DETROIT -- After watching the A's come back to take the second game of the series here, the Tigers will try to salvage the rubber match and a series victory. Their bullpen arsenal for that outing could be slightly shortened.

Lost in the hubbub over Tuesday's 3-2 loss was what manager Jim Leyland raised when talking about his decisions in the eighth inning. Kyle Farnsworth, he said, was not available, and hasn't been so far this series.

Farnsworth, whose scoreless innings helped the Tigers take two out of three at Minnesota last weekend, said afterwards that he's day-to-day with a groin injury suffered when he faced the Twins on Sunday.

Farnsworth said he pitched through the injury Sunday as he set down the side in the eighth inning Sunday to protect a two-run lead, but it worsened as he went along. It was bad enough on Monday that he was taken out of action as a precaution.

The worry, Farnsworth said, is that compensating for the groin injury in his delivery could lead to an arm injury.

"We're trying to get rid of it," Farnsworth said. "It's just day-to-day right now."

As Tuesday showed, it's a potential monkey wrench in the Tigers' late-inning order. Rodney, who has usually been reserved for the ninth inning since becoming Detroit's closer in late July, entered with one out in the eighth inning Tuesday and gave up the game-tying triple that led to the go-ahead sacrifice fly. With Detroit trailing, Freddy Dolsi came on to work the ninth, likely leaving Rodney available for Wednesday. Whether Farnsworth will be is uncertain.

Farnsworth hasn't allowed a run in his last seven outings, covering 7 2/3 innings. He has allowed eight hits and struck out 10 batters in that span. It has been a return to the form that made him a valuable setup man this summer with the Yankees before the Tigers traded for him in the Ivan Rodriguez deal.

Leyland will deal with that issue if he gets to it. Ideally, he could have a larger lead to protect for the series finale if Armando Galarraga can shrug off the control woes that plagued him in his last outing and recapture the form that has made him so successful this season.

Pitching matchup
DET: RHP Armando Galarraga (12-5, 3.39 ERA)
Galarraga's season-long struggles against the Twins continued on Friday, as he surrendered a Justin Morneau grand slam in a 10-2 Tigers loss. Galarraga went six innings and allowed six earned runs, walking six, his career high. He is now 0-4 against Minnesota and 12-1 against the rest of the league this season. Galarraga last faced the A's in relief June 3 as part of a piggyback start with Dontrelle Willis. He gave up three earned runs in as many innings.

OAK: RHP Sean Gallagher (4-6, 5.23 ERA)
Gallagher, who was acquired in the July trade that sent Rich Harden and Chad Gaudin to the Cubs, has been on the disabled list since complaining of a dead arm after getting shelled by the Twins on Aug. 19. His arm looked awfully lively on Sept. 4, however, as he threw five shutout innings for Triple-A Sacramento in a playoff game, allowing three hits while striking out four and walking two. Gallagher, who throws a mid-90's fastball when he's 100 percent, won his Oakland debut on July 11 but went winless in six starts before going to the DL. He's never faced the Tigers.

Tidbits
Magglio Ordonez saw his 13-game hitting streak end on Tuesday with an 0-for-3 performance. ... The Tigers are 14-8 on Wednesday, by far their best day of the week in terms of records. Their only other day of the week with a winning record is Thursday, when they're 9-8. ... Miguel Cabrera's 116 RBIs is the highest total for a player in their first season in Detroit since Cecil Fielder drove in 132 in 1990. Dale Alexander holds the standard in that category with 137 RBIs in 1929.

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Up next
• Thursday: Off-day
• Friday: Tigers (Justin Verlander, 10-15, 4.78) at White Sox (John Danks, 10-8, 3.44), 8:11 p.m. ET
• Saturday: Tigers (Kenny Rogers, 9-13, 5.49) at White Sox (TBD), 3:55 p.m. ET