Jose Valverde pitched a perfect ninth inning against the Angels on Saturday, earning his 26th save of 2012. For those keeping track, that's now seven straight scoreless outings for the usually terrifying Valverde, which has lowered his ERA from 3.86 to 3.42. While not always pretty, Valverde should continue to trudge along and consistently rack up saves over the final six weeks of the season.

Jose Valverde pitched around a leadoff double on Tuesday night in Detroit to lock down his 24th save of the season in a victory over the Blue Jays. Valverde took over with a 5-3 lead and promptly surrendered a leadoff double to Jeff Mathis, putting the tying run at the plate. After getting Anthony Gose to pop out on the infield, Valverde then hit Rajai Davis to bring the winning run to the dish. He battled back nicely though to get Colby Rasmus, then punched out Edwin Encarnacion to end the game. It's not always a smooth ride, but Valverde seems to get the job done more often than not.

Jose Valverde returned to action on Wednesday July 25.

Jose Valverde and Joaquin Benoit each blew save opportunities as the Tigers dropped a heart-breaker in 13 innings Saturday to the Orioles. Valverde came in with a one-run lead in the 11th and allowed an RBI single to Adam Jones after recording the first two outs. Benoit took over with a one-run lead in the 13th and allowed a pair of home runs to J.J. Hardy and Taylor Teagarden, ending the night. If the Tigers want to dominate the AL Central, the back of their bullpen needs to perform much better.

Jose Valverde returned to action on Tuesday June 26.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland said Saturday that Jose Valverde (wrist) might be available Sunday. "A possibility tomorrow but not a sure thing," is how Leyland framed Valverde's status when asked Saturday evening. The Detroit closer has been idle since Tuesday night due to a sprained right wrist. Phil Coke and Joaquin Benoit are handling ninth-inning duties in his absence.

Jose Valverde (wrist) expects to miss 3-4 days. Valverde paid a visit to a specialist on Wednesday, who confirmed the Tigers' diagnosis of a sprained right wrist. Phil Coke and Joaquin Benoit are the leading candidates for save chances in his absence. Benoit seems like the best option in fantasy leagues, what with his sparkling 1.99 season ERA.

Jose Valverde picked up his 13th save despite allowing a run in the ninth Thursday versus the Cubs. The run resulted from a double, a fly out to advance the runner and an RBI groundout. Despite looking shaky, Valverde has converted his last four save chances and nine of his last 10.

According to ESPN's Buster Olney, MLB has reviewed video of Jose Valverde allegedly throwing a spitball on Sunday. Valverde and the Tigers have not been given an official warning, but Olney opines that "MLB's handling of the incident indicates a de facto warning." For what it's worth, Valverde claims that he only put his glove to his mouth to wipe away sweat.

Jose Valverde pitched a perfect ninth inning for a save versus the Indians on Thursday. It was Valverde's first save since May 27. He didn't look right in blowing a save against the Yankees on Saturday, but after three days off, he's come back with perfect innings the last two days and he seemed to have the splitter working better in this one. It is worth noting that he's now gone five straight outings without a strikeout.