Eye of the Tigers
DETROIT — All Justin Verlander could do was watch.
The Detroit ace was finally out of the game after a tireless, 120-pitch effort, and closer Jose Valverde was in trouble again. Two on, two out — and Derek Jeter batting.
“I’m just like 45,000 other people in the stadium at that point. I’m just sitting there,” Verlander said. “Obviously, your heart is racing a bit.”
Jeter swung and missed, striking out to end New York’s final rally. The Yankees are now on the brink of elimination after Monday night’s 5-4 loss to the Tigers. Verlander struck out 11 in eight gritty innings to help his team take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series.
Verlander will keep watching and hoping when teammate Rick Porcello takes the mound Tuesday night to try to wrap up this AL division series. If the Yankees win, the decisive Game 5 will be in New York on Thursday night. Verlander didn’t rule out the possibility that he could pitch again in the series — maybe in relief — but manager Jim Leyland figures his star has already done plenty.
“I try not to do anything foolish with any of my pitchers, let alone an arm like that,” Leyland said. “You saw what a talent that is. I would say he’s definitely done for this series.”
The Yankees will be done for the year if they don’t win Tuesday. Their hopes ride on A.J. Burnett, the $82.5 million pitcher who was so unreliable this season that he wasn’t supposed to get a start in this series. A rainstorm changed all that when Game 1 was suspended Friday, forcing both teams to alter their pitching plans.
Now it will be Burnett and Porcello in Game 4.
“People are entitled to their opinion. Obviously, I give them reasons here and there to doubt,” Burnett said before Monday’s game. “The bottom line is I have confidence in myself. My teammates have confidence in me.”
Verlander started the opener against the Yankees on Friday night against CC Sabathia, but that game was halted after only 1Z\x innings, forcing both aces to wait until Monday for their first extended work of the series.
While Sabathia didn’t make it through the sixth Monday, Verlander was still hitting 100 mph on the stadium radar gun in the eighth.
Valverde took over in the ninth — and another tense finish followed. The All-Star closer, who was perfect in 49 save chances this season, walked two and got a warning-track flyout before striking out Jeter to end it.
