Battle of the Aces on the card at Comericia Park in Detroit tonight....

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DETROIT -- The matchup of aces that was supposed to open the American League Division Series between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers finally arrives tonight as CC Sabathia and Justin Verlander return to the mound for Game 3.

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Yankee Ace C.C. Sabathia.....


As was the case when Game 1 in New York was postponed by rain, the Cy Young candidates will duel with a chance to put their teams ahead in the series. But now the stakes have been raised -- and whichever team comes out on top will be just one win away from advancing to the next round.

Sabathia threw 27 pitches in two innings of work on Friday, while Verlander labored through 25 pitches in his only inning. Neither pitcher expects the abbreviated schedule or the quick turnaround to affect them on the mound.


"I always feel if I take the ball I'm healthy enough and feel good enough to go out there and give my best effort," Sabathia says. "Sometimes that doesn't always happen, but I wouldn't go out there if I didn't feel right."


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Tiger Ace Justin Verlander...



Verlander may even have benefited from the postponement. He had a rocky first inning in New York, but will be back in front of the home fans tonight at Comerica Park.


"I got a feeling of what it's like, and there was some adrenaline," the Tigers ace says. "Anybody who says there's not is full of it. It's being able to channel it and use it the right way."


Even on what might be considered short rest, one thing both aces will be asked to do is pitch deep into the game.


If there was a theme for the winning teams in all three of yesterday's games, it was an extensive use of the bullpen to nail down the victory. The Tigers, for instance, needed two innings from top setup man Joaquin Benoit and another from closer Jose Valverde to finish off a 5-3 victory over the Yankees.


The Milwaukee Brewers had four relievers, including closer John Axford, pitch an inning in a 9-4 win that put them up 2-0 in their NL Division Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks.


And the St. Louis Cardinals needed contributions from six of the seven relievers on their postseason roster to hold off the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 and even their best-of-five series.
However, the Tigers and Yankees are the only ones who won't have a day off to give their bullpens a chance to recover. That's just another reason the two teams will be relying on their aces to propel them to the next round.


"It's going to be electric," Verlander says. "The fans in Detroit have been waiting anxiously for this day since 2006," the last time the Tigers hosted a playoff game.


USA Today
 

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