3-0 Wednesday, with White Sox pending. Their bullpen is a train wreck so I'm not holding my breath. Now 16-15, +2.06
Detroit -1 (-109) 2 units. Danny Salazar is getting way too much respect to allow this kind of line. He has the killer fastball, but his off-speed pitches are a work in progress- and that would be true even if he was in the minors. Even his fastball command gets him trouble, serving up too many middle of the plate pitches. Detroit is a pretty good fastball hitting team so I expect they'll do fine. Both teams are suffering a "run slump" though. The Indians have a middle of the lineup problem, getting very little production from their best hitters. Bourn is back, 0-4 Wednesday, and may not be quite ready to handle Verlander. Verlander absolutely stymied the Indians last year especially in his last 3-4 starts. He looks every bit as sharp as ever, at home and will thrive on the competition with the young stud Salazar that this game presents. His off-speed command is good and he is not trying to blow by hitters, but opting for poor contact instead- thus lowering his pitch count.
Detroit -1 (-109) 2 units. Danny Salazar is getting way too much respect to allow this kind of line. He has the killer fastball, but his off-speed pitches are a work in progress- and that would be true even if he was in the minors. Even his fastball command gets him trouble, serving up too many middle of the plate pitches. Detroit is a pretty good fastball hitting team so I expect they'll do fine. Both teams are suffering a "run slump" though. The Indians have a middle of the lineup problem, getting very little production from their best hitters. Bourn is back, 0-4 Wednesday, and may not be quite ready to handle Verlander. Verlander absolutely stymied the Indians last year especially in his last 3-4 starts. He looks every bit as sharp as ever, at home and will thrive on the competition with the young stud Salazar that this game presents. His off-speed command is good and he is not trying to blow by hitters, but opting for poor contact instead- thus lowering his pitch count.
