DETROIT — Sunday is the reason why the Tigers have so
much patience with Max Scherzer.
Two days after Justin Verlander's one-hit masterpiece against the Pirates,
Scherzer put on a clinic of his own. The mercurial 27-year-old struck out a
Comerica Park-record 15 batters in just seven innings as Detroit beat
Pittsburgh 4-3.
Scherzer's performance tied him with Mickey Lolich and Paul Foytack for the
third highest strikeout total in Tigers history, trailing only a pair of 16-K
games by Lolich in 1969. Scherzer said he wasn't focused on the strikeout
number, though.
"You're just trying to execute pitches and get people out," he said.
"Strikeouts are great, don't get me wrong, but at the end of the day, you
are just trying to execute a pitch and get an out."
The secret to Scherzer's success was a deadly changeup that served as a perfect
complement to his 95-mph fastball.
"My changeup was really working well today," he said. "I was
able to throw it to lefties and righties and I was able to generate swings and
misses with it."
Pirates manager Clint Hurdle was happy to acknowledge that for the second time
this weekend, his team had been overmatched by Tigers pitching.
"We leave here thinking that we could have won two games,” Hurdle said. “
We only lost this one by a run, but we also know that we ran into two great
pitching performances. Those were two outstanding pitchers pitching the best
that I've ever seen them, and I've seen a lot of both of them."
The difference? Verlander is the most consistent pitcher in baseball, and so
good that no one is surprised when he takes a no-hitter into the late innings.
Scherzer can also be dominant — he held the previous Comerica Park record of 14
K’s along with Verlander and Jeremy Bonderman — but he came into the game with
a 2-3 record and a 6.26 ERA.
All too often, he is terrible. In his last start before beating the Pirates, he
yielded five runs in four innings to Chicago. In his first start of the season,
he allowed seven runs in 2 2/3 innings to Boston.
Scherzer's problem is simple to explain and nearly impossible to fix. He has
one of the most complicated deliveries in baseball, and the unfortunate habit
of tinkering with it when things go wrong. That leads to a lot of frustrating
outings, where things get out of whack and he ends up losing command of his
pitches. Against the Yankees on April 29, he walked seven batters in 4 2/3 innings.
"I'm always making adjustments to help with my command," he said.
"You always have a game plan when you go out there, but you have to be
able to put the ball where you want it."
He often can't do that, which is why the Pirates thought they might be able to
get to him after hitting solo homers in the fifth and sixth innings.
"In the past, he has started to spray things around when something goes
against him," Hurdle said. "Today, though, he was back on the rails
as soon as the ball hit the stands. There was nothing we could do."
When Scherzer has things working in a groove, it is hard for opposing batters
to even make contact. In nine starts this season, he leads the American League
with 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings.
"He's got a big arm, and then he throws that great changeup down in the
zone with the same arm action," said Pittsburgh catcher Rod Barajas, who
hit a solo homer in the fifth. "When he's throwing 95, you can't hit that
and still do anything with a changeup that looks the same coming out of his
hand."
On Sunday, that and a fluky three-run seventh inning were enough for the Tigers
to avoid losing back-to-back home series to the Twins and Pirates. Detroit
trailed 2-1 going into the seventh, and Scherzer was done for the day.
Prince Fielder, though, lifted a blooper to shallow left that turned into a
double because the Pirates had shifted their third baseman to shallow right and
the left fielder to deep left-center. Delmon Young followed with an RBI single
and took second on a groundout. Jhonny Peralta walked, but the situation still
looked manageable for Pirates reliever Tony Watson.
Luckily for the Tigers, things were about to get really strange. First, with a
runner on second, Barajas decided to go out to the mound and change his signals
with Watson. The veteran catcher immediately forgot he had done so, and called
for a slider, using the old signals. He got a fastball, couldn't hold on to it,
and the runners moved to second and third.
With the tying run on third, Hurdle was forced to bring the infield in. That
didn't work either, as Alex Avila hit a dribbler that snuck past Watson and
shortstop Clint Barmes for a two-run single.
"I've had a lot of hard-hit balls right at guys this year, and guys making
diving plays on me," Avila said. "That definitely made up for some of
those."
With closer Jose Valverde still unavailable because of a sore back, Joaquin
Benoit pitched the ninth for his first save. Fittingly, he ended the game by
striking out Nate McLouth — the 17th strikeout of the day for Detroit pitchers.
Scherzer had most of the strikeouts, and he also received most of the manager's
praise.
"He was terrific," Jim Leyland said. "Excellent velocity, good
location, mixing pitches. It doesn't get any better than that."
That is why Leyland is willing to put up with Scherzer's bad games — the
promise of days like Sunday.
