Justin Verlander has had a great season. 24 wins – including 13 in his last 13 starts – and a 2.29 ERA. He was looking for win number 25 yesterday, facing the lowly Orioles (at home, no less). Things looked good for the Detroit Ace, as he was trying to solidify his place at the top of the AL Cy Young contenders.
The first batter of the game was rookie Matt Angle, who was batting .174/.278/.232 since being called up recently. In almost 2,400 career minor league plate appearances, Angle hit .285/.372/.351 with a total of 11 home runs (about 2 per season). The count was 2-1. And then the most amazing thing happened – Matt Angle crushed a Justin Verlander fastball for his first major league home run. If it was known beforehand that Angle would hit a home run against Verlander, odds would have been pretty good that it would be of the inside-the-park variety, I think.
Things didn’t exactly turn around from there, as Verlander also got taken deep by Mark Reynolds (37th of the year, so not exactly a stretch – and Reynolds also K’ed 3 times, true to form). The 5 total earned runs allowed were the most by Verlander in a game since May 24th. When he was taken out of the game after the 7th, the Tigers were down 5-4, snapping his winning streak and ending his chances of getting to 25 wins (unless the Tigers decide to do something crazy instead of getting ready for the playoffs).
Detroit came back in the 8th though, tying the game at five-all against the O’s pen (ruining Jeremy Guthrie’s chances of getting a win – it would have been his 10th!). The top of the 9th started with a single, and a wild pitch on a K to move the runner to third. Up to the plate steps Matt Angle. Could he really homer again? Maybe so, but the Orioles decide to show off his versatility instead – Angle drops down a squeeze bunt to bring in what would turn out to be the winning run.
Guess since the Orioles weren’t in a position to play spoiler with the Tigers’ chances of making the playoffs, they decided to stick it to Justin Verlander instead.
Also last night: The Yankees put up 8 runs on Jon Lester to beat the Red Sox; Jeff Niemann got taken out after the first inning, but 5 scoreless innings from Alex Torress helped the Rays beat the Jays 6-2; the Cardinals came from behind in the bottom of the 9th to beat the Bucs 2-1 and get to within 2 in the Wild Card race; and much more.
What to watch tonight: The Yankees and Red Sox play two, while the Rays and Angels try to take advantage of any Boston struggles; and Roy Halladay and Clayton Kershaw both start for their respective clubs, looking to add to their Cy Young cases. Full schedule with probable pitchers here.
