Game 39: Rangers at Tigers

Well, the winning streak is over. Time to start another one. Harrison is a pitcher who can do that for the Rangers. The Rangers now have a three game lead over the Angels, and look for the Angels to be strong in their current series against the Mariners. That's just the nature of the beast.
Detroit does well against the Rangers. I'm not terribly sure why, but over the last few years, the Rangers couldn't do anything right in Detroit. Yesterday, they mustered up only one hit as they got shutout by a pitcher with an ERA over seven. YUCK! Again, it's the nature of the beast. The Rangers will pick themselves up and make something happen today. I don't see them going 0-2 to start this road trip.

Harrison is 4-2 with a 4.23 ERA. He doesn't strikeout much, but when you are a finesse pitcher, you don't really need to be. You trust your defense to take care of business. When you have Kinsler and Andrus up the middle, you find it easy to trust your defense. And let's not even mention the outfield, catcher, and third base. Those guys get it done, too. Harrison has thrown two complete games and has a personal four game winning streak. In his last four starts, he has a 1.80 ERA, which makes him pretty unbeatable. I'm not saying that he is unbeatable, I'm just saying that with those types of numbers, it takes solid pitching for the other team to just compete.

Verlander is 3-2 with a 4.29 ERA and has a career 4-1 mark against the Rangers. In his last four starts, he has a 0.92 ERA, which should make this start very interesting. Two juggernauts pitching so good, you can't really ask anything more from them. And Verlander does well against the Rangers. In six starts, he has a 2.23 ERA against them.

Forecast: This is a tight game with a tight score at the end. Rangers win this one by a call to the 'pen 3-2. Look for this one to possibly go extra innings.

Home Plate