That's the Way the Ball Bounces

It was all on Justin Verlander's shoulders. Jim Leyland, before the game, announced that his two key relievers, Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde, would be unavailable for game 5 of the ALCS. He was giving the ball to his ace and asking him to go as long as he could. Verlander ended up going seven plus innings, hurling more pitches than he ever had in his career. He wasn't as sharp as usual, allowing four runs, but it was a gutty and heroic effort.

Fortuntely, though, the Tigers had their hitting shoes on, at least for one glorious inning when four straight batters hit for the cycle (the first time that's happened in post-season history). Two plays in the inning, both around the third-base bag, determined the outcome of the game. A Tiger fan could be disconsolate, seeing how the Tigers could easily have swept this series with a break or two. They got the breaks in this game.

Verlander surrendered a run in the first, as is his pattern. He settled down, though, and the Tigers tied it up on Alex Avila's opposite-field home run, his first of the post-season. They went ahead on Delmon Young's dinger, showing his chest muscles seem just fine. The Rangers tied it, though, and then came the eventful sixth. A pair of hits and a walk loaded the bases for the Rangers in the top half of the inning. The speedy Ian Kinsler, tough to double up, rapped a hard grounder down the third-base line. Brandon Inge scooped up the ball, stepped on third, and fired to first, getting Kinsler by plenty. Verlander was out of the inning, and pumped his fist.

In the bottom of the inning, Ryan Raburn singled, and then Miguel Cabrera hit a hopper down the third-base line. Adrian Beltre was ready to field it and turn two when the ball struck the bag, sending it high over Beltre's head. Cabrera had a double and Raburn scored. Victor Martinez, who had no triples all year, slapped a ball into the right-field corner that just eluded Nelson Cruz and made it all the way to third, Cabrera scoring. Young then slammed his second home-run of the game, and the Tigers were up 6-2.

Beltre had to feel snake-bit after the game was over. Not only did Cabrera's ball bounce over his head, but in the fifth inning, with two on, he sent a screamer down the right field line that veered just foul. He then flied out to deep center, which would be a home run in many ball parks. The breaks were bouncing the Tigers way in this game.

The Tigers would need those runs, as Verlander allowed yet another home run to Cruz, this one clanging off the left-field foul pole. Phil Coke, the last man standing in the Tigers' bullpen, was called in to get a rare save. He made the ninth inning interesting, allowing two runs before finally retiring the side. Coke, seemingly fueled by a year's worth of adrenaline, was animated after the win.

The series goes back to Texas now. The Detroiters still have an uphill climb, as they must win two straight on the road. Old-timers will remember, though, that the Tigers did the very same thing in the 1968 World Series, coming back from a 3-1 deficit by taking the last two in St. Louis.