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Placido Polanco stood at his locker before Friday night's game, with a football-sized ice pack wrapped onto his separated left shoulder. The Tigers second baseman talked about his injury, and said it was "very good news" that he might return within four weeks.

The Tigers needed him Friday. He is 4-for-8 against Kevin Millwood, but could only sit and watch the Texas ace beat the Tigers, 2-1.

Meanwhile, the two players who earned promotions within the lineup this week -- Craig Monroe and Dmitri Young -- continued their recent production. Young had two of the three hits against Millwood, including a solo home run. Monroe stroked a clutch ninth-inning triple against closer Akinori Otsuka, as the potential tying run.

The two have had similar mid-season renewals. On the last day of June, Monroe was hitting .238. Young was stuck at .169, as he had been throughout his two-month absence from the team. After Friday's game, their averages were the same -- .281 -- a testament to their collective renaissance.

Monroe, Polanco's replacement as the No. 2 batter, is hitting better than .280 for the first time since September. "Saw some weird stat that said 11 of his 19 home runs have been in the latter part of the game," Young said before Friday's game, correctly citing Monroe's figures from the seventh inning on. "Those are big."

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