Verlander guts out Game 2 victory

updated 12:39 a.m. ET Oct. 12, 2006

OAKLAND, Calif. - Every time Justin Verlander looked as if he might be getting flustered, the Detroit Tigers rookie showed he has big league poise to go along with that 100 mph fastball.

Pitching without his best stuff, Verlander was still able to add his first career playoff win to a fabulous first season by beating the Oakland Athletics 8-5 Wednesday night to send the Tigers home with a 2-0 lead in the AL championship series.

“I don’t think I got settled down the whole game,” Verlander said. “I was a little sporadic. My curveball was there sometimes, my fastball was thee sometimes. I was struggling a little bit. I battled through it and gave our team a chance to win.”

Winning without your best stuff is much easier with a fastball that still hits triple digits and a curveball that seems to drop off a table.

Verlander wasn’t dominating against the A’s — but he was effective enough, especially when he wasn’t facing Milton Bradley.

He allowed four runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings, striking out six and walking one. Three of the runs came on an RBI single by Bradley in the first and a two-run homer by Bradley in the third.

Manager Jim Leyland made a visit to the mound with one out in the fifth inning and a 3-0 count on Jason Kendall, but didn’t consider lifting his star rookie.

“I didn’t pull him because I thought he had good stuff and it’s hard to take somebody out who has that kind of stuff,” Leyland said. “I felt that he was real good and I thought he did a good job. He left a couple of pitches in bad zones, but hey, that’s just part of the game.”

Verlander caught Leyland’s eye early in spring training with that electric stuff and mental toughness not usually found in a 23-year old. Verlander backed it up by going 17-9 with a 3.63 ERA to become the favorite to win the AL Rookie of the Year.

“I compare him a little bit to Dwight Gooden when he first came into the league,” Leyland said. “Man, this kid has got incredible poise. My reaction has always been the same, when you throw at 97 with a curveball off the table and a good change-up it’s pretty easy to be poised. It’s that simple.”

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The hard-throwing righty fell behind on Bradley’s RBI single in the first inning and followed by balking Bradley to second base. Verlander then fell behind 2-0 to Oakland’s most dangerous hitter, Frank Thomas, who won his first of two AL MVP awards when Verlander was 10 years old in 1993.

Showing no signs of intimidation, Verlander battled back to strike out the Big Hurt and retire Eric Chavez on a flyout.

“Verlander got himself in trouble early in the game,” catcher Ivan Rodriguez said. “He stayed up a little bit but he was able to get the job done. ... He battled through 5 1-3 innings and that was enough.”

Verlander gave up the homer to Bradley on a changeup that hung up in the zone but got him out in a key spot with two runners on and one out in the fifth. He followed that by retiring Thomas again to end the inning.

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By the time he took the mound in the sixth, Detroit’s lead had grown to 7-3. Chavez’s leadoff homer in the sixth was the only other run Verlander allowed.

Verlander was able to pitch around his other mistakes by rearing back and overpowering the A’s with his fastball, which hit 100 mph on his 11th pitch of the game and flirted with triple digits on the radar gun most of the night.

“It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t the way I would have liked it,” Verlander said. “But a win is a win.”

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Verlander had a similar performance last week against the Yankees, pitching in and out of trouble but allowed only a three-run homer to Johnny Damon in the fourth inning. He lasted 5 1-3 innings and ended up with the no-decision in Detroit’s 4-3 victory.

Now the Tigers need two wins in three games at Comerica Park to avoid a return trip to Oakland and advance to the World Series for the first time since 1984.

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