Though manager Jim Leyland left his rotation open for the final weekend so he can wait and see whether a division title is still at stake, he made it clear that Verlander won't be pitching in it.

Verlander could have pitched Friday's series opener against Kansas City, but Leyland wants to rest his rookie right-hander in advance of the playoffs.

"He's tired," Leyland said. "We'll give him a little extra time."

The fatigue, both he and Verlander cautioned, is more of a general feeling than any sort of tired arm. Yet, wherever he's tired, he's shown it over his last few starts. He had back-to-back fifth-inning exits with six runs allowed against the Rangers and White Sox on Sept. 13 and 19 before his five innings of two-run ball were enough for a victory over the Royals on Sunday.

The numbers were better Sunday, but stats can be deceiving.

"I think I had better stuff the time before," Verlander said. "I threw 88 pitches in five innings, which isn't where I want to be. But I'll take it."

He'll also take the rest. While the decision wasn't really his, he didn't make an argument to stay in, much as he wouldn't have minded pitching once more down the stretch.

"I'm all right," Verlander said. "A little fatigued, a little tired, but it's the end of the season. I don't think anybody feels good right now. It's a long, hard season. A little worn down, but hopefully this rest will get me right back where I need to be."

The choice to rest him, of course, has some precedence. The Tigers switched up the rotation order around the All-Star break to give him 10 days of rest, and Verlander responded with seven scoreless innings against the Royals. On the other hand, the Tigers skipped him in early August and sent him out at Chicago on nine days' rest, and he responded with 13 hits over five innings against the White Sox.

Considering the White Sox hit him around on all variations of rest this year, the Tigers are more optimistic they'll see the better performance out of him.

"I think Verlander's fine, if you want to know the truth," Leyland said. "I think this is more of a mental thing than anything else. We're just going to do this because he responded pretty well before that -- so we're going to do it again. I think everybody's been telling him this is the most innings he's pitched, and all of a sudden that gets in your head. And all of a sudden you think, 'Well, I'm tired.'"

Plus, by resting him, they leave him open to pitch just about any game of Detroit's upcoming Division Series. Leyland said he has a postseason rotation order in mind, but he didn't want to reveal it Tuesday other than to confirm it'll be a four-man rotation. It's not hard to figure out who the starters are from there, but the order is trickier.

How he uses his rotation over the final weekend likely will reveal it. Wilfredo Ledezma will pitch Friday. Saturday's starter is yet to be announced, though it could be right-hander Zach Miner. Jeremy Bonderman might pitch Sunday on his regular rest, Leyland said, depending on whether the Tigers are still fighting for the American League Central crown.

Injury updates: Magglio Ordonez left Tuesday's game with lower back spasms, but manager Jim Leyland isn't expecting it to be a long-term injury. His status for Wednesday is up in the air.

Alexis Gomez replaced Ordonez, and thus took over the cleanup spot, because Marcus Thames was at home ill with the flu-like virus that has spread around the Tigers since visiting Minnesota two and a half weeks ago. He's considered day-to-day.

No rest for the regulars: While the pitching situation is up in the air, don't expect the lineup to change much over the course of the week aside from injuries. As long as they're healthy, Leyland said he'll play most of his regulars over the final days. That includes second baseman Placido Polanco, who felt fine after his first game back Saturday.

"I'm going to play the lineup that I think gives us the best chance to win," Leyland said.

Calls of congrats: Leyland has taken his share of phone calls with congratulations over the last couple days, ranging from Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock to college basketball analyst Dick Vitale. But arguably the best-received call of congrats came from former manager Alan Trammell, who sent his regards in a call through clubhouse manager Jim Schmakel in the ninth inning Sunday.

Trammell and Leyland didn't talk directly with the game still going on, but Leyland appreciated the call.

"I'm sure Tram's happy today," Leyland said. "I know he called and sent his best. Those guys, they were all part of this and they went through that suffering [in 2003], and I think I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that. I think those guys deserve a lot of credit. Like I said before, I came in at the right place and the right time, and somebody else paid a lot of dues for this -- what's happened to us. Believe me when I tell you I'm very grateful. Those guys made a lot of contributions. My heart goes out to those guys."

Young sentenced: Former Tigers slugger Dmitri Young was sentenced to a year of probation Tuesday and three weekends of community service in a suburban Detroit district court after pleading no contest to a domestic violence charge earlier this summer.

Young faced the potential for up to three months in jail and a $500 fine for the charge, stemming from an April incident with his ex-girlfriend at an area hotel. A no-contest plea is treated as a guilty plea for sentencing purposes.

Coming up: Nate Robertson (13-12, 3.66 ERA) will face another potential low-scoring duel Wednesday when the Tigers take on Blue Jays lefty Ted Lilly (14-13, 4.41), who held Detroit to three hits over 8 2/3 innings back in June at Toronto. Game time is 7:05 p.m. ET.