On to Game Seven


Friday night was all about Justin Verlander. For the second time in this ALCS, the Astros August-deadline acquistion blanked the Yankees, though to quote TV broadcaster John Smoltz this appearance was a lot more "stressful." Matching zeroes with Luis Severino over the first four innings, Verlander managed to snuff out potential rallies after New York got two runners on in the 6th and 7th innings.

The 7th inning jam co-stars George Springer, turning what could have bee a two-run double into a loud out just in front of the center field wall.

But back to Verlander, whose gutsy seven innings -- on top of his game two shutout -- forced the series to a seventh and deciding game, and placed his name front and center for possible ALCS MVP honors.

So my challenge was finding a good photo of Verlander to slot in. Turns out that in the eight seasons I've photographed the games on a regular basis, I'd only seen Verlander pitch once. That was back in 2014, for the photo used here on Sunday,

Time for the backup plan -- I checked my shots inside the Tigers dugout, and found Justin sitting tall on the bench during a 2016 game in which he didn't work against the Yankees.

Onto game seven, winner-take-all. One team heads to Hollywood; the other starts the countdown until spring training five long months from now.

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