Gettys and forward Deshawn Freeman have a shot to fill out the starting lineup

DETROIT -- Two starting pitchers Detroit was counting on to be rotation mainstays entering the season have been relative non-contributors the last two months but the Tigers are counting on one of them, Mike Pelfrey, to give them a chance to win a game Thursday that will keep them in the playoff hunt.Pelfrey (4-9, 4.76 ERA) hasnt started since July 31 due to a bad back. He was activated to pitch out of the bullpen Sept. 5 but has not been in a game since his last start.He cant throw many more than 60 or so pitches, manager Brad Ausmus said Wednesday. So thatll definitely be a game that involves the bullpen.Pelfrey was signed by Detroit to a two-year deal worth $11 million as a free agent after Minnesota let him go last winter.He has faced the Twins three times in his career with a 1-0 record and 5.28 ERA. Two of those starts came with the Tigers this season but he didnt win or lose either game.Zimmermann has made just two starts for Detroit since the end of June and both were bad.But three pitchers acquired by former GM Dave Dombrowski at the trade deadline in 2015 -- Michael Fulmer, Daniel Norris and Matt Boyd -- have firmed up Detroits rotation.To me the most surprising part of our season, Ausmus said, is that for a good chunk of the year weve had three rookies in the rotation and we have 18 games left and were playing for a playoff spot.That is not a recipe, generally, for playing for a playoff spot, having three rookies in the rotation.Minnesota counters with left-hander Hector Santiago (11-8, 4.75 ERA). Santiago has made seven of his previous 29 starts this season with the Twins after being acquired from the Los Angeles Angels.He pitched against Detroit on May 31 while with Los Angeles, allowing six runs in 6 2/3 innings. Lifetime, Santiago is 1-4 with a 3.09 ERA in nine starts and seven relief appearances.The Twins hope to have first baseman Joe Mauer, a career .303 hitter against the Tigers, available for action for the afternoon game.Mauer hasnt played since Saturday due to a sore quad.Joe could have pinch-hit, Minnesota manager Paul Molitor said after the Twins blew a 5-2 lead and lost, 9-6, to Detroit on Wednesday. I was going to use him there in a one- or two-run game, depending on how it was going to come up.But when it got to three I decided to hold on just in case we got a couple baserunners. (Eddie) Rosario was available too.The last three or four weeks I have had to back off three or four times, Mauer said.Both Mauer and Rosario could be back in the lineup Thursday. Tyler Johnson Jersey . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. Cedric Paquette Jersey . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Ondrej-Palat-Jersey/ .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Mikhail Sergachev Lightning Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Vincent Lecavalier Jersey . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Steve Pikiell may have taken the biggest challenge in college basketball in taking over at Rutgers.The long-term goal is to get the Scarlet Knights back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991.The short-term goal is simply a winning season. Thats something Rutgers has not had 2005-06, which was Gary Waters final season.Fred Hill Jr. didnt have a winning season over the next four years and Mike Rice and Eddie Jordan each failed in three years at the helm.Pikiell replaced Jordan this spring, taking over a team that posted a 7-25 record, including a 1-17 mark in the Big Ten Conference.Ive talked about this from the first day I got the job, about embracing the challenge, said Pikiell, who came from a successful stint at Stony Brook. Thats part of it. We have a theme, night and day, were trying to change things and make that a night and day kind of situation. But weve embraced it. Up in the locker room I want to challenge them. Were trying to change culture.The biggest change for the program this season might be healthy bodies. There were days last season where Jordan didnt have enough players to go 5-on-5.Pikiell had 14 players at practice the other day.Rutgers has two starters back from last season, guards Corey Sanders and Mike Williams . The rest of the starting five has not been set but guard Nigel Johnson, center C.J. Gettys and forward Deshawn Freeman have a shot to fill out the starting lineup.There is a lot more depth up front with Jonathan Laurent, Candido Sa, and freshmen Eugene Omoruyi and Issa Thiam.Weve added some good pieces and some shooters, which we needed, a couple ball handlers, and trying to get their mindset changed, Pikiell said. I really think we can be good defensively.Here are somme other things to watch this season from the Scarlet KnightsCOREY SANDERSThe sophomore guard considered going to the NBA but decided to return.dddddddddddd He played roughly 33 minutes a game last season. Led Big Ten freshmen in scoring (15.9), steals (1.8) and assists (4.3) ... Played in 27 games, with 24 starts ... He was suspended late in the season for violating team rules and that cant happen again.I think Corey can be one of the better defenders in the league, Pikiell said.BIG TEN WOES:The Scarlet Knights have posted a 3-33 regular-season record in two seasons in the conference. They were on the verge of a winless season when they knocked off Minnesota in the regular-season finale.SHAQRedshirt sophomore center Shaq Doorson came to Rutgers from the Netherlands as somewhat of a project. He played in 29 games as a freshman and was expected to contribute a little more last season before hurting his foot and missing the season. The 7-footer is back this year and he is 45 pounds lighter. It should be interesting to see what he does.REBOUNDING:Rutgers was outrebounded by 221 rebounds in 32 games last season, thats almost seven a game.We practice long. A ton of defensive stuff and a ton of rebounds, Pikiell said. We were one of the worst rebounding teams in the country, and were trying to change that. And it takes time. It takes time for guys to buy into that. And theyve bought in as best they can. But Ive been through it before. So we have to be patient with them. Theyre not where I want them to be today, but theyre getting a little closer.---AP college basketball website: http://collegebasketball.ap.org/ ' ' '