Daily Baseball Update: 10/12

Postseason Player Profile: Justin Verlander
From 2011-2012, Justin Verlander was the consensus best pitcher in baseball, going 41-13 with a 2.52 ERA in 67 starts.  However, despite the emergence of two more Tigers aces in Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer in 2013, Verlander merely posted pedestrian numbers, going 13-12 with a 3.46 ERA.  However, in the ALDS against the A's, he really turned it on and was crucial to the Tigers' series win.  Starting Game 2 against rookie Sonny Gray, he tossed seven shutout innings on four hits and struck out eleven, only to see the A's walk off in the ninth for a 1-0 win.  However, he had better luck in Game 5, where he took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and ended up with eight shutout innings on two hits and ten strikeouts, earning a 3-0 win to send Detroit to the ALCS.  So far this postseason, he's tossed fifteen shutout innings on six hits, two walks, and 21 strikeouts.  In fact, Verlander just loves to pitch against the A's.  Including 2012, when he made two ALDS starts against them, he is 3-0 with a 0.29 ERA in four starts against Oakland, striking out 43 A's in 31 innings on just 13 hits.  Now if the Tigers want to advance any further, he'll have to bring the same success he's had against the A's to the Red Sox, whose big bats include Dustin Pedroia, David Ortiz, Jacoby Ellsbury, and Mike Napoli.

News
The Tigers, Red Sox, Cardinals, and Dodgers advanced to the League Championship Series, eliminating the A's, Rays, Pirates, and Braves, respectively.
In yesterday's 13 inning marathon, Carlos Beltran knocked a walk off single just three innings after throwing Mark Ellis out at the plate on a crucial play in a tie game.

Game Score
Cardinals beat the Dodgers 3-2 (13 innings).  Cardinals lead series 1-0.

Postseason Leaders
Offensive: AVG: Jacoby Ellsbury (Red Sox), .500 (9-18).  Home runs: Pedro Alvarez (Pirates) and Carl Crawford (Dodgers), 3.  RBI: Carlos Beltran (Cardinals), 9.  Stolen bases: Jacoby Ellsbury, 4.
Pitching: Wins: Max Scherzer (Tigers) and Adam Wainwright (Cardinals), 2.  K's: Justin Verlander (Tigers), 21.  ERA: Justin Verlander, 0.00 (15 shutout innings).  Saves: Joaquin Benoit (Tigers) and Koji Uehara (Red Sox), 2.

Top Performers
Offensive: Carlos Beltran (Cardinals): 2-6, double, 3 RBI.
Pitching: Zack Greinke (Dodgers): No decision, 8 innings, 2 earned runs, 4 hits, 1 walk, 10 K's.
Worst Pitching Performance: Chris Withrow (Dodgers): Loss, 1.1 innings, 1 earned run, 1 hit, 1 walk, 1 K.

Tonight's Probable Starters
NLCS Game 2: Dodgers@Cardinals: Clayton Kershaw (16-9, 1.83 ERA reg. season, 1-0, 0.69 postseason) vs Michael Wacha (4-1, 2.78 reg. season, 1-0, 1.23 postseason).
ALCS Game 1: Tigers@Red Sox: Anibal Sanchez (14-7, 2.57 ERA reg. season, 0-1, 10.38 postseason) vs Jon Lester (15-8, 3.75 reg. season, 1-0, 2.35 postseason).

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Teams followed in this update: Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Tampa Bay Rays, Los Angeles Dodgers, Philadelphia Phillies, Colorado Rockies, Detroit Tigers
If your team is not included, please leave a comment.
HR: home runs.  RBI: runs batted in.  AVG: batting average.  SB: stolen bases.  ERA: earned run average. WHIP: walks/hits per innings pitched.  K's: strikeouts. WPCT: winning percentage
Zack Silverman