Justin Verlander will not go ahead in Game 4, scheduled to pitch in Game 5 of ALCS – MLB Playoffs
The Detroit Tigers lost their recent encounter against the Texas Rangers at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington on Monday, October 10. The club lost their bid to tie the American League Championship Series 1-1 in Game 2 and they are now lagging behind two games.
The management has been faced with various questions over the past two days and Justin Verlander seems to be the topic of discussion in most of them.
Manager Jim Leyland has hit back on reporters claiming that Verlander will start in Game 5, regardless of what rumours are circulating on the news wire. The skipper made the announcement prior to the game loss, from Arlington.
"He's pitching Game 5," Leyland said. "That's a slam dunk. That is the end of the conversation."
The pitcher is scheduled to avail four days of rest after he went 84 pitches against the Rangers in Game 1. The hurler will not be called in to pitch in Game 4 even if the club faces a must win scenario. Verlander is the Tigers’ best hurler from the rotation.
With a regular season standing of 24-5 from 34 games, fans are hoping the ball thrower to get back on the mound as soon as possible.
The Rangers are 2-0 in the series and they just need two more wins to snatch the World Series spot, this year. Colby Lewis is scheduled to start for the Texans at Comerica Park and given his good record against Detroit, the Tigers may go 3-0 down by the
end of Game 3.
However the manager is unwilling to consider the possibility of sending Verlander in earlier.
"What people don't realize is, you've got to win four games," Leyland said. "Nobody might believe this - the public, the TV people might not want to and everybody else - but let me tell you something: At this point, from what I've seen, pitching Justin Verlander
on the fifth day is two-fold."
If the Tigers fail to restrict the Rangers in the next two games, Verlander will not be pitching before the Opening Day of the 2012 MLB regular season.
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