2012 World Series preview
MLB World Series
The 2012 World Series gets underway tomorrow and it pitches the San Francisco Giants against the Detroit Tigers for the first time in a World Series.
San Francisco had to win three straight games to make it in game seven of their NLCS play off last night, but faced with the sixth elimination game of their postseason they responded in style routing the Cardinals 9-0. They tasted World Series success in 2010 but are out at +140 with the sportsbooks.
The Tigers go into the World Series as favourites, at -160, on the back of their 4-0 demolition of the Yankees in the ALCS game. Justin Verlander is the hottest pitcher in baseball at the moment and the regular season MVP winner is backed up by a strong roster of pitchers.
Game 1 – Tigers at Giants – Wednesday October 24th
Game 2 – Tigers at Giants – Thursday October 25th
Game 3 – Giants at Tigers – Saturday October 27th
Game 4- Giants at Tigers – Sunday October 28th
Game 5* – Giants at Tigers – Monday October 29th
Game 6* – Tigers at Giants – Wednesday October 31st
Game 7* – Tigers at Giants – Thursday November 1st
Here are five of the key match-ups:
Is Verlander unhittable?
Justin Verlander threw 23 straight scoreless innings this postseason, the third-longest streak behind Christy Mathewson (27 in 1905) and Lou Burdette (24 in 1957) in a single postseason. The 29-year-old dominated the Athletics’s twice and in Game 5 of the American League Division Series, he joined Koufax (Game 7 of the 1965 World Series) to become just the second pitcher to throw a shutout with 10 strikeouts in a winner-take-all game. The Tigers have been resting up since Thursday and the reigning MVP will want to play games 1, 4 and 7. Verlander has been the best pitcher in the games for two years now and could cap that with a world championship.
Can the Giants give themselves a head start?
The resilience of the Giants is well documented, as from the death comebacks against the Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds confirm, but how much will they have left in the tank? As mentioned earlier the Giants have delivered in six successive games that would have seen them eliminated if defeated and they will hope it doesn’t take adversity to lift them in the World Series.
What is the status of the back end of the Tigers’ bullpen?
Closer Jose Valverde has really struggled in the playoffs, and Joaquin Benoit, the eighth-inning guy, hasn’t been at his best (3 2/3 innings, five hits, two runs, one homer). Phil Coke stepped in and recorded saves in consecutive games for the first time in his career, but he has a large platoon split and has never saved more than two games in any season. So, Tigers manager Jim Leyland likely will mix and match at the end of games as opposed to relying on Valverde.
What is the status of the Giants’ rotation?
There are three options for Games 1 and 2 starters: Tim Lincecum, Barry Zito and Madison Bumgarner. Lincecum finished with a 5.18 ERA in the regular season and didn’t get through five innings in his only NLCS start, but was terrific in relief in the division series against Cincinnati. Zito had a 2.35 ERA in his final five starts of the regular season, the Giants won his final 12 starts of the regular season, he went 7-0 in his past 11 starts and he threw the game of his life in Game 5 of the NLCS and it appears he will pitch Game 1. Bumgarner had a 5.89 ERA in his final seven starts of the regular season and struggled so mightily in the postseason that he was replaced by Zito in the rotation.
Can the middle of the Tigers’ lineup be stopped?
Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder form the best 3-4 combination in the majors, although Fielder has not been a big factor in this postseason. But what the Tigers have been searching for all season, someone to hit behind them, has been found in Delmon Young. He became the first player in postseason history to record the game-winning RBI in three consecutive games, then he did so in a fourth game in a row. Young also has three home runs this postseason, giving him seven career postseason homers with Detroit, a franchise record.
2012 World Series winner:
Detroit Tigers -160
San Francisco Giants +140
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