Last time he faced Detroit, Chicago’s new ace Jake Peavy threw seven shutout innings, striking out eight, and taking home his second American League W. He was acquired to do so much more, but at this point all he can really offer is the role of spoiler. With Minnesota’s 8-3 win over the Tigers, the Twins are now only 2 games out of the AL Central lead with only Friday, Saturday and Sunday’s games left.
Edwin Jackson and his 94.5 mph fastball take the hill against Peavy Friday night, but Jackson’s only beaten Chicago once in 7 career starts and holds a 5.66 career ERA against them. Moreover, his second half (4.53 ERA) has paled in comparison with his breakout first half (2.52 ERA). Can Detroit rely on him to take down former Cy Young winner Jake Peavy?
On Saturday, Detroit plans to run rookie Alfredo Figaro to the mound with his 15 2/3 innings of major league experience. The last and only time he’s ever faced the White Sox was last Saturday when he held them scoreless, albeit in only 2 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. Will MoTown really feel comfortable trusting a rookie on the last weekend of a playoff run?
So if Chicago fancies itself a solid spoiler and drops the Tigers for two in a row while the Twins down the Royals in similar fashion, Detroit’s hopes fall to one man.
This past Tuesday Justin Verlander, who has shown the American League’s fastest heater at 95.6 mph, proved his ability to perform his role as an ace under intense pressure. He threw 129 pitches over eight hard fought innings to win the second half of the doubleheader against Minnesota, saving a bullpen which had completed a 10 inning game earlier in the day and would need to throw 4 innings and 3 innings the next two nights.
Verlander’s truly blossomed this season. He has returned to throwing first pitch strikes under the tutelage of pitching coach Rick Knapp. His win total (18) is the highest of his career and his ERA (3.45) is the lowest. More importantly, he has shown that when his team needs him, he becomes the ace everyone always expected. If the hopes of Tigers fans come down to the quality of Justin Verlander’s arm, that’s just the way they want it.
