NewsInge backs Verlander in pitchers' duel
Tigers' ace cruises to his eighth win of the season
By Jason Beck / MLB.com
06/21/09 5:49 PM ET
DETROIT -- The Tigers look a lot less now like a team trying to find a direction than when they got back into town Friday. Their sweep of the National League Central leaders took care of that.
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Justin Verlander couldn't duplicate the no-hitter from his last meeting with the Milwaukee Brewers two years ago, but he did provide an exclamation point to a three-game series sweep. It took a tight pitchers' duel with Yovani Gallardo, but with 7 2/3 innings of two-run ball, Verlander silenced Milwaukee's offense and allowed Brandon Inge's three-run homer to stand as the difference in a 3-2 win.
Three days ago, the Tigers came home with major issues, mainly on the offensive end, facing a Brewers club that had just run up a lot of offense in Cleveland. Now, after outscoring Milwaukee by a 22-11 margin, they're looking like a team that has a chance to reverse that stretch.
"It was a big series, there's no doubt about it," said Verlander (8-3), whose eighth win in his past 11 starts moved him into a tie for the team lead with Rick Porcello. "But at the same time, I really look at the last couple weeks as being big weeks for us. I know we didn't play well, but at the same time, we didn't play well and we managed to squeak out some wins in tough games and stay in first place.
"Every team's going to go through a slump at some point in the season. Hopefully that was our one and only. To come back and be clicking on all cylinders in the first three games of this homestand is outstanding."
Sunday was a squeaker, but one in which the Tigers played sharp to simply stay in it. On a day when Gallardo's change of speeds gave Tigers hitters fits, Inge pounced when Gallardo left a bad one over the plate.
When Casey McGehee jumped on Verlander's first-pitch fastball for a solo homer two batters into the game, it was reminiscent of the way the Cardinals attacked Verlander early in his last outing Tuesday to knock him out after four innings.
Sunday was more of a mix for Verlander, changing speeds and using his breaking ball against an aggressive Brewers lineup. The result was six strikeouts from Milwaukee's first 19 hitters, and a heavy dose of ground-ball outs.
"My changeup was outstanding," Verlander said. "Best one I've had all year."
Verlander stranded runners in the second, third and fourth innings, but it was the fifth and sixth that proved crucial. By retiring the Brewers in order on 11 pitches in the fifth and just six in the sixth, he allowed himself to work into the eighth and keep the bullpen idle until the final four outs.
In doing so, he gave the Tigers a fighting chance against Gallardo.
"He was really good against an excellent hitting team," manager Jim Leyland said. "I thought [Gallardo] was one of the best I've seen in the four years I've been here."
Gallardo didn't allow a hit until Miguel Cabrera's ground-ball single off third baseman Mat Gamel to lead off the fourth. Detroit didn't put a runner in scoring position until Gerald Laird and Adam Everett hit back-to-back singles with two outs in the fifth.
Gallardo escaped that threat with a flyout from Curtis Granderson, but Cabrera's single his next time up started the Tigers on another potential rally with one out in the sixth. Marcus Thames nearly put Detroit in front, but his drive died in Mike Cameron's glove just in front of the fence in left-center field, the deepest part of the park.
Don Kelly's ensuing ground ball through the middle extended the inning for Inge, who was ready for something offspeed. When Gallardo (7-4) hung a 1-1 breaking ball, Inge pounced, sending it into the left-field seats.
"It stinks. I made one mistake the whole game, and it cost us the game," Gallardo said. "I felt pretty good out there. Just that one pitch up in the zone. He took advantage of it."
Considering it was Inge's 16th home run of the year, it's easy to forget that it was the kind of pitch Inge wouldn't have hit well last year. Instead of fouling it off, Inge kept it fair and hit it deep.
"I was trying to stick to a plan all day, and I really didn't see very many [breaking balls]," Inge said. "The ones that start up, you kind of recognize a little earlier. He threw it where I could see it. I'm sure he didn't want to throw it there. He pitched well, he really did. I was impressed with him."
Jason Beck is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
