Angels can’t solve Justin Verlander in 5-1 loss to Tigers
- Share via
Reporting from Detroit -- And with his 106th pitch on a gloomy afternoon, Justin Verlander struck out Mike Napoli to end the eighth inning with a fastball that was clocked at 99 mph on the Comerica Park speed gun.
No pitch better illustrated the dominance of the Detroit Tigers right-hander, who gave up one run and three hits in 8 1/3 innings of Sunday’s 5-1 victory over the Angels, retiring 23 consecutive batters from the first inning into the ninth.
“The guy is still throwing 99 mph in the eighth inning … that’s no fair,” Angels center fielder Torii Hunter said. “That’s like a video game. Very impressive.”
Verlander, whose gem gave the Tigers their first three-game sweep of the Angels in Detroit since July 30-Aug. 1, 1996, also struck out Napoli with a 98-mph fastball in the fifth.
Showing that there is more to his repertoire than heat, Verlander struck out Kendry Morales in the eighth with a changeup that faded down and away from the first baseman, and he turned Brandon Wood into a statue with a nasty curve for a called third strike in the ninth.
Verlander (2-2) struck out seven, walked none and threw first-pitch strikes to 23 of 28 batters. Of his 120 pitches, 86 were strikes.
The Tigers’ ace gave up a single to Hunter with two out in the first, then did not allow another baserunner until pinch-hitter Maicer Izturis singled with one out in the ninth.
Izturis took second on defensive indifference, and Erick Aybar’s run-scoring single to center broke up the shutout and knocked Verlander out of the game.
“When he’s on, there aren’t many guys who can hit him, because he paints the fastball at 96 mph,” Hunter said. “When he’s throwing first-pitch strikes, ahead of everybody and not making mistakes, you’re in trouble. Today, we got into a little trouble.”
So did Angels starter Jered Weaver, who gave up four runs in the fifth. The right-hander had matched zeroes with Verlander for four innings and was impressive in the first, when he pitched his way out of a runner-on-third, none-out jam.
Austin Jackson led off with a double and took third on a wild pitch, but Weaver struck out the heart of the order, Johnny Damon, Magglio Ordonez and Miguel Cabrera, the latter two with fastballs that were clocked at 95 mph and 94 mph, respectively.
But Weaver needed 80 pitches to get through four innings and faded in the fifth, when he gave up consecutive singles to Alex Avila, Scott Sizemore and Ramon Santiago for one run and threw a wild pitch that allowed a second run to score.
Cabrera’s run-scoring single knocked out Weaver, and Brennan Boesch smacked reliever Jason Bulger’s first pitch for a run-scoring double and a 4-0 lead.
“Those three strikeouts in the first were a great feat, and that gave him some momentum,” Manager Mike Scioscia said of Weaver. “But he threw a lot of pitches to get to a certain point in the game, and he got a little tired in the fifth.”
Weaver had virtually no margin for error with the way that Verlander was pitching. Verlander had not completed six innings in either of his previous two starts, throwing 121 pitches against the Minnesota Twins and 125 pitches against the Angels.
But he was much more efficient Sunday, not only using his breaking ball and changeup to keep the Angels off balance, but also changing speeds on his fastball, which ranged from 92-99 mph.
“That’s about as close as you’re going to get to a no-hitter without throwing one,” said Avila, the Tigers catcher. “He was in a zone. To have that difference in speed, especially with his electric stuff, it’s very tough to hit that.”
Clicking on Green Links will take you to a third-party e-commerce site. These sites are not operated by the Los Angeles Times. The Times Editorial staff is not involved in any way with Green Links or with these third-party sites.
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
