Chart courtesy of Fangraphs (Explanation)
Earned His Tiger Stripes: Verlander 7.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, .269 WPA
Earned a Lecture from Leyland: Polanco 0-4, K, -.072 WPA
Long day today, so I don't have too much to say on this game. However, I don't think you can put into words how valuable that long appearance by JV was to this team tonight. Not only did he blow through the Sox lineup relatively easy, he also helped rest a tired bullpen -- a group that has thrown a lot of pitches over the last two games.
You also can't say enough about Maggs' production early in the season; he now has 8 homers and 37 RBIs and his three-run bomb this evening off of Tim Wakefield.
As for Rodney, he never looked toom impressive this evening, but he got the job done. Sure he got a couple runners on late -- one being kind of a fluky infield hit for Coco Crisp -- but overall this performance may have helped the process of getting him back to where he was last season. I hope.
Tomorrow the Tigers have what was probably their best matchup coming into this series: Mike Maroth going up against Julian Tavares (1-4, 6.60). If they can at least secure a split against a hot Sox team, on the road, I'll be more than happy.
Up Next: Tomorrow night vs. Red Sox, 7:05 pm EST