Verlander Peaking At Right Time For Tigers
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
COMERICA PARK (CBS DETROIT) - Justin Verlander entered Wednesday's game with an ERA of 4.68, one of the worst in the majors. With the Detroit Tigers leading the American League Central Division by one game and only five games remaining in the season, Verlander pitched his final regular season start of 2014 better than he had pitched all season.
In eight innings, Verlander allowed just one run. When he left the game after a one-two-three inning that culminated in a strikeout, Verlander was visibly thrilled, pumping his fists and yelling before heading to the dugout and receiving the congratulations of teammates.
Verlander had a similarly impressive outing Friday against the Kansas City Royals, allowing only one run in seven and one-third innings.
Even given Verlander's struggles this season, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus did not seem surprised that the team's longtime ace has looked more like himself lately.
"I think this was certainly a down year for Justin," Ausmus said. "I think next year will be much better all the way through, but I do believe that he's one of those pitchers, one of those players, who, the brighter the light, the better he is, generally speaking ... I just think he rises to an occasion.
"It was similar to what we saw in Kansas City," Ausmus added. "He had laser focus, he knew that this was a big game for us, and he seems to dial it up. His velocity was good. He held his velocity. From about the third inning he got loose and he held his velocity the rest of the way through. He did an excellent job."
Players will always tell people they give the same effort in all games, no matter who the opponent, no matter what the stakes. Verlander agreed, however, that the dramatic circumstances of late-season baseball bring out something extra in him.
"I do enjoy those situations, those games," Verlander said. "It's a different sensation. It's a different feeling. We play a lot of regular season games, and the intensity, it's not the same, and you can't replicate it. It's just an intense, intense feeling, and you know everything lives and dies on every pitch, and you've really got to focus.
"These are the types of games you dream of as a kid - big games, your team needs you, coming down to the wire in postseason stretch to win your division," Verlander continued. "That's what you sit in your backyard when you're throwing your baseball with your dad, and you talk about, 'All right, this is the final game of the season, tie game,' that type of stuff. It's cool."
Verlander finished his 2013 season with an ERA of 3.46, a much higher number than he recorded the previous season. Following offseason surgery, this season proved to be even more of a departure from "vintage Verlander."
In the 2013 playoffs, however, Verlander looked spectacular, allowing only one earned run in 23 innings over three games. He found a way to pitch his best when it mattered most, and it looks as thought he may do the same this season.
"It means a lot to get a win today," Verlander said. "That was a big game. I don't want to stress on myself. This is the way I expect to pitch. It hasn't been that way this year, but this is how I've expected to throw all year long, and it just hasn't been the case, but ... the last couple games I've been able to reach down and throw the way I would like."
"I feel like the last two games have been the best I've felt all year," Verlander added. "Especially, it was nice to have consecutive starts feeling the same way, so just ride that momentum."
Verlander understands better than anyone how much different he has looked the past two seasons than he did earlier in his career. He has worked hard to get back to his usual All-Star level, and Wednesday he saw flashes of that ability to dominate.
"I threw some breaking balls that looked like my breaking ball," Verlander said. "The one I struck out, I think it was [Jordan] Danks, Doc [Bryan Holaday] caught on this side of the plate. I understand why [Danks] argued because it didn't look great the way he caught it, but that thing went through the zone, and it was breaking hard. It was a strike, but he had to reach back and get it. When my curveball's at the bottom of the zone, it should be biting hard like that, and that's what I haven't been seeing most of the year, but it was today."
