Craig Davis
Craig Davis Wednesday's Lineup
100 DIME ---- TIGERS (With Verlander) -1 1/2 RUN LINE over MARINERS (With Snell)
Well, here it is. I've been waiting for this matchup since last week when Justin Verlander dominated the Boston Red Sox IN Fenway. After a few shaky outings, Verlander was clearly back to his dominating self and I know he can't wait to get back home to give the Tigers fans their money's worth. You see, the last time he pithed at Comerica, Verlander was absolutely abused by the Minnesota Twins to the tune of seven hits and five earned runs over six innings of work. Final Score: Twins 11 Tigers 0 --- That is very rare air for Verlander and will not happen again this year. Prior to that Verlander also allowed five earned runs, but this time it was over 8 innings of work in a 6-5 win over Baltimore. The thing about that start is... all five of those earned runs came in a very rough first inning. After that, Verlander was light's out for seven innings and kept the Tigers in the game long enough to scratch out a 1-run win. Tonight won't be that close, and Verlander won't allow five runs in the whole game, let alone one inning.
The Tigers won in dramatic fashion last night, beating the Mariners despite a fantastic effort from Mariners starter Felix Hernandez. It was a 1-1 tie into the eighth inning when the Mariners added two runs in the top of the 9th to take a 3-1 lead. Detroit, however, proceeded to score four in the bottom of the 8th and walked away with a 5-3 win. You see, it's that type of game that plays right into our hands tonight. Seattle is physically and emotionally beaten down. They could ill-afford to lose that game as it was one they had in the bag going to the bottom of that inning. Though they are three games over .500, they are way behind the Angels for the division lead and are losing any chance they have to get back into the Wild Card race. Detroit, on the other hand, is going to carry the momentum from that 8th inning over to the first few innings of tonight's contest. That win kept them three games ahead of the White Sox in the AL Central and really gave them confidence and momentum for the rest of this series. Think about this... Rick Porcello was able to hold the Mariners to just one run over 5 2/3 innings of work... how much more do you think a guy like Justin Verlander can do to this struggling offense?
Seattle has scored three or fewer runs in six of their last seven games and now face possibly the best pitcher they've seen since their series with the Yankees (Sabathia and Burnett shut them down). Verlander's career numbers vs. Seattle are quite good, including a 6-2 record in 8 starts, a 3.35 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP. In fact, in those eight games Verlander has surrendered just one home run, and that spans 54 innings. At home this season, Verlander has been virtually untouchable (and unbeatable), posting a very respectable 2.11 ERA, 1.08 WHIP and opponents are hitting barely over .200 against him at Comerica. His record is 7-1, with the lone loss coming in his last start vs. Minnesota. This guy is a gamer and you can bet he's out to do better than he did in his last start vs. Boston just to prove to the fans of the Motor City just how good he is.
For Seattle, they run out recently-acquired righty Ian Snell, formerly of the Pittsburgh Pirates, in an attempt to steal a game from the Tigers to keep their slim playoff chances alive. So, what can we say about Snell other than the fact he stinks and will likely be without a job at the end of the year. He was so bad in Pittsburgh (2-8, 5.36 ERA) that they allowed Seattle to acquire his services (along with Jack Wilson) for a handful of prospects. Since pitching for Seattle, Snell has allowed 13 earned runs in 13.1 innings pitched for an ERA just slightly under 9. Control has been his biggest problem, walking 12 batters in those 13.1 innings since joining the Mariners, including 6 in 1.1 innings vs. the Rays. His three starts in the American League have all resulted in at least two-run Seattle losses (including 11-1 to the Yankees and 10-4 to Tampa) and tonight will be no different. He's 0-2 in his career vs. the Tigers and has won just two games in 18 starts this year... TWO!!! What's to make me think tonight will be any different? And get this... pitching coach Rick Adair is working with his delivery to "tweak" how soon he gets the ball out of his glove ready to throw in an attempt to help his control. Do you know what that does? That kills velocity... and that's not something you want to do against a home run hitting lineup like Detroit. I love it when I go against a pitcher who's in the process of messing with his mechanics... that means if he begins to struggle with these new mechanics, he's going to be playing mind games with himself as to whether or not he should go back to his old style of pitching. It honestly couldn't play out any more perfect for our side.
Back to Justin Verlander... he's not only trying to prove to the Tigers fans that his last home outing was a fluke, he's also gunning for 200 strikeouts in this game (currently sits at 194) so there's even extra motivation for him to get the job done. The Tigers are 10-1 in Verlander's last 11 starts as a big favorite (-200 or better), 15-6 in his last 21 starts vs. the AL West and 22-8 in their last 30 at home vs. a team with a winning record. Folks, this one is over before it starts. Verlander will not only dominate the first inning, he'll dominate the entire game and with Monday's day off, he could go the entire 9 innings. Tigers in a laugher, 9-2.
BOUGHT,PAID AND CONFIRMED--------GL GUYS
damn...two str8 100 dimers lost from Davis....that blows.....first the giants, now the tigers...i am glad i was on a field trip with the students today and didn't have a chance to check this site....my bankroll would be ^<<^ right now.....hope he comes back strong soon!
:toast:. thanks cpaw.:cripwalk:
