Tigers’ ace Justin Verlander beat the Yankees 2-1 Tuesday night, proving again why he is the best pitcher in baseball. Verlander threw eight shutout innings before New York’s Eduardo Nunez led off the 9th with a solo home run. The home run ended Verlander’s string of 23 consecutive scoreless innings in postseason play. Nunez’s shot over the left field fence allowed the Yankees to avoid what would have been their first ever back-to-back shutouts in postseason play.
Verlander gave up just three hits in leading his team to victory and a commanding 3-0 advantage in the best of seven series. If there’s any doubt about Verlander’s dominance, consider this: he led the Major Leagues with 239 strikeouts this season.
And coming in second on that list is Max Scherzer with 231. Scherzer will be on the mound for Detroit in Game 4 on Wednesday, in what should be a stellar matchup with the Yankees ace, C.C. Sabathia.
