Tigers' Boesch expected to miss rest of season

Tigers outfielder Brennan Boesch is set to have surgery on his injured right thumb and is expected to miss the rest of the season. Boesch says he doesn't have a concrete date yet for the operation but hopes to have it sometime in the next week. He hit .283 with 16 home runs in 115 games this year, but he's played only once since Aug. 24. Boesch says he may be able to pick up a bat within five weeks of the surgery, but he says he doesn't expect to be ready to return even if Detroit makes a lengthy run through the postseason. The Tigers lead the AL Central by six games. Detroit did activate reliever Al Alburquerque from the disabled list on Sunday. Alburquerque has been recovering from a concussion.