If game one of the ALCS was any indication of the kind of pitching that we will see in game two then pitching fans will be in for a treat. Game one saw Jon Lester on top of his game for the most part as he gave up only one run over his 6.1 innings of work followed by masterful work by the Boston bullpen. Lester was one upped, though, as Detroit right hander Anibal Sanchez threw six innings of no hit baseball. Only six innings of no hit ball because while he was unhittable Sanchez walked six to go with his 12 strikeouts. The masterful pitching didn’t end there as the first hit wasn’t given up until the ninth by closer Joaquin Benoit. The one hit shutout of the Sox was just the beginning because in game two the pitching matchup is even better on paper.
For the Detroit Tigers they send the man who is the frontrunner for the Cy Young award, is the only big league pitcher with 20 plus wins this season and won two games in the division series, Max Scherzer. Scherzer will oppose the highest scoring offense in baseball, but as Sanchez proved in game one, they will strikeout in bunches. That plays right into Scherzer’s hand. In his nine innings against the A’s in the divisional round he struck out 13 batters, and the way the Sox were swinging and missing at Sanchez’ stuff you better believe Scherzer has a chance to be just as dominant against the Sox.
He will be opposed, though, by one of the best pitchers in the AL in 2013 by Clay Buchholz. In fact, if he didn’t miss half of his starts this year, and stayed consistent, Buchholz might have rivaled Scherzer for the Cy Young. Buchholz went 12-1 during the season with a 1.74 ERA and 96 strikeouts in only 16 starts, but all that is erased in the postseason and his one start in the postseason wasn’t nearly as dominant. In his one start against the Rays he gave up three runs in six innings in a game that ended with the Rays walking off against Sox closer Koji Uehara. Buchholz will have to return to his season form if the Sox are going to avoid going down two games to none in the ALCS.
On the offensive side both teams are going to have to step it up. In the first round of the divisional round the Tigers struggled for offense in all but one of the games, and if they are going to pick it up in this round one person is going to have to turn his postseason around, Austin Jackson. Jackson is striking out at a history rate so far in the postseason and that hurts the Tigers in more ways than one. Obviously if anyone on a team in the postseason strikes out 15 times through six games it is going to hurt the team, but when it is your lead off guy who you rely on to get on in front of the games best hitter it really hurts. If the Tigers are going to turn the offense around Jackson is going to have to get on base and give Miguel Cabrera more opportunities to do what he does best, drive in runs.
For the Sox the blame falls on the two guys at the top of the order for nearly the same reason. Jacoby Ellsbury and Shane Victorino were a combined 0-8 in game one and the result was a big zero on the scoreboard. In the three wins in the divisional round the two went a combined 11-24 with six runs and five runs batted in, setting the table for the big boys in the lineup is what this team will need if they are going to break through against the Tigers excellent pitching.
Game two can guarantee one thing, it will be entertaining. The pitching matchup could be just as dominant as it was in game one as either pitcher could throw a potential no hitter every time they are on the mound, but the green monster in left could change that in a heartbeat. Game two starts at 5:07PM EST live on Fox.