It’s no coincidence that good pitching helps turn contenders into World Series champions. We saw it last year with the San Francisco Giants and we’ll probably see it this season as well.
But would it be pure coincidence if the only two teams to currently clinch a playoff spot go head-to-head in this year’s Fall Classic?
Again, not if both of these team have good starting pitching.
Sam McNeal of the Sporting News has made his prediction on who he believes will be facing each other for the World Series title. His first team really is no surprise and that team is the Philadelphia Phillies.
And who can deny it?
They have great starting pitching in Halladay, Lee and Hamels as well as a nice starting lineup that can put up a lot of offense. But his second team may be a little surprising to those taking a quick glance and that team is the Detroit Tigers.
We’re talking about pitching, though. In the AL, only the Tampa Bay Rays have pitched better than Detroit in the second half, and the Rays don’t have Justin Verlander. The Tigers do. The Phillies have the majors’ best staff, but the Tigers have the best pitcher. Verlander has a chance to win 25 games, which would be the most in the majors since 1990. He already has 23 wins, the most in a season since Randy Johnson went 24-5 in 2002. Verlander also leads the majors in innings and strikeouts and the AL with a 2.36 ERA.
Because he is such a workhorse, Verlander becomes even more valuable in October. To oust the Tigers, a team probably will have to beat Verlander twice in a series. He hasn’t lost at all in the past two months.
But it’s not just the starting rotation, the Tigers also have a very nice back-end that consist of Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde who’s only saved a total of 46 games in 46 tries this season.
Jose Valverde and Joaquin Benoit haven’t earned the reputation of the other A.L. contenders’ relievers, but no late-inning tandem has been more effective in the second half. Valverde has converted 21 of his team-record 45 consecutive saves since the break with a 2.05 ERA; Benoit hasn’t allowed a run in his past 18 outings (18 2/3 innings).
Along with Benoit and Valverde, starter Doug Fister has been the best deadline day acquisition in the MLB emerging as the team’s number two behind Verlander.
They key though for the Tigers, and McNeal points this out is what kind of Max Scherzer we will see once the postseason rolls around…
Detroit’s key could be Max Scherzer, who seems intent on becoming to the Tigers what A.J. Burnett has become to the Yankees. That is, a hard-throwing righthander who struggles more than he should, often without good reason. Scherzer hasn’t been as inconsistent as Burnett, but a propensity of serving up home runs has been cause for frustration. Rick Porcello has had his struggles, too, but he has youth on his side.
You combine the Tigers recent success with the top end of their rotation and the offense they’ve been able to produce and suddenly their road to the World Series looks pretty reasonable.
Re: Sporting News, Detroit Free Press
