Martin Perez tried to pitch around Miguel Cabrera in the first, and ended up allowing him to score the game’s first run.

There’s a saying in baseball that momentum is only as good as that day’s starting pitcher.

Yesterday’s starting pitcher for Detroit was pretty darn good. One-hit good, in fact. And the Rangers momentum going into this critical ten-game stretch was derailed, at least for a game.

Alfredo Simon was masterful, yielding only a double to Rougned Odor in a complete game shutout, the first of his career.

He struck out only five, but there were very few balls hit hard.

It was such a dominating performance that, once the Tigers scored off Martin Perez in the first inning, the game was over.

Both the Tigers and the Rangers are on the outside looking into a wild card possibility.

Both the Tigers and the Rangers think they have a chance.

Only one team has Miguel Cabrera. His bat, and Simon’s arm, were really all Detroit needed last night.

Thankfully, Houston could muster only one hit against Tampa Bay as well, and the Rangers stayed four games behind the Astros.

Here is hoping the bats the Rangers shipped from Arlington arrive in Detroit in time for today’s game. And that Justin Verlander—a cautionary tale about long-term contracts for pitchers if there ever was one—restores the momentum back to the Rangers tonight.