Miggy putting up big numbers again

ARLINGTON -- A year after becoming the first player to win the Triple Crown in nearly half a century, Miguel Cabrera is on pace to have 42 more RBIs and a batting average 57 points than the one he had last season.

Cabrera, the reigning American League MVP, is hitting .387 with 10 home runs and 47 RBIs. He's on pace to hit 38 homers, six fewer than he did in 2012, but is also on pace to have 181 RBIs, which would eclipse the 139 RBIs he had last season.

"It's pretty hard to improve on a Triple Crown," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "He's the best hitter in the game. He's got a real fluid swing. He can hit the ball out of the ballpark to all fields. He can take a base hit. There's not too many guys that can take a sinker, down and in, and hit a bullet to right field."

In the Tigers' 2-1 victory over the Rangers on Friday, Cabrera doubled home the first run in the fifth inning before scoring the second on a sacrifice fly in the same frame. He then hit three home runs and drove in five runs during Sunday's 11-8 loss. He went 9-for-16 (.563) in the four-game series against the Rangers.

Not to mention that he's batting .509 with runners in scoring position, driving in 40 runs in 55 at-bats during that situation this season.

"You can have some interesting conversations if you get into stats a lot. It doesn't make any difference," Leyland said. "He's one of those special guys that don't come around often and he's been special for a long time."