Rick Osentoski- USA TODAY Sports
Max Scherzer had hit a little wall as of late, leading some to worry if the magical season was starting to come a little undone. After Sunday, however, there are no more worries about who will be pitching in Game 1 of the ALDS playoff series. Scherzer regained his masterful form, going seven innings of five hit, one run baseball, striking out an incredible 12 Kansas City Royals and giving the Detroit Tigers one of their bigger wins of the 2013 season. The only negative was that the win came after the Royals had tied it in the eigthth, robbing Scherzer of getting his historic 20th win of the season.
The offensive and team struggles all went on a back burner today, as Tigers fans got to witness their biggest strength in a potential playoff series, Max Scherzer. He has the dominating stuff that can carry a team through a five game series, much like Justin Verlander did last season against the Oakland Athletics. He is quickly becoming someone you can trust in the big moments and a pitcher you want out on the mound more than any other pitcher in baseball. Those win-loss stats early in the year were somewhat fluky, but what is not a fluke is the performance of Scherzer this season?
In a season where the Tigers’ pitching has been their biggest strength, the fact that Scherzer has risen above all of the rest by such a wide margin speaks to just how special this season has been for him. He has always had the talent to put it all together. but has lacked the consistency to realize all of that talent. Scherzer is finally realizing all of his talent.
