The Detroit Tigers lost second baseman Placido Polanco to a shoulder injury that caused Ivan Rodriguez to play second base, then beat the Boston Red Sox 3-2 Tuesday night on Craig Monroe's ninth-inning pop single.

More... (http://cbs.sportsline.com/mlb/gamecenter/recap/MLB_20060815_DET@BOS/rss)

Any word on how serious the injury is?

Was teh I-Rod at 2B last night to close out the game? I thought my radio was deceiving me.

Any word on how serious the injury is?

Was teh I-Rod at 2B last night to close out the game? I thought my radio was deceiving me.

Yep, Pudge was at 2B for the first time in his career.

They're not saying much here in Detroit. Pudge let it slip that he was done for the year. I guess it's all up to what the X-Rays/MRIs say.

Very bad loss for the Tigers. Guy was automatic with RISP

per Detroit Free Press

The Tigers are hopeful that second baseman Placido Polanco returns before the end of the season, after X-rays today showed he did not break his left shoulder.

Polanco suffered a separated left shoulder while making a diving catch in the seventh inning Tuesday night.

“The next 24 to 48 hours will give us a little better idea as to the length of disability,” said Tigers head athletic trainer Kevin Rand. “We’ll start to get some of that swelling out of there, and we’ll make a better ballpark figure as to how long he’ll be out.”

Rand didn't know how many games Polanco would miss becuase of the injury.

The club recalled infielder Ramon Santiago from Triple-A Toledo to take his place. Santiago and Omar Infante figure to get the starts at second base in place of Polanco.

Asked if Polanco could make it back by season’s end, Rand said: “Absolutely. Placido Polanco is a hard-working guy and is going to work very, very hard to get himself back out there to play.”