OAKLAND -- The starting rotation for the Detroit Tigers is lined up perfectly for ace Justin Verlander to start the first game of the postseason.

The Tigers named their starting pitchers Friday for the two-game series at Kansas City that will immediately follow an off-day Monday. They are Brad Penny and Max Scherzer.

If the division race had remained tight, it seems likely that Tigers manager Jim Leyland would have skipped Penny to allow Verlander to make three more starts, with the final one scheduled on the final day of the regular season against the Cleveland Indians.

But since the Tigers have pulled away in the race, getting Verlander into the season-ending Cleveland series is clearly not important.

Leyland would not commit to what his rotation will be down the stretch. He was asked Friday if he could say whether or not he would stick to the current rotation through the end of the season.

“No,” he said. “I can't tell you.”

Then he paused.

“I can tell you,” he said, “but I'm not going to.”

If Leyland sticks with the current rotation, it would line up nicely for the American League Division Series. Verlander could start both Game 1 and Game 5 on five days' rest. Scherzer could start Game 2 on normal rest, and Doug Fister and Rick Porcello could pitch in Game 3 and Game 4 on an extra day's rest.

Whether or not the team holds the home-field advantage will likely play a role in how Leyland would prefer to set his rotation for the ALDS. If the Tigers host the Boston Red Sox in the first round, having Fister and Porcello, who both induce lots of ground balls, pitching in Fenway Park in Game 3 and Game 4 would seem logical.

If the Tigers open the postseason at Yankee Stadium, Leyland might prefer to have Fister pitch Game 2 and have Scherzer set for Game 3 at Comerica Park.

Scherzer has a 3.66 ERA this season in 17 starts at Comerica Park and a 5.33 ERA in 14 starts on the road. He is also among the league leaders in home runs allowed, and Comerica Park is much more pitcher-friendly than Yankee Stadium.

Even if Leyland isn't saying much about the rest of the rotation, he clearly planned things well to have Verlander available to pitch twice in the ALDS without having to shake up the rotation to make that happen.

-- Follow Chris Iott on Twitter.