Justin Verlander shines as Detroit Tigers beat Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 – MLB Update
Starting pitcher Justin Verlander had another excellent night on the mound as helped Detroit Tigers beat the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-2 in a low scoring thriller at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on Sunday, June 24 in the finale of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Manager Jim Leyland would be very satisfied with what he saw from the Tigers on Sunday evening. After the Pirates flattened the Tigers in the opening two games, they had a great chance to complete a rare series sweep but Verlander stood in their way and the Tigers secured a narrow 3-2 win to avoid the sweep.
Credit goes to the bullpen that kept the Tigers in the game throughout the contest. Leading the pack, Verlander pitched with great control and accuracy to win for the eighth time this season. The right handed starter had his career best season last year with an impressive 24-5 record and 250 strikeouts.
Youngster Quintin Berry had another great outing as he homered to right in the first inning to put the Tigers 2-0 ahead. They guy may not be the most experienced at this level but he certainly has some great pressure handling abilities.
"We had the horse going," said Detroit manager Jim Leyland, "and he pitched like the horse is supposed to pitch."
"That was not an easy order to go through in the ninth inning, and he took charge of that ninth inning pretty good," Leyland said.
"I actually didn't feel particularly great," Verlander said. "But at least my location was there. I was able to locate pretty well and got a lot of weak contact because of that. I didn't have the flashy fastball or anything, but I was able to pitch and go nine inning.”
With the score tied at 2-2 in the seventh, Delmon Young singled to right and Berry scored to break the tie. Verlander took on the responsibility and retired all the six batters he faced after the Tigers reclaimed the lead. The Tigers improved to 35-37 with their win and they are now just three games behind the AL Central leaders Chicago White Sox.
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