Quick World Series thoughts and predictions
(Zito vs. Verlander tonight)
Detroit Tigers vs. San Francisco Giants
Games one and two in San Francisco, Games three, four and five in Detroit, games six and seven in San Francisco
Game one tonight: 6:30 PM CT, FOX
RHP Justin Verlander (Detroit) vs LHP Barry Zito (Giants)
This is a terrific matchup of excellent starting pitching and some elite hitters, at least on the Tigers’ side. Giants second baseman Marcus Scutaro was 14-of-28 against the Cardinals in the League Championship Series. Are you kiddin me? That’s unreal. He had a .500 batting average. And that was in 28 at bats. Giants catcher Buster Posey is going to have to hit the ball better for the Giants. The Giants are a better fielding team, but the Tigers have a slight edge in starting pitching.
Game one tonight in San Francisco features the exceptional right hander for Detroit, Justin Verlander, vs. left hander Bsrry Zito of the Giants. Zito has struggled over the last several years has found his game again. He pitched a beauty last Friday Night against the Cards going seven and 2/3 innings, allowing six hits, no runs with one walk and five Ks. Looked like the Barry Zito of the Oakland A’s days when he was almost unhittable at times. This is a key game tonight against two stellar guys on the mound. Verlander has been, well, Verlander. Won 17 games during the regular season and pitched 8.1 innings against the Yankees in AL Championship Series allowing three hits, one run, with no walks and three Ks. If he’s on, he could be extremely hard to beat.
The Tigers have the power with Miguel Cabrera, who won the Triple Crown in hitting, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished in 45 years since Carl Yaz did it in 1967. That’s an astounding feat. Prince Fielder and Delmon Young also bring a lot of power to the lineup for the Tigers.
On paper it looks like the Tigers should win. The pitching for the Giants of Zito, Ryan Vogelsong, who was 2-0 in the League Championship Series against the Cards with three walks and 13 Ks and an ERA of 1.29, and Matt Cain, who was 1-1 against the Cards with a 2.19 ERA. Maybe Tim Lincecum will wake up and be the Lincecum of years past. The bullpen is a little stronger for the Giants. Along with Verlander, the Tigers have Anibal Sanchez (1-0, seven innings, three hits, no runs, three BBs and seven Ks against Yankees), Max Scherzer (1-0, 1.59 ERA, with 2 BB’s and 10 Ks vs. Yankees) and Phil Coke (0-0 against Yankees, no runs, three hits, no walks and four Ks in one outing, 5.2 innings).
It looks like the Tigers should on paper. But I like the National League this year. They won the All-Star game easily, and I think that carries weight. The Giants are the best team in the NL after getting very hot in the postseason. After a couple of slow starts in both the Division Series (2-0 deficit to the Reds) and the League Champ series (3-1 Cards), they came back and won them. They’re resilient and mentally tough. They won it two years ago. That experience will help them. I like Giants to win it all.