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Baseball Today: Wednesday, May 16 »
May 15, 2007
Tigers' hotshot pitcher Justin Verlander was able to cool off the Red Sox last night, allowing just two runs on six hits over 7 2/3 innings as Detroit took game two of its four-game series at Fenway Park, 7-2.
Verlander, the AL Rookie of the Year last season, threw a season-high 120 pitches, 79 of them for strikes. He used a fastball that topped out at 99 MPH with a variety of off-speed pitches that kept Boston hitters honest. In all, Verlander struck out seven and walked none.
He sat down the leadoff man in every inning, which Red Sox manager Terry Francona noted, adding that Verlander was ready to go from the start of every inning.
Boston starter Tim Wakefield went seven innings, but was done in by his nemesis, Magglio Ordonez, who is now 15-for-33 with two homeruns and 8 RBI off the knuckleballer.
Wakefield came into the game with an AL-best ERA of 1.79, but saw that mark rise to 2.41 with the five runs he gave up tonight. Reliever Brendan Donnelley gave up two more runs in 2/3 of an inning in the eighth. Kyle Snyder pitched the final 1 1/3 innings, with three strikeouts and a walk.
Boston remains atop the AL East is now 26-12 on the season, while the Tigers, who lead the AL Central, are 24-14. The Yankees' game with the White Sox was postponed, so the Red Sox' lead is eight games over New York.
Posted by Shalise Manza Young 
at 10:26 PM | Permalink
