We all know the importance of Game 1 of the World Series. It gives the winning team momentum and can take home field advantage away from the World Series hosts. However, for the Detroit Tigers, Game 1 is not a must win situation.
The San Francisco Giants will host Games 1,2,6 and 7 in AT&T Park. Yes, if you have Justin Verlander on the mound you do not want to waste his starts, but the Tigers still have the better pitching rotation.
Tigers' fans, do not forget, you still have Doug Fister as your No. 2 starter. He will be facing Madison Bumgarner, and bum perfectly describes how the Giants' No. 2 starter has performed in the postseason so far.
He has a whopping 11.25 ERA in two starts, one against the Cincinnati Reds and another one agianst the St. Louis Cardinals. That equals to 10 ER in eight innings pitched. Bumgarner has surrendered three homers and opponents are hitting .385 against him.
Compared that to Fister's numbers and the odds are on the Tigers' side.
In 13.1 innings pitched, he has only given up two earned runs on 12 hits.
The one pitcher the Tigers should fear is Ryan Vogelsong, who has consistently pitched great baseball for the Giants in the postseason.
He has thrown three consecutive starts allowing just one run in each game. That equals to a 1.42 ERA in three games and a 2-0 record. He should expect a tough competition as Anibal Sanchez, who would oppose him in Game 3 has also pitched 13.1 innings of two run ball.
Matt Cain has not been overpowering hitters the way he did during the regular season, but he proved he can pitch well in Game 7. However, he gets the ball in Game 4 in Detroit and faces Max Scherzer who has been completely lights out.
Justin Verlander probably knows his starting rotation can handle business, but Verlander being Verlander, he will probably try to go all nine innings in Game 1.
Let's not beat around the bush, the Giants are not supposed to win this game, but if they do, the Tigers should remain calm as the rest of their starting rotation will likely do a great job backing Verlander.