Once again, Fernando Rodney made an appearance in a non-save situation, where the stats show he struggles mightily compared with save opportunities. But to understand why the Tigers did it, keep in mind that Detroit had just a two-run lead before tacking on three runs in the bottom of the eighth as Rodney warmed up. By the time the Tigers had put the game out of reach, manager Jim Leyland, Rodney had already put in the warm-ups to be ready to pitch.

“It was a close game when I brought [Brandon] Lyon in,” Leyland said, “and then you’ve got Rodney warmed up. He had one inning [available] today. That’s all he had. But after he’s all warmed up and everything, you might as well pitch him. It’s like he pitched if you sit him down then, so go ahead and use him. If I had known at the beginning of the inning we were going to get some runs, obviously I’d have used somebody else in the ninth. But you can’t count on that.”

The non-save situation would also explain Rodney’s subdued reaction after the game. He never celebrates much after a win that wasn’t that close. I doubt it had anything to do with the ball in the stands from nine days ago, even though that was the first win he had finished off since then.

Leyland expects he’ll probably try to rest both Rodney and Lyon Monday. Fortunately for him, Justin Verlander works very well into that scenario.

Other notes:

• Brent Dlugach made his Major League debut Sunday as a pinch-runner, replacing Aubrey Huff in the eighth inning and scoring.
• Sunday’s win pushed this year’s Tigers in the tie with the 2006 team for the most home wins in a season (46) since the club moved into Comerica Park in 2000. These Tigers still have 11 games to go at home before the regular season ends.
• On the day the Lions opened their season with a loss at New Orleans, we note with others that Sunday marked the Tigers’ 150th victory since the Lions last won a game. The Tigers won 74 last year, and this was their 76th win of this season.

That question came up after the Royals’ three-run eighth inning off Fernando Rodney, providing the Royals the margin to make the Tigers’ ninth-inning rally irrelevant and further ballooning Rodney’s numbers in non-save situations. Manager Jim Leyland pointed to two things: Rodney hadn’t pitched since Friday, and with a three-game suspension looming, there’s a chance Rodney won’t pitch for a few days down the road. Whether that means Rodney is going to take a suspension anytime soon isn’t clear.

“You don’t know what’s going to happen with this suspension,” Leyland said, “and you can’t let him sit there too long. Because if all of a sudden there’s a hearing on the appeal and they don’t drop some [games], he could go a long time without pitching.”

With that in mind, and with the Tigers on the road, Leyland switched his reliever roles for a day. Rodney was going to pitch the eighth inning, win or lose, and if the Tigers headed into the ninth inning with a lead, Brandon Lyon would be the closer for a day. It was a temporary shift, Leyland emphasized, not something long term.

There’s one major consideration to keep in mind when debating whether those add-on runs off Rodney cost them the game. Without them, Joakim Soria would’ve started the ninth inning instead of coming in after Jamey Wright loaded the bases.

“It’s good Fernando got back out there,” Leyland said. “I hope we have a chance to have him save the game tomorrow.”

A Tigers spokesperson said Tuesday that Fernando Rodney plans to appeal his three-game suspension handed down from Major League Baseball for his throw into the press box at Tropicana Field Friday night. The suspension otherwise would’ve started tonight against the Royals.

The heave came after Rodney gave up two runs in the ninth inning but still held on to save a 4-3 Tigers win over the Rays. After giving up an RBI single and double, Rodney stranded the potential tying run at third base and go-ahead run at second with a groundout. Rodney got the ball from first baseman Miguel Cabrera and flung it towards the seats behind the plate. The ball hit off the front row of the press seats and bounced into the back of the press box.

Nobody was hit, but it obviously raised safety concerns at the Commissioner’s office, as well as in the press box. Rodney insisted there was no malice intended.

“I was throwing the ball to the fans,” Rodney said afterwards. “[I was] emotional. It’s nothing bad. I know I’m not supposed to throw the ball, but I’m feeling in the moment. … I don’t throw it to hit nobody. I think if I throw it in the right spot, I don’t hit nobody.”

UPDATE @ 2pm: There is some precedence for this suspension. A Major League Baseball spokesperson cited former Astros reliever and current Diamondbacks reliever Chad Qualls, who threw a ball into the third deck of seats at Angel Stadium after blowing a five-run lead in the seventh inning against the Angels on June 18, 2007. He, too, was suspended three games along with a $3,000 fine. Qualls’ appeal was denied about a month later.

Carlos Zambrano also had a ball-tossing incident this year, but his throw went from home plate into the outfield. That, plus other actions during a memorable tirade, drew a six-game suspension from MLB, but as we know from Rick Porcello’s ordeal last month, the lengths on suspensions for starting pitchers are a little different.

If Fernando Rodney has won the closer competition for the Tigers, somebody forgot to tell him.

“That’s news,” he said Thursday morning.

Considering his locker at Joker Marchant Stadium sat just outside manager Jim Leyland’s office before they packed up and left for Atlanta Thursday, it’s unlikely he just wasn’t paying attention.

Though Leyland said Wednesday that Rodney would pitch the ninth inning if the Tigers have a lead in the ninth inning on Opening Day, he appears to be simply getting the first shot. At this point, nobody has been declared the closer.

As far as Rodney knows, the closer competition might still be going on, and he can’t let up.

“We have a lot of competition here for that position,” he said. “I don’t know who’s going to be the closer. We have a lot of guys who can close the game. I think that competition is very close.”

Rodney has had no fewer than four different stints as the Tigers’ closer over his six-year Major League career. He saved three of the Tigers’ 43 victories in 2003, and has worked behind such Tigers closers as Franklyn German, Troy Percival, Kyle Farnsworth and Todd Jones.

When the team announced the Brandon Lyon signing at TigerFest in January, adding someone who saved a career-high 26 games last year, Rodney said he looked forward to competing for the closer job. Never mind that the competition appeared to be a formality at that point.

He didn’t accept defeat when the contest seemed stacked against him. Now he isn’t basking in victory, either.

“I keep competing and keep working hard,” Rodney said, “because you don’t ever know what’ll happen.”