Justin Verlander is a Cy Young winner and an MVP winner and on Thursday night he showed exactly why, as he flirted with a no-hitter for some time before pitching the Tigers into the American League Championship Series against the Boston Red Sox with a gem of a game to put the team in the ALCS again.
The Tigers defeated the Oakland Athletics on Thursday for the second straight season in Game 5 to advance to the ALCS and now the team sets up a matchup with the Red Sox starting on Saturday. The Tigers will pitch Anibal Sanchez in that game and the team comes into the series after defeating the Red Sox in the season series 4-3 this year. Verlander pitched his no-hitter into the seventh inning and Miguel Cabrera blasted a home run and the Athletics had no answers for "The Man" and now his team is into the ALCS.
According to ESPN.com, the Tigers are the first team to go to the ALCS in three straight seasons since the Yankees did it and the team advanced after forcing a Game 5 with a Game 4 victory that saw starter Max Scherzer pitch in relief. The Tigers love having Verlander on the mound, as his gem came a year after pitching a complete game shutout in Game 5 against the Athletics last season.
Verlander is the key for the Tigers going forward and his performance in the ALDS bodes well for the team in the next round. Verlander was nearly as good as he has ever been and didn't allow a base runner for a while and ended up with three total in the game before Joaquin Benoit came in and closed things out.
