Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Detroit Tigers have already put their disappointing loss to the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 behind them. With that being said, there is no question the Tigers are glad ace Justin Verlander will take the mound in Game 3 to help ease the pain. Verlander needs to focus on the task at hand while putting his American League Championship Series issues behind him.
The right-hander has pitched in four games in the ALCS in his career. Over that span, he has posted a 3-1 record with a 4.32 earned run average. It should be noted that he has received a decent amount of run support in those games (five runs per contest to be exact), which is a big reason for his good record.
Related: ALCS 2013: Boston Red Sox Lineup Gives Them The Edge
Obviously, none of that matters on Tuesday night. It is more or less something to talk about before and/or during the baseball game. If Verlander does not perform well in Game 3 then he could be labeled as someone who does not necessarily pitch at a high level the bigger the game is. His career 3-4 record and 5.40 ERA in the ALCS and World Series can already attest to this.
At this point, the Tigers are not concerned with what Verlander has done in his past. They do not even care that he was lights out in Game 5 of the ALDS. The only thing that matters is that he gives the team a chance to win against the Red Sox. The fact that Verlander is taking the mound already gives Detroit an advantage because he instantly raises the confidence of the team the second he steps onto the field.
“It’s always nice to have Justin Verlander on the mound no matter what the situation is,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said, according to FoxNews.com.
