The Tigers squandered a 7-1 lead in Tuesday's, 8-7, loss to the White Sox, with six of the runs coming against the injury-depleted Detroit bullpen. The Tigers relief corps have done more than a sufficient job this season, but Tuesday night certainly showed that Detroit misses Fernando Rodney and Joel Zumaya, who are both top setup men but also both on the disabled list.

Rodney appears to be closer to rejoining the club than Zumaya, but Tigers manager Jim Leyland emphasized that he would not rush anyone back from injury, no matter how the current relief staff performs.

Rodney will head for Triple-A Toledo on Thursday for a rehab assignment, and Leyland made it very clear that his reliever needed to take his trip to the Minors seriously.

"He's going to have to pitch good," said Leyland before Wednesday's game with the White Sox. "I want that in bold print. He's not just going down there and going to come back when he wants to come back. He's going to have to go down there and show that he can pitch and show that he is healthy. That's what he's going to do and that is what the rest of the guys are going to do around here.

"We're going to run the thing. He's not going down there on some kind of vacation to say, 'OK, I'm fine,' after one outing. He's going to show us that he's healthy and can pitch back-to-back. Period. That's the end of the story."

But Leyland did reiterate that when Rodney is ready to come back, the club will be happy to have him.

"There are no free passes here," Leyland said. "If he goes down there and is healthy and shows that he can do it, then Rodney is going to be back on this team. We want him back on this team and he is very valuable. I love Fernando Rodney, but he is not going to go down for one outing and come back. That is not going to happen."

Feeling the pain: Wednesday night's game was the 10th of a 17-game stretch without an off-day and a number of Tigers regulars are starting to feel the strain. Ivan Rodriguez was out of the lineup for the second straight game, while Placido Polanco was also held out of the game.

Gary Sheffield was a last minute scratch as well, for soreness in his right shoulder. Sheffield said he aggravated an existing injury with the shoulder when he collided with Polanco in shallow right field on Saturday night.

Carlos Guillen was also feeling the effects of a foul ball that he knocked off of his left calf on Monday night. Guillen was in the lineup on Wednesday, but Leyland said he would hold his shortstop out for Thursday's day game.

"They are hurting," Leyland said. "Trust me, they are hurting. I'm very proud of them because all they do is play. They go out and play. They want to play and they're playing hurt and I can't tell you how proud I am. But, sooner or later, you have to give someone a blow. I'm doing that."

Leyland said he expected both Polanco and Rodriguez to be back in the lineup on Thursday.

Getting the call: Tim Byrdak was recalled from Toledo prior to Wednesday's game, replacing Virgil Vasquez, who made a spot start on Tuesday night.

Byrdak was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 27 with soreness in his throwing elbow. The Tigers wanted to be careful with the left-hander due to his history with elbow problems.

Byrdak has had three surgeries on his left elbow since 1997, including reconstruction surgery in 2001.

"The strength is back for me now," Byrdak said. "The way the breaking ball was moving in the last outing was very encouraging. I hopefully can jump right back and get things to like they were before"

Byrdak's return to the roster gives the Tigers three left-handers out of the bullpen, something Leyland says he is comfortable with.

"I always did before, but it is a little different in this league," Leyland said. "I want the seven best pitchers I can get out there. That's all I want."

Byrdak had a 3.66 ERA in 17 appearances out of the bullpen before heading to the disabled list.

Coming up: The Tigers will wrap up a five-game series with the White Sox on Thursday afternoon. Detroit will send its ace, Justin Verlander (11-3, 3.40), to the mound. Chicago will go with rookie left-hander John Danks (6-7, 4.88).