Jose Valverde will not be used if the Tigers have a save chance in Game 2 of the ALCS. Manager Jim Leyland wants to give the struggling reliever a break, though he says he still considers Valverde his closer. "If I have to mix and match for a longer period of time, I'll do that," Leyland said. Papa Grande blew the save by allowing three runs in Game 4 of the ALDS against the A's and served up a pair of two-run homers in the ninth inning of Game 1 of the ALCS. Octavio Dotel, Joaquin Benoit and Al Alburquerque are options for the ninth inning in Game 2 if the Tigers have a save chance.

Jose Valverde imploded in epic fashion in Game 1 of the ALCS on Saturday, yielding four runs on three hits and a walk in just 2/3 of an inning against the Yankees. Valverde, who took over with a 4-0 cushion, allowed a leadoff single to Russell Martin to start the inning, then a one-out two-run blast to Ichiro Suzuki that pulled the Yankees within two. He then walked Mark Teixeira with two outs to bring the tying run to the plate in the form of Raul Ibanez. Ibanez slugged a split-finger fastball for a game-tying two-run homer to right, which may have ended Valverde's reign of terror as the Tigers' closer.

Jose Valverde blew the save when he coughed up a two-run, ninth-inning lead in Wednesday's loss to the Athletics. Valverde had one of his patented meltdowns, serving up three straight hits to allow the A's to tie the game before Coco Crisp punched one through the right side of the infield with two outs to win it. Right fielder Asvail Garcia would have had a chance to throw Seth Smith out at the plate but couldn't field the ball cleanly. The Tigers will now turn to ace Justin Verlander for Game 5.

Jose Valverde slammed the door on the Athletics in Game 1 of the ALDS on Saturday, retiring all three hitters he faced to preserve a 3-1 victory. The Tigers' closer usually makes things interesting with a base-runner or two, but wasn't messing around in this one. He whiffed the first two hitters he faced then induced a weak foul pop up to first. If the Tigers starting rotation can continue to hand leads to the late-inning combo of Joaquin Benoit and Valverde, the Tigers will be a very dangerous team this postseason.

Jose Valverde picked up his 33rd save of the season in Saturday's win over the Twins. Valverde hadn't pitched since Wednesday with an undisclosed illness. Joaquin Benoit had been filling in, but blew a save on Thursday, and will return to a setup role.

Jose Valverde returned to action on Saturday September 29.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland isn't sure whether Jose Valverde (illness) will be available Friday. Valverde was unavailable for Thursday's game due to illness. Joaquin Benoit, who has pitched the past two days and blew a save on Thursday, is available if needed.

Jose Valverde said Tuesday that he has hired Scott Boras as his agent. Valverde was previously represented by Proformance, but he has made the switch to Boras with free agency looming this winter. After going a perfect 49-for-49 in save opportunities in 2011, the 34-year-old right-hander has a 4.02 ERA and 48/26 K/BB ratio over 65 innings this season while saving 31 games in 36 chances. This will likely be his last chance at a big payday.

Jose Valverde took the loss for the Tigers tonight after giving up a run in the 10th against the Twins. There was no saving Valverde for a save situation with the Tigers in extras at home. Unfortunately, pitching outside of save situations has never been Valverde's strong suit. He's given up five runs in 2 1/3 innings in his last three appearances.

Jose Valvarde slammed the door on the Indians on Saturday, retiring all three hitters he faced to preserve a 5-3 victory. After struggling through the first half of the season, Valverde has really turned things around after the All-Star break. Since the mid-summer classic, he's posted a 2.70 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 19/4 K/BB ratio over 26 2/3 innings. It's not always pretty, but Valverde get the job done more often than not, converting 31 of his 35 chances on the season, including his last 15.