OT: Justin Verlander Earns Career 1,000th K
The Tigers defeated the White Sox 9-3 tonight. Staked to a 6-1 lead in the 7th inning, Justin Verlander gave up back-to-back solo HRs before getting Adam Dunn to pop out.
He then struck out Alex Rios and A.J. Pierzynski to earn his 999th and 1,000th career strikeouts.
The Tigers ended up winning 9-3 and Verlander improved to 2-2 on the season.
Here's the linkee to the milestone K.
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:04 PM ^
Am I nuts, or did Ryan Raburn just say in the post-game interview, "Oh, you know, it wasn't strategy or anything. Buehrle is just a crappy pitcher"?
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:13 PM ^
didn't see it, but "crafty" or "scrappy" maybe?
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:13 PM ^
Damn it, I knew there was going to be a similar-sounding word that could plug in there.
In my mind, he said "crappy."
Just listened to the interview on Fox Sports and he said "crafty pitcher", but I'm with you it would have so cool if he had said crappy pitcher.
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:17 PM ^
Seems odd that Verlander and Scherzer both seem to have decent stuff this year but both are almost at the top of home runs given up. 8 K's and 3 solo home runs...odd game for Justin...
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:29 PM ^
did that to them
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:56 PM ^
Yankee Stadium is way too small. Scherzer in particular really got screwed in his outing there.
I think some of it has to do with the stuff that Verlander and Scherzer have. When you throw as hard as they do I think there's a tendency to just try to throw the fastball by hitters. I think that mindset really comes into play when the pitcher's team has a fairly sizable lead like the Tigers had for most of the game tonight. That strategy works most of the time for them but it also results in the occasional massive home run like Quentin's first one.
Konerko's home run in tonight's game was heavily influenced by the wind as well. Not really Verlander's fault there.
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:54 PM ^
You're going to strike out a LOT of guys. Every now and again, though, a batter is gonna get out in front of one and with that sort of power, it's liable to leave the park. Many of the great K pitchers in history have also had a high HR ratio.
It's partly power and partly Verlander being stubborn and trying to k every batter. Getting his fastball down may not help his k total but would induce more groundouts and lower his pitch counts.
April 23rd, 2011 at 10:44 AM ^
Pitchers that strike alot of guys out are more likely to continue success from year to year. every pitcher will regress to the mean at some point on BABIP. Plus with our infield defense not being exactly stellar (I'm talking range here. Outside of Inge I don't think I'd say anyone else has anymore than average range) you're asking for trouble.
There's a reason Justin Verlander is the Tigers best pitcher, and it's not because he's crafty. He strikes out alot of guys, and that is what will allow him to continue his succes on a yearly basis.
Not to mention that it's not like he threw 150 pitches through 7. The guy went 7 innings on 117 pitches. That's a fine nights work, and typically what you get out of Verlander (He's averaging 7.2 innings per start, which is outstanding. I'm not sure if you want him to average a complete game every time out, but that's not realistic. If you can get 7+ out of a starter every time out, you've got a damn good pitcher). I'd say what he's doing has worked out just fine for him so far in his career.
No offense here but seriously, it's ludicrous to say "I wish [insert pitchers name] would strike out less guys and get more ground balls instead.."
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:55 PM ^
Did anyone happen to notice what happened between Verlander and Piersinsky Pyrzinski Peersinski Douchey Blonde Sox Catcher? I didn't notice it, but Hawk Harrelson seems convinced that Verlander gave Douchey Catcher a long staredown after the K.
And yes, living in South Bend, I have to listen to Hawk Harrelson.
April 22nd, 2011 at 10:59 PM ^
Piersynski is such an asshole. Fuck that guy.
April 22nd, 2011 at 11:08 PM ^
Much appreciated,
April 22nd, 2011 at 11:40 PM ^
I watched that asshole totally stiff a six year old kid to autograph a ball one time at US Cellular. Walked right by him, kid asked for the autograph, he stopped and then kept walking. Fuck that guy.
April 22nd, 2011 at 11:11 PM ^
But when they cut to commercial after the Pierzynski strikeout, Pierzynski appeared to say "F*** you" in the direction of Verlander.
April 23rd, 2011 at 12:47 AM ^
Yeah thats what I got too. I didn't appreciate Carlos Quentin throwing the bat 10 feet after his home run either. Suck the Fox
Hawk is the worst announcer ever. Dude is a homer to the extent that he can't call an honest game.
I don't even mind a homer announcer who at least calls the game. I don't even feel like Hawk bothers to call the game. He just roots on TV. Things that annoy the shit out of me:
"C'mon Paulie, ball four base hit." (whenever anybody has a three-ball count)
"Stretch!"
"Stay fair (Get foul)"
"He gone" and "You can put it on the board" are obnoxious but at least he's telling you what happened instead of just rooting for stuff.
I could go on. My hatred for Hawk's "calling" a baseball game knows no bounds.
I live in Chicago, so I used to get excited when the Tigers played the Sox because it meant I could watch them on TV. Now that I have a yearly mlb.tv subscription, I hate when the Tigers play the Sox because it means the mlb.tv is blacked out for the local coverage and I have to listen to Hawk. He's so awful.
Last night I muted the TV and listened to the online audio with Dan Dickerson and Jim "Wow" Price.
April 22nd, 2011 at 11:45 PM ^
Good show by Verlander! Tigers offense was clicking too.
I believe its Penny vs Jackson tomorrow. Of all 5 tigers starters, Pennys stuff is the one im least confident in right now. I'll be at the game tomorrow so hopefuly the fellas can put on a good show.
Tigers have 7 straight wins vs the White Sox. Thats crazy to me because Sox have been owning the Tigers for the last few years.
April 23rd, 2011 at 12:27 AM ^
During the game, did anyone else notice that electric razor commercial with Jonathan Papelbon and think to yourself, "Jonathan Papelbon has no business selling any type of razor for anyone"?
With a 6-1 lead, Verlander was just throwing strikes and 2 guys caught up with his fastball. It is what good power pitchers do, no big deal, tip your cap to the Sox hitters and move on.
April 23rd, 2011 at 11:36 AM ^
Gordie,
I couldn't agree more with the assessment. He did exactly what he should have done. Even the first home run to Quentin was on a 3-2 count and a 4-0 lead. It was a fastball that was very poorly located, but so what? You don't put guys on-base in that situation. In the seventh, with a 6-1 lead, you aren't being cute either. You are trying to eat innings and save the bullpen in the opening game of a big series. If they go yard, the only thing that really gets hurt are your stats...
That's my Tiger baby!!!!! Go Get 'Em Tigers!!!