Since 2009, Justin Verlander ranks first in all of baseball in: • Starts (135) • Wins (78) • WHIP (1.08) • Strikeouts (977) • WAR (26.0, highest among pitchers) Those are just some of the reasons the Detroit Tigers rewarded Verlander with the richest contract for a pitcher.
The Detroit Tigers started slow in 2012, posting a 26-32 record before finishing the year with 88 wins and a playoff berth. Their postseason run came to a sudden halt, however, at the hands of the San Francisco Giants in the World Series.
As we continue to discuss the fascinating American League MVP race, here’s a bit more background on the statistic that is being used to largely frame the case for Mike Trout. Wins Above Replacement (WAR) summarize a player’s total contributions to their team in one statistic.
Will Justin Verlander win his second straight Cy Young Award? Verlander is one of three finalists for the award, the winner of which will be announced Wednesday night. Should Verlander win, he would be the first repeat Cy Young Award winner from the American League since Pedro Martinez in 2000 and the second to repeat for the Detroit Tigers, joining Denny McLain, who won in 1968 and 1969.
The opening game of the World Series was as easy for the San Francisco Giants as each of the three games it won to close out the National League Championship Series. Giants at Home, This Postseason First 3 Games Last 4 Games W-L 0-3 4-0 Runs 6 30 Run diff -14 +25 BA .
The World Series begins Wednesday between the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants (ESPN Radio, 8 ET), and while neither team can clinch anything in one contest, Game 1 has had plenty of meaning in recent years.
They're among the oldest franchises in baseball but on Wednesday the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants will meet in the World Series for the first time. Reigning AL Cy Young Award winner and MVP Justin Verlander takes the mound in Game 1 against Barry Zito, who won the Cy Young in 2002 with the Oakland Athletics.
The final inning provided drama, but when it ended, it was the Detroit Tigers who were one win closer to a World Series berth, largely on the efforts of their ace Justin Verlander. Verlander spun another gem Tuesday, extending his scoreless innings streak to 23 (dating back to Game 1 of the American League Division Series), before Eduardo Nunez ended it with his solo home run in the ninth inning.
The ALCS heads to Detroit for Game 3 on Tuesday night and the New York Yankees might actually be happier than the Detroit Tigers to get out of the Bronx. The Yankees were shut out in 20 of 21 innings in Games 1 and 2 at Yankee Stadium, with their only four runs coming during their near-miraculous rally in the ninth inning of Game 1.
The Detroit Tigers rode Justin Verlander all the way to the ALCS. The reigning AL Cy Young winner struck out 11 in a 6-0 shutout of the Oakland Athletics in Game 5. That’s the most strikeouts in a shutout in a winner-take-all game in postseason history.
