Detroit Tigers have two milestones within reach

The Detroit Tigers’ Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder have a chance to be the first teammates to start all 162 games since the Texas Rangers’ Mark Teixeira and Michael Young in 2006, and Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer have a chance to be the first teammates to strike out 240-plus since Kerry Wood and Mark Prior with the 2003 Chicago Cubs.

Prior’s career may be over after being released by the Boston Red Sox. He hasn’t been in the big leagues since ’06 but threw 25 innings for triple-A Pawtucket, attempting to earn a bullpen job. He’s only 31 so maybe he’ll try again next year.

Felix Hernandez’s perfect game was the third no-hitter in four months at Safeco Field; Wrigley Field hasn’t had one in 40 years.

Another odd factoid: the Tampa Bay Rays have been on the wrong end of three perfect games in the last four years — by Mark Buehrle in ’09 and Dallas Braden in ’10 before Hernandez. Maybe that’s why Joe Maddon went over the top trying to break Hernandez’s rhythm. Maddon was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in the seventh inning and said he felt he had to do something about the size of umpire Rob Drake’s strike zone. He says he was trying to help his team win but admitted he did not feel it necessary to extend any courtesies to Hernandez. Got to like an honest man.

There is no chance that the Washington Nationals are going to try to juggle Stephen Strasburg’s innings so he can pitch in the playoffs. Mike Rizzo and Scott Boras, Strasburg’s agent, reached an agreement on workload a long time ago and Rizzo is going to honor it, although Boras says Strasburg wants to pitch.

For what it’s worth, based on how guys have pitched over the last four years, you can argue that the Nationals would line up their playoff starters this way — Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez, Strasburg and either Ross Detwiler or Edwin Jackson. It’s not like they’ll have no chance to win a playoff series without him.

If the Rangers were truly bold, they’d trade Michael Young to the Cubs for Alfonso Soriano. Young has lost the ability to drive the ball, and his playing time will be an ongoing issue that Manager Ron Washington must deal with.

The Atlanta Braves are going with a six-man rotation the next two times through the rotation, and Fredi Gonzalez says performance will determine who moves to the bullpen. Kris Medlen is the likely man out, but he’s pitched very well as a replacement for Tommy Hanson.