Boston Red Sox v Detroit Tigers: ALCS Game 5 Info
Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports
Tonight’s Red Sox v Tigers winner stands on the cusp of a World Series berth.
The Tigers bats awoke for last night’s game. Much of his postgame presser centered around the “new” lineup and Leyland acknowledged “something had to be done”. He added that he had contacted hitting coach Lloyd McClendon with the card and had McClendon text the players so that there wouldn’t be a big shock once they saw it.
And in case you’re wondering, Leyland also said he would use the same lineup for tonihgt’s game. We’ll see if he does.
After last night’s game, Red Sox skipper John Farrell wasn’t sure about his lineup for tonight’s game. He was asked if Xander Bogaerts would get the start. Considering that Will Middlebrooks is 1-for-10 in the ALCS, it is a move he will consider.
Time, Venue, TV and Radio Info
Date: Thursday, October 17th
Start Time: 8:00 PM EST
Location: Detroit, Michigan
Venue: Comerica Park
TV Info: FOX
Radio Info: ESPN Radio, 97.1 The Ticket (DET), WEEI 93.7 (BOS)
Live Stream: MLB.tv or the MLB at Bat 12 App.
Starting Pitchers
Boston – Jon Lester (2013: 15-8, 3.75 ERA, 1.294 WHIP; playoffs: 1-1, 1.93 ERA, 0.929 WHIP)
Lester was the hard luck loser in Game 1 of the series. He got no support from his offense as the Red Sox dropped a 1-0 decision. Boston didn’t collect a hit until the 9th inning, but they were the benefactors of six walks.
Lester v Tigers batters
| Player | PA | AB | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torii Hunter | 35 | 33 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | .394 | .429 | .576 | 1.004 |
| Jhonny Peralta | 35 | 30 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 7 | .333 | .429 | .633 | 1.062 |
| Miguel Cabrera | 27 | 21 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 1 | .524 | .630 | .762 | 1.392 |
| Prince Fielder | 19 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | .294 | .368 | .294 | .663 |
| Victor Martinez | 19 | 17 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | .353 | .421 | .647 | 1.068 |
| Austin Jackson | 18 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | .294 | .333 | .353 | .686 |
| Brayan Pena | 17 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | .412 | .412 | .471 | .882 |
| Alex Avila | 9 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .444 | .444 | .556 | 1.000 |
| Omar Infante | 9 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .222 | .222 | .222 | .444 |
| Jose Iglesias | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .200 | .333 | .400 | .733 |
| Andy Dirks | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .667 | 2.000 | 2.667 |
| Ramon Santiago | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Total | 200 | 180 | 65 | 6 | 24 | 18 | 28 | .361 | .425 | .539 | .964 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/17/2013.
Looking at that bottom line, hard to believe the Tigers got only six hits off Lester in the series first game. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Detroit bats continued their roll as Lester hasn’t performed well at Comerica (3 G, 19.1 IP, 19 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 10 BB, 17 SO).
Detroit – Anibal Sanchez (2013: 14-8, 2.57 ERA, 1.154 WHIP; playoffs: 1-1, 4.35 ERA, 1.549 WHIP)
Not exactly a sterling effort from Sanchez in Game 1. Sure, he didn’t allow any hits in his six innings f work, but he walked six, including a bases loaded jam in the sixth. He did strike out Stephen Drew swinging to end that inning. For the game, Sanchez collected a total of 12 whiffs.
Sanchez v Red Sox batters
| Player | PA | AB | H | HR | RBI | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shane Victorino | 50 | 46 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 9 | .217 | .280 | .304 | .584 |
| Stephen Drew | 26 | 22 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 6 | .227 | .308 | .318 | .626 |
| David Ross | 14 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | .167 | .286 | .417 | .702 |
| David Ortiz | 6 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | .500 | .500 | 1.667 | 2.167 |
| Jonny Gomes | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .250 | .400 | .500 | .900 |
| Jacoby Ellsbury | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Mike Napoli | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .000 | .333 | .000 | .333 |
| Daniel Nava | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | .000 | .333 | .000 | .333 |
| Dustin Pedroia | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | .667 | .000 | .667 |
| Will Middlebrooks | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| Total | 115 | 100 | 21 | 4 | 11 | 13 | 26 | .210 | .304 | .380 | .684 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 10/17/2013.
The Red Sox couldn’t figure out Sanchez in Game 1, but outside of three guys that faced him in the NL, they haven’t seen him that much. Of those three (Victorino, Drew, Ross) two of them struggled against him in Game 1.
Starting Lineups
| Red Sox | Tigers | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Jacoby Ellsbury (L) CF | 1. Torii Hunter (R) RF | |
| 2. Shane Victorino (S) RF | 2. Miguel Cabrera (R) 3B | |
| 3. Dustin Pedroia (R) 2B | 3. Prince Fielder (L) 1B | |
| 4. David Ortiz (L) DH | 4. Victor Martinez (S) DH | |
| 5. Mike Napoli (R) 1B | 5. Jhonny Peralta (R) LF | |
| 6. Jonny Gomes (R) LF | 6. Alex Avila (L) C | |
| 7. Stephen Drew (L) SS | 7. Omar Infante (R) 2B | |
| 8. Xander Bogaerts (R) 3B | 8. Austin Jackson (R) CF | |
| 9. David Ross (R) C | 9. Jose Iglesias (R) SS | |
| SP – Jon Lester (LHP) | SP – Anibal Sanchez (RHP) |
Bogaerts does get the start and Leyland does stick with last night’s lineup.