Justin Verlander’s World Series struggles continue – MLB Detroit Tigers News Update
Justin Verlander series’ struggles continued as he gave up six hits and four runs in Game 1 of the World Series against the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Memories of the past came back to haunt Verlander as he once again failed to deliver
at the biggest stage.
Detroit Tigers’ right hander gave up six hits in four poor innings to take the loss on Wednesday. Seven year ago, it was the same result for the Tigers’ hard throwing ace when he struggled to execute the game plan.
Giants’ third baseman Pablo Sandoval, who had an excellent time on the plate against the St. Louis Cardinals in National League Championship Series, continued to impress the critics as he hit three towering home-runs to play a key role in deciding the outcome
of the clash.
Two of Sandoval’s three home-runs came against Verlander. With his heroic effort, Sandoval also tied the World Series home-run record held by Albert Pujols, Reggie Jackson and Babe Ruth. By the time Verlander walked towards the dugout, the Giants had claimed
an impassable 5-0 lead.
"I felt like I was out of synch," Verlander said. "I'm not used to pitching with so much time off. That might have been the reason for the way I pitched, but sometimes you just have bad games, too. It was a bad game."
"The ball didn't seem to be coming out of his hand quite right," Leyland said in a post game interview. "It's a little bit puzzling. It looks like the fastball was just not quite exploding."
"I think probably a little bit of a layoff hurt Justin," Leyland further explained. "His command was not good.”
Sandoval continued his assault as he hit his third home-run of the game against Tigers’ relief pitcher Al Alburquerque in the fifth inning, extending Giants lead to 6-0 in the fifth inning. For the Tigers, Miguel Cabrera drove in a single and Jhonny Peralta
homered in the bottom of the ninth but the Giants held on to their quite comfortably to start the World Series on a winning note.
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