | – | 5–5 | 9–9 |
| Toronto | 9–9 | 7–11 | 6–1 | 4–4 | 5–3 | 3–4 | 4–4 | 5–3 | 6–12 | 6–3 | 4–3 | 4–14 | 5–5 | – | 7–11 |
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* Source: MLB Standings Grid – 2009

### Game log

Legend :
| Tigers win | Tigers loss | Game postponed |
2009 Game log :
April (11–10)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
1April 6@ Blue JaysL 12–5Halladay (1–0)Verlander (0–1)48,0270–1
2April 7@ Blue JaysL 5–4Ryan (1–0)Lyon (0–1)16,7900–2
3April 8@ Blue JaysW 5–1Miner (1–0)Litsch (0–1)12,1451–2
4April 9@ Blue JaysL 6–2Romero (1–0)Porcello (0–1)15,2971–3
5April 10RangersW 15–2Galarraga (1–0)Benson (0–1)44,5882–3
6April 11RangersW 4–3Robertson (1–0)Harrison (0–1)Rodney (1)28,6933–3
7April 12RangersW 6–4Lyon (1–1)Wilson (0–1)Rodney (2)18,9054–3
8April 13White SoxL 10–6Floyd (1–1)Miner (1–1)21,8504–4
April 14White SoxPostponed (rain) – rescheduled for July 24
9April 15White SoxW 9–0Galarraga (2–0)Contreras (0–2)20,2125–4
10April 17@ MarinersL 6–3Hernández (2–0)Verlander (0–2)Morrow (3)35,8245–5
11April 18@ MarinersW 2–0Jackson (1–0)Bédard (1–1)Rodney (3)31,9666–5
12April 19@ MarinersW 8–2Porcello (1–1)Silva (0–2)30,4507–5
13April 21@ AngelsL 4–3Arredondo (1–0)Lyon (1–2)Fuentes (3)41,6277–6
14April 22@ AngelsW 12–10Rincón (1–0)Shields (0–2)43,0478–6
15April 23@ AngelsL 10–5Palmer (1–0)Jackson (1–1)38,5438–7
16April 24@ RoyalsL 6–1Greinke (4–0)Porcello (1–2)36,3638–8
17April 25@ RoyalsW 9–1Miner (2–1)Davies (1–1)37,6479–8
18April 26@ RoyalsW 3–2Galarraga (3–0)Ponson (0–3)Rodney (4)13,52010–8
19April 27YankeesW 4–2Verlander (1–2)Sabathia (1–2)28,78411–8
20April 28YankeesL 11–0Hughes (1–0)Perry (0–1)25,51911–9
21April 29YankeesL 8–6Chamberlain (1–0)Porcello (1–3)28,34811–10 :
May (17–11)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
22May 1IndiansL 6–5Pavano (1–3)Galarraga (3–1)Wood (5)22,28811–11
23May 2IndiansW 9–7Zumaya (1–0)Betancourt (0–1)Rodney (5)34,64612–11
24May 3IndiansW 3–1Verlander (2–2)Lee (1–4)Rodney (6)27,41113–11
25May 4TwinsL 7–2Liriano (1–4)Jackson (1–2)21,29813–12
26May 5TwinsW 9–0Porcello (2–3)Blackburn (2–2)23,75414–12
May 6@ White SoxPostponed (rain) – rescheduled for June 8
27May 7@ White SoxL 6–0Buehrle (5–0)Galarraga (3–2)27,47514–13
28May 8@ IndiansW 1–0Verlander (3–2)Lee (1–5)27,49215–13
29May 9@ IndiansW 4–0Jackson (2–2)Carmona (1–4)33,64016–13
30May 10@ IndiansW 5–3Porcello (3–3)Reyes (1–1)25,70517–13
31May 12@ TwinsL 6–2Slowey (5–1)Galarraga (3–3)24,80717–14
32May 13@ TwinsL 14–10 (13)Crain (2–1)Lyon (1–3)22,17817–15
33May 14@ TwinsL 6–5Breslow (1–1)Seay (0–1)Nathan (6)26,04617–16
34May 15AthleticsW 14–1Jackson (3–2)Anderson (0–4)26,77018–16
35May 16AthleticsW 9–1Porcello (4–3)Braden (3–5)31,55419–16
36May 17AthleticsW 11–7Miner (3–1)Cahill (2–3)27,53520–16
37May 19RangersW 4–0Willis (1–0)McCarthy (3–2)23,75621–16
38May 20RangersW 5–3Verlander (4–2)Harrison (4–3)Rodney (7)23,41722–16
39May 21RangersW 4–3Jackson (4–2)Millwood (4–4)Rodney (8)34,35623–16
40May 22RockiesW 4–3Porcello (5–3)Jiménez (3–5)Zumaya (1)28,26424–16
41May 23RockiesL 4–3Marquis (6–3)Galarraga (3–4)Street (6)37,03524–17
42May 24RockiesL 3–1Hammel (1–3)Willis (1–1)Street (7)34,60624–18
43May 25@ RoyalsW 13–1Verlander (5–2)Meche (2–5)34,52425–18
44May 26@ RoyalsL 6–1Greinke (8–1)Jackson (4–3)16,36625–19
45May 27@ RoyalsW 8–3Porcello (6–3)Davies (2–4)16,56826–19
46May 28@ OriolesL 5–1Hernandez (1–0)Galarraga (3–5)11,93726–20
47May 29@ OriolesL 7–2Bergesen (2–2)Willis (1–2)42,70426–21
48May 30@ OriolesW 6–3Verlander (6–2)Albers (0–2)Rodney (9)34,56727–21
49May 31@ OriolesW 3–0Jackson (5–3)Berken (1–1)Rodney (10)32,23328–21 :
June (15–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
50June 2Red SoxL 5–1Matsuzaka (1–3)Porcello (6–4)25,91428–22
51June 3Red SoxL 10–5Beckett (6–2)Galarraga (3–6)29,24028–23
52June 4Red SoxL 6–3Wakefield (7–3)Willis (1–3)Papelbon (14)31,35328–24
53June 5AngelsL 2–1Santana (1–2)Rodney (0–1)Fuentes (15)31,18728–25
54June 6AngelsW 2–1Jackson (6–3)Escobar (0–1)32,36729–25
55June 7AngelsW 9–6Zumaya (2–0)Arredondo (1–3)32,07430–25
56June 8@ White SoxW 5–4Zumaya (3–0)Linebrink (2–3)Rodney (11)31–25
57June 8@ White SoxL 6–1Contreras (1–5)Bonderman (0–1)30,80931–26
58June 9@ White SoxW 7–6 (10)Lyon (2–3)Linebrink (2–4)25,67632–26
59June 10@ White SoxW 2–1Verlander (7–2)Danks (4–5)28,07933–26
60June 11@ White SoxL 4–3Jenks (1–2)Zumaya (3–1)20,82433–27
61June 12@ PiratesW 3–1Porcello (7–4)Snell (1–7)Rodney (12)18,36934–27
62June 13@ PiratesL 9–3Duke (7–4)Galarraga (3–7)31,41134–28
63June 14@ PiratesL 6–3Ohlendorf (6–5)Willis (1–4)Capps (16)27,56534–29
64June 16@ CardinalsL 11–2Wainwright (7–4)Verlander (7–3)44,02134–30
65June 17@ CardinalsL 4–3Wellemeyer (6–6)Jackson (6–4)Franklin (16)39,69934–31
66June 18@ CardinalsW 6–3Porcello (8–4)Piñeiro (5–8)Rodney (13)41,32335–31
67June 19BrewersW 10–4 (7)Miner (4–1)Looper (5–4)34,11236–31
68June 20BrewersW 9–5Figaro (1–0)Bush (3–4)39,15637–31
69June 21BrewersW 3–2Verlander (8–3)Gallardo (7–4)Rodney (14)41,16338–31
70June 23CubsW 5–4Lyon (3–3)Gregg (2–2)38,04639–31
71June 24CubsW 5–3Miner (5–1)Harden (4–4)Rodney (15)36,43840–31
72June 25CubsW 6–5Galarraga (4–7)Lilly (7–5)Rodney (16)42,33241–31
73June 26@ AstrosL 5–4Sampson (4–0)Zumaya (3–2)Hawkins (10)33,05241–32
74June 27@ AstrosL 8–1Paulino (2–4)Figaro (1–1)37,12341–33
75June 28@ AstrosW 4–3Seay (1–1)Valderde (0–2)Rodney (17)34,04142–33
76June 29@ AthleticsL 7–1Anderson (4–7)Porcello (8–5)10,56342–34
77June 30@ AthleticsW 5–3Galarraga (5–7)Gonzalez (0–2)12,12643–34 :
July (10–14)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
78July 1@ AthleticsL 5–1Braden (6–7)Verlander (8–4)21,23843–35
79July 3@ TwinsW 11–9 (16)Dolsi (1–0)Dickey (1–1)33,36844–35
80July 4@ TwinsL 4–3Guerrier (4–0)Lyon (3–4)Nathan (22)27,23844–36
81July 5@ TwinsL 6–2Blackburn (7–4)Porcello (8–6)33,27444–37
82July 6RoyalsL 4–3Colón (1–0)Rodney (0–2)Soria (13)32,13444–38
83July 7RoyalsW 8–5Verlander (9–4)Chen (0–3)Rodney (18)29,75145–38
84July 8RoyalsW 3–1French (1–0)Greinke (10–5)Rodney (19)29,10446–38
85July 10IndiansW 5–1Jackson (7–4)Lee (5–8)Rodney (20)35,59247–38
86July 11IndiansL 5–4Pavano (8–7)Galarraga (5–8)Wood (12)41,78247–39
87July 12IndiansW 10–1Verlander (10–4)Ohka (0–3)39,68048–39
88July 17@ YankeesL 5–3Hughes (4–2)Zumaya (3–3)Rivera (24)46,19748–40
89July 18@ YankeesL 2–1Sabathia (9–6)Verlander (10–5)Rivera (25)46,42348–41
90July 19@ YankeesL 2–1Chamberlain (5–2)Jackson (7–5)Rivera (26)46,93748–42
91July 21MarinersW 9–7Porcello (9–6)Olson (3–4)Rodney (20)32,90649–42
92July 22MarinersL 2–1Hernández (11–3)Seay (1–2)Aardsma (23)29,75849–43
93July 23MarinersL 2–1Washburn (8–6)French (1–1)Aardsma (24)32,17749–44
94July 24White SoxW 5–1Verlander (11–5)Contreras (4–9)27,84450–44
95July 24White SoxW 4–3Lyon (4–4)Linebrink (2–5)Rodney (21)39,37551–44
96July 25White SoxW 4–3 (10)Rodney (1–2)Carrasco (3–1)41,37852–44
97July 26White SoxL 5–1Richard (4–3)Porcello (9–7)38,25552–45
98July 27@ RangersL 5–2Hunter (3–1)Galarraga (5–9)Wilson (11)17,13752–46
99July 28@ RangersL 7–3Grilli (1–2)French (1–2)21,61552–47
100July 29@ RangersW 13–5Verlander (12–5)Feldman (9–4)33,23553–47
101July 31@ IndiansL 6–5 (13)Ohka (1–4)Fien (0–1)35,27353–48 :
August (16–13)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
102August 1@ IndiansW 4–3 (12)Seay (2–2)Veras (4–2)Miner (1)31,35354–48
103August 2@ IndiansL 11–1Pavano (9–8)Galarraga (5–10)24,71854–49
104August 3OriolesW 6–5Rodney (2–2)Báez (4–5)27,85755–49
105August 4OriolesL 8–2Matusz (1–0)Washburn (8–7)29,29555–50
106August 5OriolesW 4–2Jackson (8–5)Guthrie (7–11)Rodney (22)28,97856–50
107August 6OriolesW 7–3Porcello (10–7)Hernandez (3–4)Lyon (1)31,16557–50
108August 7TwinsW 10–8Galarraga (6–10)Swarzak (3–5)36,44458–50
109August 8TwinsL 11–0Pavano (10–8)Verlander (12–6)39,68558–51
110August 9TwinsW 8–7Lyon (5–4)Guerrier (5–1)Rodney (23)35,42359–51
111August 10@ Red SoxL 6–5Ramírez (6–3)Miner (5–2)Papelbon (28)37,96059–52
112August 11@ Red SoxL 7–5Tazawa (1–1)Lambert (0–1)38,01359–53
113August 12@ Red SoxL 8–2Beckett (14–4)Miner (5–3)38,12459–54
114August 13@ Red SoxW 2–0Verlander (13–6)Buchholz (1–3)Rodney (24)37,55660–54
115August 14RoyalsW 1–0Lyon (5–4)Colón (1–2)34,79961–54
116August 15RoyalsW 10–3Jackson (6–6)Hochevar (9–5)37,27662–54
117August 16RoyalsL 3–2 (10)Soria (3–0)Rodney (2–3)32,88862–55
118August 18MarinersW 5–3Seay (3–2)Lowe (1–6)Rodney (25)33,71063–55
119August 19MarinersL 3–1Snell (3–9)Verlander (13–7)Aardsma (28)33,19463–56
120August 20MarinersW 7–6Seay (4–2)Aardsma (3–5)31,16764–56
121August 21@ AthleticsW 3–2Jackson (10–5)Gonzalez (4–4)Rodney (26)15,92765–56
122August 22@ AthleticsL 3–2Bailey (6–3)Miner (5–4)26,26665–57
123August 23@ AthleticsL 9–4Tomko (3–2)Porcello (10–8)17,69065–58
124August 24@ AngelsW 10–7Verlander (14–7)Weaver (13–5)Rodney (27)38,42166–58
125August 25@ AngelsW 5–3Washburn (9–7)Lackey (8–7)Rodney (28)42,97067–58
126August 26@ AngelsL 4–2Saunders (10–7)Jackson (10–6)Fuentes (36)36,32967–59
127August 28RaysW 6–2Porcello (11–8)Garza (7–9)35,03068–59
128August 29RaysL 3–1Price (7–6)Robertson (1–1)Howell (16)39,29668–60
129August 30RaysW 4–3Verlander (15–7)Balfour (5–3)Rodney (29)36,06769–60
130August 31RaysL 11–7Shields (9–10)Washburn (9–8)26,53369–61 :
September (16–12)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
131September 1IndiansW 8–5Jackson (11–6)Carrasco (0–1)Rodney (30)24,22570–61
132September 2IndiansW 4–2Porcello (12–8)Laffey (7–4)Rodney (31)25,84071–61
133September 3IndiansW 4–3 (10)Miner (6–4)Pérez (4–3)28,26772–61
134September 4@ RaysW 4–3Verlander (16–7)Howell (7–5)Rodney (32)18,59673–61
135September 5@ RaysW 8–6Seay (5–2)Balfour (5–4)Lyon (2)36,97374–61
136September 6@ RaysW 5–3Jackson (12–6)Springer (0–3)Lyon (3)28,05975–61
137September 8@ RoyalsL 7–5Yabuta (1–1)Seay (5–3)Soria (23)12,03275–62
138September 9@ RoyalsL 5–1Tejeda (2–1)Verlander (16–8)Soria (24)10,58475–63
139September 10@ RoyalsL 7–4Colón (2–3)Miner (6–5)Rosa (1)12,02975–64
140September 11Blue JaysW 6–4Tallet (7–9)Robertson (1–2)Frasor (9)31,57575–65
141September 12Blue JaysL 8–6League (3–5)Rodney (2–4)Frasor (10)36,14275–66
142September 13Blue JaysW 7–2Porcello (13–8)Romero (12–8)32,46876–66
143September 14Blue JaysW 6–5 (10)Seay (6–3)Wolfe (1–2)24,37577–66
144September 15RoyalsL 11–1Tejeda (3–1)Washburn (9–9)20,42277–67
145September 16RoyalsW 4–3Miner (7–5)DiNardo (0–1)Rodney (33)25,40078–67
146September 17RoyalsL 9–2Greinke (14–8)Jackson (12–7)26,45778–68
147September 18@ TwinsL 3–0Duensing (4–1)Porcello (13–9)Nathan (42)32,69378–69
148September 19@ TwinsL 6–2Crain (6–4)Verlander (16–9)43,33878–70
149September 20@ TwinsW 6–2Robertson (2–2)Baker (13–9)36,33579–70
150September 22@ IndiansW 3–1Jackson (13–7)Laffey (7–7)Rodney (34)23,21780–70
151September 23@ IndiansW 11–3Porcello (14–9)Masterson (4–9)13,97181–70
152September 24@ IndiansW 6–5Verlander (17–9)Carrasco (0–3)Rodney (35)23,51682–70
153September 25@ White SoxL 2–0Peavy (8–6)Bonine (0–2)Thornton (2)30,79482–71
154September 26@ White SoxW 12–5Figaro (2–1)García (2–4)35,59083–71
155September 27@ White SoxL 8–4Hudson (1–1)Jackson (13–8)Thornton (3)33,68583–72
September 28TwinsPostponed (rain) – rescheduled for September 29
156September 29TwinsL 3–2 (10)Rauch (6–3)Lyon (6–5)Nathan (45)35,24383–73
157September 29TwinsW 6–5Verlander (18–9)Duensing (5–2)Rodney (36)30,24084–73
158September 30TwinsW 7–2Bonine (1–1)Pavano (13–12)34,77585–73 :
October (1–4)
#DateOpponentScoreWinLossSaveAttendanceRecord
159October 1TwinsL 8–3Baker (15–9)Robertson (2–3)40,53385–74
160October 2White SoxL 8–0Peavy (9–6)Jackson (13–9)34,72685–75
161October 3White SoxL 5–1García (3–4)Figaro (2–2)35,18485–76
162October 4White SoxW 5–3Verlander (19–9)Danks (13–11)Rodney (37)35,80686–76
163October 6@ TwinsL 6–5 (12)Keppel (1–1)Rodney (2–5)54,08886–77 :

## Player stats

Through October 6, 2009

### 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 |
| Wilkin Ramírez | 15 | 11 | 4 | .364 | 1 | 3 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 160 | 611 | 198 | .324 | 34 | 103 |
| Magglio Ordóñez | 131 | 465 | 144 | .310 | 9 | 50 |
| Alex Avila | 29 | 61 | 17 | .279 | 5 | 14 |
| Ryan Raburn | 113 | 261 | 76 | .291 | 16 | 45 |
| Plácido Polanco | 153 | 618 | 176 | .285 | 10 | 72 |
| Ramón Santiago | 93 | 262 | 70 | .267 | 7 | 35 |
| Marcus Thames | 87 | 258 | 65 | .252 | 13 | 36 |
| Curtis Granderson | 160 | 631 | 157 | .249 | 30 | 71 |
| Adam Everett | 118 | 345 | 82 | .238 | 3 | 44 |
| Josh Anderson * | 74 | 165 | 40 | .242 | 0 | 16 |
| Clete Thomas | 102 | 275 | 66 | .240 | 7 | 39 |
| Don Kelly | 31 | 56 | 14 | .250 | 0 | 3 |
| Carlos Guillén | 81 | 277 | 67 | .242 | 11 | 41 |
| Brandon Inge | 161 | 562 | 129 | .230 | 27 | 84 |
| Gerald Laird | 135 | 413 | 93 | .225 | 4 | 33 |
| Jeff Larish * | 32 | 74 | 16 | .216 | 4 | 7 |
| Aubrey Huff * | 40 | 106 | 20 | .189 | 2 | 13 |
| Dusty Ryan | 12 | 26 | 4 | .154 | 0 | 4 |
| Dane Sardinha * | 12 | 31 | 3 | .097 | 0 | 3 |
| Brent Dlugach | 4 | 3 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Matt Treanor * | 4 | 13 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Pitcher Totals | 163 | 16 | 2 | .125 | 0 | 2 |
| Team Totals | 163 | 5540 | 1443 | .260 | 183 | 718 |
Individual pitchers batting statistics not included.

### 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 |
| Justin Verlander | 35 | 240 | 19 | 9 | 3.45 | 269 |
| Edwin Jackson | 33 | 214 | 13 | 9 | 3.62 | 161 |
| Lucas French * | 7 | 29+1⁄3 | 1 | 2 | 3.38 | 19 |
| Rick Porcello | 31 | 170+2⁄3 | 14 | 9 | 3.96 | 89 |
| Eddie Bonine | 10 | 34+1⁄3 | 1 | 1 | 4.40 | 19 |
| Nate Robertson | 28 | 49+2⁄3 | 2 | 3 | 5.44 | 35 |
| Armando Galarraga | 29 | 143+1⁄3 | 6 | 10 | 5.64 | 95 |
| Alfredo Figaro | 5 | 17 | 2 | 2 | 6.35 | 16 |
| Jarrod Washburn | 8 | 43 | 1 | 3 | 7.33 | 21 |
| Dontrelle Willis * | 7 | 33+2⁄3 | 1 | 4 | 7.49 | 17 |
| Jeremy Bonderman | 8 | 10+1⁄3 | 0 | 1 | 8.71 | 5 |

### Relief pitchers

Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; HLD = Holds; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | SV | HLD | ERA | SO |
| Freddy Dolsi * | 6 | 10+2⁄3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.69 | 3 |
| Brandon Lyon | 57 | 78+2⁄3 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 15 | 2.87 | 51 |
| Fu-Te Ni | 29 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2.93 | 19 |
| Bobby Seay | 63 | 48+2⁄3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 28 | 3.61 | 37 |
| Fernando Rodney | 64 | 75+2⁄3 | 2 | 4 | 37 | 0 | 3.88 | 59 |
| Ryan Perry | 47 | 61+2⁄3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4.00 | 51 |
| Zach Miner | 45 | 92+1⁄3 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 8 | 4.52 | 56 |
| Joel Zumaya * | 29 | 31 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 4.94 | 30 |
| Juan Rincón * | 7 | 10+1⁄3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5.23 | 10 |
| Clay Rapada * | 2 | 3+1⁄3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.71 | 2 |
| Casey Fien | 6 | 11+1⁄3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 9.82 | 6 |
| Chris Lambert * | 2 | 6+2⁄3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 14.85 | 4 |
| Team Pitching Totals | 163 | 1447 | 86 | 77 | 42 | 67 | 4.29 | 1102 |
* No longer on active roster

## Farm system

| Level | Team | League | Manager |
| AAA | Toledo Mud Hens | International League | Larry Parrish |
| AA | Erie SeaWolves | Eastern League | Tom Brookens |
| A | Lakeland Flying Tigers | Florida State League | Andy Barkett |
| A | West Michigan Whitecaps | Midwest League | Joe DePastino |
| A-Short Season | Oneonta Tigers | New York–Penn League | Howard Bushong |
| Rookie | GCL Tigers | Gulf Coast League | Basilio Cabrera |