Justin Verlander pitched a complete game to lead the Tigers to a 5-1 victory over the White Sox at Comerica Park. Verlander allowed four hits and struck out three to improve to 3-and-9 on the season. Marcus Thames hit a three-run homer for the Tigers, who have taken the first two of the three-game set. A.J. Pierzynski drove in the only run of the game for the White Sox, who have dropped two str
Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander historically has difficulty against the Chicago White Sox, as his 1-6 record and 6.14 ERA will attest to; on Wednesday, he improved dramatically against his archenemies as he pitched a complete game 4-hitter, leading Detroit past Chicago 4-1 at Comerica Park. A trio of Tigers - Curtis Granderson, Placido Polanco and Edgar Renteria - had 2 hits apiec
Thursday's game between the Detroit Tigers pitted a team that has an explosive offense (Cleveland) against a team that is reeling (Detroit). The Indians' offense exploded as they had 13 hits, leading them to an 11-1 mauling of the Tigers at Progressive Field. 4 Indians - Jamey Carroll, Victor Martinez, Franklin Gutierrez and Jason Michaels - had 2 hits each; Michaels drove in 3 while Carroll added 2 RBIs. Ryan Garko and Travis Hafner added a HR apiece. Fausto Carmona (2-1) had a strong effort and got the win as he pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing 7 hits, an earned run, walking 1 while striking out 2. Detroit was led by Miguel Cabrera as he went 1-for-3 with an RBI; Justin Verlander was tagged with the loss as he went 5 innings, allowing 7 hits, 5 earned runs, walking 4 while striking out 1.
Has Verlander become an Ace?? Well, almost. Here's our view.Fresh off his no-hitter there has been a lot of buzz around Verlander. I thought it might be interesting to take a look and see if he has become the stud that fantasy owners have hoped for.Right now it appears he is still a step short of stud status. His numbers as of today look to all the world like he is a top 5 or ten pitcher:8-2 2.90 ERA 1.16 WHIP 7.4 K/9IP.However he has been helped by a low hit rate of 27%. BaseballHQ has his xERA (expected ERA)at 3.83. The Hardball Times has his xFIP (his expected ERA independent of fielding) at an even more pessimistic 4.40. I think the record here indicates that he has been lucky so far.His skills are very solid but not at elite status, confirming the somewhat pessimistic view of the HQ and Hardball Times metrics: 7.4 K/9IP, 3.2 BB/9IP, 2.3 K/BB ratio. These numbers reveal that he still has a bit of an issue with his control. However he has shown very nice gains over his short caree
Justin Verlander allowed three earned runs on five hits, walked two and fanned four over four innings in yesterday’s loss to the Pirates. The Tigers wanted their prized young fireballer to rest this offseason after throwing 207 1/3 innings (including the playoffs) in 2006, and Verlander has subsequently struggled with his mechanics and control this spring. The good news is that his velocity is fine, and there’s still time for him to find his form in his two remaining Grapefruit League starts. Source: MLB.com
