OC Dooley: Free play

2 UNIT” NATIONAL-TV LATE NIGHT BASEBALL (Tigers +115 at Angels in a 10:05 eastern start broadcast on ESPN2-----------Verlander versus Weaver): This is one of those rare situations where the home team is actually in a more negative scheduling situation as opposed to the visitor. Yesterday the Angels wrapped up a lengthy road swing in the eastern time zone (Toronto) and were forced to travel cross country with no rest. On the other hand Detroit has been out on the west coast all weekend as they were facing the A’s in Oakland and did not have to travel all that far to Anaheim. I will admit that the Tigers have had problems on the road (25-38) all year long and just lost a series against a last place team, but they are bolstered this evening with their ACE pitcher on the mound. Justin Verlander is on pace to finish the season with 250 STRIKEOUTS and has led all of baseball in that category for most of this campaign. What I like most about Verlander (13 wins) is that he is an effective “innings eater” who normally gives the bullpen a break. It is hard to believe Verlander has lost 2 of the past 3 outings when considering his excellent ERA (2.70) spanning the most recent eight trips to the mound. It is obvious that he has received very little run support from his offense, but that may change tonight as Angel starter Jered Weaver has had major problems (7.08 ERA) when facing the Tigers lineup. When considering that the Halos currently lead the majors in batting average and runs scored, it is imperative that Detroit gets a solid pitching effort and that should be delivered this evening by their #1 arm. Odds are that the Tigers will have problems tomorrow when John Lackey aims for victory #100 in an Angels uniform. On the mound tomorrow for Detroit is the recently acquired veteran Jarrod Washburn whose ERA in Motown (6.04) has been a disaster. Not only do the Tigers have their ace on the mound tonight, they have played very competitive against the two top teams from the American League West including an outstanding 7-2 mark against second-place Texas. Going into tonight the Tigers are batting .500 for the season (3-3) against the Angels and can now take the lead in the series. Jim Leyland’s troops are catching the Angels at the right time as the top team from the AL West has actually lost 3 of the past 4 outings. Yesterday the Halos offense pounded out 13 hits but stranded 11 runners on base in a defeat. I am aware that Jered Weaver has been lights out in front of the home fans this season with an 8-1 record, but he also has been inconsistent of late. Even though the Detroit offense statistically is near the bottom of the junior circuit, the pitching staff has been effective enough to keep the team #1 in the American League Central divisional chase. Entering yesterday the various starting pitchers on the Detroit staff had posted a positive 3-1 record along with an excellent ERA (2.90) in the past nine outings which makes them a dangerous underdog this evening. My database research indicates that in the past five years small underdogs like Detroit of 150-or-less have actually WON at a 56% clip (131-104) with a hot starting pitcher whose WHIP is 1.110 or better in his last 10 appearances. In the past week the high-octane Angels offense has averaged a full run LESS than their normal season mark and the batters overall have compiled just a .259 batting average. When the Angels are not scoring runs in droves, they have been a beatable team due to the fact that both the starting rotation and bullpen have been shaky