The MLB Network Showcase will carry two Detroit Tigers games to its broadcast schedule for the month of June. The broadcasts are available in the team's home TV market, but will still be broadcast on Fox Sports Detroit

MLB Network will broadcast the Friday, June 6 series opener between the Red Sox and Tigers from Comerica Park. Matt Vasgersian will do the play-by-play, while John Smoltz and Tom Verducci will do the color commentary.

The series opener in Texas between the Tigers and Rangers on Tuesday, June 24 will also be on the network. Vasgersian and Smoltz will be on that broadcast, along with reporter Sam Ryan.

No matter the solution the Detroit Tigers have tried at shortstop this season, they’ve never acted like they were permanently married to it.

They traded a pair of players to acquire Andrew Romine and Alex Gonzalez, releasing the latter after just nine games. Danny Worth has gotten a shot — but not an endorsement.

And now — the same day that free-agent Stephen Drew re-signed with the Boston Red Sox — the next two who might get a chance to fill that gap for the Tigers might both be at Triple-A Toledo.

Eugenio Suarez was promoted after Tuesday’s game, going from Double-A Erie to the Mud Hens, where he’ll pair with Hernan Perez.

Manager Brad Ausmus told reporters he was “very satisfied” with the play of his current shortstops, despite the fact that the position had produced a combined batting average of .189, a slugging percentage of .220 and an OPS of .470.

Suarez went 3-for-5 in the Seawolves’ 7-6 loss Tuesday, driving in three runs, and hitting his 14th double. In 42 games, he hit .284, slugged .503 and posted an .850 OPS. Dixon Machado was sent to Erie in the corresponding move.

Worth got the nod over either Suarez or Perez when Gonzalez was released, primarily because the Tigers didn’t want to force either of them into a platoon situation.

“Hopefully this combination will help us, and we can continue to analyze our situation. We’ve got, again, two young guys that we’re just not quite ready to bring up and ready to let them play, but they’re playing very, very well for us,” Tigers general manager Dave Dombrowski said at the time.

“It gives them an opportunity to continue to play on day-in, day-out basis, which we think will benefit our organization in the long run.”

The long run may not be that far off, at this point.

There’s been a ton made of the Detroit Tigers’ off-the-field silliness, with their Zubaz tiger-print gear, dancing in the dugout, general goofing around.

That’s all good.

But other teams are noticing that the Tigers — who came into Tuesday with the best record in baseball — are not goofing around on the field.

Take it from Boston Red Sox catcher David Ross (pictured above), who explained in an appearance on MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM, with hosts Jim Memolo and Todd Hollandsworth. [The full interview clip is below]

“The other day, I caught the first game of the Detroit series, and those guys are usually real chatty coming to the box, and talking, and saying hello. And they were business,” Ross said. “They were coming there to kick our tail, and maybe send a message that last year they remember, and maybe they felt like they should’ve won, or whatever. But I know that they came in with a mindset of, I think they wanted to kick our tail, and they did.”

The three-game sweep of the Red Sox in Fenway Park was the first for the Tigers since 1983. The last time the Tigers finished their first 40 games with a better record than they currently have was 1984.

But are they the best team in baseball right now?

Ross thinks they’re in the discussion.

“They’re really solid. It’s hard to say. I like to judge from a perspective of who we’ve played, and they’re definitely the best team that we’ve played so far, in my opinion,” Ross said. “I think the top of their lineup is as good as any, in my opinion. ... When you’re talking about Ian Kinsler, then you’re going Torii Hunter, then you’re going Miguel Cabrera, then you’re going Victor, I mean, that’s some of the best. There’s nobody to pitch around. Ian Kinsler was on fire when he was in here. ... Right now, to me, Victor Martinez is one of the best hitters in baseball. He’s really a quality at-bat, he doesn’t strike out.”

And the Red Sox catcher acknowledged that the Tigers’ offseason transformation is paying off.

“I feel like they added the things they lacked last year, the things we exploited, I thought, in the playoffs, where they were more of a station-to-station team. I didn’t think they ran the bases as well as they do now,” Ross said. “They’re doing a really good job of taking the extra base — they got some speedsters, they got some baseball players. And their defense is a lot better, I feel like, than last year.”

Logic dictated that it would probably be Robbie Ray headed down to Toledo when the Tigers activated Anibal Sanchez from the 15-day disabled list to start Sunday night's game vs. the Boston Red Sox.

After all, they'd need to keep Ray stretched out to fill in as a spot starter for injuries, and in the event of doubleheaders.

Instead, though, the Tigers sent reliever Justin Miller to Triple-A Toledo, keeping Ray.

Why? Because they'll need Ray to start in Rick Porcello's spot on Thursday. Porcello is experiencing soreness in his left side after Saturday night's start, much the same issue that cut short his previous start. Rather than start on turn Thursday, Porcello will be pushed back to Saturday, giving him an extra couple of days' rest.

Manager Brad Ausmus told reporters they were exercising "an overabundance of caution" to keep Porcello's issue from lingering.

Ausmus said after Ray's second of two big-league starts, on Mother's Day, that the best thing for his development would be for him to be starting. He'll get another start as a fill-in, then ostensibly head back down to stay stretched out.

Anibal Sanchez was officially activated from the 15-day disabled list Sunday afternoon. He'll start for the Detroit Tigers in the Sunday Night game against the Boston Red Sox.

Sanchez had been on the DL since April 27, with a laceration in his right middle finger, the after-effects of a burst blister on the fingertip.

The Tigers did not immediately announce a corresponding move, but best guess is that rookie Robbie Ray will be sent down to Toledo, to continue to work as a starter, in case he's needed again, for an injury fill-in, or in the event of doubleheaders. [Read more on that HERE.]

[UPDATE: The Tigers sent out Justin Miller, instead. A more complete explanation is here.]

This is the lineup that manager Jim Leyland will send out against Boston's Josh Beckett:
The game is a 4:05 p.m. start from Comerica, and will be broadcast on FOX. (Radio: WXYT-FM, 97.1 in southeast Michigan)

Austin Jackson, center field
Brennan Boesch, right field
Miguel Cabrera, third base
Prince Fielder, first base
Delmon Young, left field
Alex Avila, catcher
Jhonny Peralta, shortstop
Andy Dirks, designated hitter
Ryan Raburn, second base

Here's a look at what the Detroit Tigers' fans were saying before, during and after Thursday's walk-off, 3-2 Opening Day win over the Boston Red Sox.

Think you can’t get better than last night’s 1-0 duel between the Tigers’ Phil Coke and the BoSox’s Clay Buchholz?

Wait ‘til you get a load of tonight’s matchup: Justin Verlander (4-3, 2.91 ERA) vs. Josh Beckett (3-1, 1.75).

Could you pick out a better head-to-head battle of American League aces?

“Probably not,” manager Jim Leyland acknowledged before his Tigers (22-20) left for the two-game series in Beantown.

“That’s a nice matchup for everybody, but obviously, we’re trying to win the game. So you don’t get caught up in that so much as a manager.

“Beckett’s been tremendous. I’ve seen him on TV twice now. He’s been tremendous. I’ve never seen him better, really. So it should be a good matchup. Sometimes those things get all hyped up, and they fizzle out.”

The only thing that’s fizzed out lately has been the Tigers offense. Since putting up 43 runs in a five-game span vs. the Blue Jays and Twins — all road wins — the Tigers’ bats have been punchless, averaging a mere two runs in the last four games. They’ve scored just twice in their last 25 innings.

That’s unlikely to change against Beckett, who leads all AL starters in ERA, and has yet to give up a run in May. His scoreless streak of 18 1/3 is just one out shy of his career long, and he’s 2-0 at Fenway Park, with an 0.34 ERA.

“Right now,” Boston manager Terry Francona told MLB.com, “he’s going through that period where we're seeing the Beckett that we really like, the guy that commands three pitches, competes, working quick. He’s been reliable, that’s a nice word to use.”

So has Verlander.

Dating back to his first start in May, the Tigers ace has allowed just 10 hits and four runs in three starts (for an ERA of 1.57 over that span), giving up just three hits in his last 68 batters faced, and none for a 51-batter stretch that spanned his May 8 no-hitter.

“With Verlander, sometimes you’ve got to pick a pitch, because I don’t know that you can hit both speeds,” Francona told the Boston Globe’s Michael Vega. “You’re talking about a guy who can hit 100 and he’s got off-speed pitches that are good. You’ve got to see what he’s doing, first of all, but it sounds to me like he feels pretty good about himself. Make him work hard and maybe get him out of the game early, get him to make a mistake and don’t miss it.”

After pushing back the rotation one day for Sunday’s rainout, the Tigers opted after Tuesday’s game was washed out to keep the rotation on schedule, and skip Rick Porcello. Part of the decision was assuredly that Wednesday’s starter, Phil Coke, has already flown out to Boston, to get as much rest as possible on what could’ve been a very, very late night. But don’t discount the fact that the Verlander-Beckett showdown could’ve been washed away had the Tigers again moved everyone back a day.

The game will be broadcast on FOXSports Detroit at 7:05 p.m., as well as on the radio at WXYT-FM (97.1) and -AM (1270).

If you don’t feel like watching it alone, though, and you’re in Oakland County, you might want to head to Lake Orion, where the Tigers are hosting their first-ever Tweetup and road game viewing party at the Buffalo Wild Wings (770 North Lapeer Road). There will be prizes, including these items, courtesy of the Tigers marketing department (@WhosYourTiger on Twitter).