A few quick notes, as I try to hold it together….
Until this year, the Tigers had participated in just one postseason game that ended 1-0: the clinching game of the 1984 ALCS. They have three in eight games this year, losing ALDS game 2, and in this ALCS, winning game 1 (Boston’s first 1-0 loss) and losing game 3 (Boston’s third win).
John Lackey is the first Red Sox righty starter to win 1-0 in the postseason. The prior wins were by Bruce Hurt (1986 WS) and Babe Ruth (1918 WS), both in game 1.
Justin Verlander is the first Tigers starter to lose 1-0 in the postseason. His 79 Game Score ties the high for a postseason losing pitcher in regulation, shared by Barry Zito, John Smoltz, Don Newcombe and Miner Brown.
Verlander is the third pitcher with at least two team-lost starts of 7+ innings and 1 run or less in a single postseason. Mike Mussina in the 1997 ALCS took two no-decisions, allowing one run over 7 IP in game 3 (with 15 Ks), and no runs on over 8 IP in game 6 (one hit, 10 Ks), on three days’ rest. Matt Morris in the 2001 NLDS allowed one run in both games 1 and 5, taking a 1-0 loss and a 2-1 no-decision.
Besides Mussina’s ’97 Orioles, only the ’91 Pirates lost two LCS games in which their starter yielded one run or less in 7+ innings. For the World Series, only the ’66 Dodgers and 2001 Diamondbacks had two such losses.
Through three games of this ALCS, five starters have allowed one run or less in 6+ innings. That matches the ALCS high, set in 1997 (out of 6 games), 1990 (4 games) and 1972 (5 games).
Counting the regular season, Verlander has allowed 11 runs in his last 62.2 IP, a 1.58 RA/9. Detroit is 2-7 in those games, with 5 shutouts.
Detroit had five cracks with a runner on third: two outs in the 1st (Victor Martinez flied out), one out in the 5th (Omar Infante whiffed, Andy Dirks bounced out), one out in the 8th (whiffs by Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder). Boston never got a man to third, except on Mike Napoli’s homer. The teams combined went 0-for-11 with RISP, 0-7 by the Tigers.
Home runs that decided a 1-0 postseason game:
| Date | Series | Gm# | Tm | Opp | Batter / Pitcher | Inning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-10-15 | ALCS | 3 | BOS | DET | Mike Napoli / Justin Verlander | T-7th |
| 2001-10-13 | ALDS | 3 | NYY | OAK | Jorge Posada / Barry Zito | T-5th |
| 1997-10-15 | ALCS | 6 | CLE | BAL | Tony Fernandez / Armando Benitez | T-11th |
| 1995-10-28 | WS | 6 | ATL | CLE | David Justice / Jim Poole | B-6th |
| 1986-10-08 | NLCS | 1 | HOU | NYM | Glenn Davis / Dwight Gooden | B-2nd |
| 1983-10-04 | NLCS | 1 | PHI | LAD | Mike Schmidt / Jerry Reuss | T-1st |
| 1974-10-08 | ALCS | 3 | OAK | BAL | Sal Bando / Jim Palmer | T-4th |
| 1966-10-09 | WS | 4 | BAL | LAD | Frank Robinson / Don Drysdale | B-4th |
| 1966-10-08 | WS | 3 | BAL | LAD | Paul Blair / Claude Osteen | B-5th |
| 1949-10-05 | WS | 1 | NYY | BRO | Tommy Henrich / Don Newcombe | B-9th |
| 1923-10-12 | WS | 3 | NYG | NYY | Casey Stengel / Sad Sam Jones | T-7th |
Only the shots by Fernandez and Henrich came later than Napoli’s, which (like Stengel’s) came in the top of the 7th with 1 out.
