Detroit Tigers

Tigers pitcher Anibal Sanchez was two outs shy of his second career no-hitter Friday. He closed out the win for a complete-game shutout, allowing one hit and three walks in a 6-0 victory against the Twins.

Sanchez(5-4), struck out 12 in 130 pitches, his most of the year. He'll take a 2.38 ERA and 80:17 K:BB ratio into a start in Pittsburgh against the Pirates Wednesday.

Tigers closer Jose Valverde had a landmark appearance en route to his fifth save Thursday against the Twins. It was the first time all season that he worked three days in a row.

Soon after the Tigers called up Valverde from his hurried minor-league tuneup in April, manager Jim Leyland said he wouldn't use him three days in a row, but apparently Valverde has received enough work that it won't be a problem.

True, the Tigers have already said Valverde won't pitch Friday, but few closers get to work four days in a row. At least now you don't have to worry about him missing save opportunities that most every other closer would likely get. Pitching for a competitive Tigers team, Valverde is looking more and more like a true No. 2 reliever in Fantasy.

Tigers closer Jose Valverde will be unavailable for Friday's contest against Minnesota, MLive reports.

Valverde has thrown a full inning each of the last three days. Joaquin Benoit is expected to be first in line to close Friday.

Tigers outfielder Torii Hunter is out of Friday's lineup, the Detroit Free Press reports.

Although Hunter's season line is still a sharp .313/.360/.412, he has been slumping for a bit over a month. His OPS peaked at 1.048 on April 19, and since then he's hitting just .252/.310/.304. The 37-year-old has had just two days off in that span, so maybe the Tigers hope another will give him a nice reboot heading into the weekend.

Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera continued his torrid pace Thursday, homering for the fourth straight game. He has six home runs and 13 RBI over his last four games while going 9 for 15 with five walks.

Cabrera's .391 batting average and .701 slugging percentage lead all major-league players, and his .467 on-base percentage ranks second to Joey Votto. He's been hitless just twice in his last 34 games. He's the early favorite for 2013 AL MVP.