Well, we all knew going into Friday that it could be an ugly game. And it was. Justin Verlander took the hill for Detroit and was in complete control the whole game. Charlie Morton would have to be near perfect to beat Verlander, but he got hit pretty hard. He gave up back to back RBI doubles in the first to Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder to make it 2-0 Tigers. They added two more in the fourth on a Delmon Young solo homer and a Don Kelly RBI single. Morton was done after six innings, and Chris Resop replaced him.
Meanwhile, Verlander had given up a walk to Neil Walker in the first, but still no hits. Andrew McCutchen was able to draw another walk off him in the seventh, and Resop gave up a two run double to Young to make it 6-0. Verlander still had a no-hitter through eight innings, giving up only two walks.
Michael McKenry grounded out to lead off the ninth, and Josh Harrison fell behind 0-2 after some bad swings at balls in the dirt. He was able to get a hanging curveball over the plate, and took it back up the middle to break up the no-no. The next two batters grounded out, giving Verlander the complete game-one hit-shutout.
Morton’s final line: 6 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 4 K, 1 BB.
Verlander’s final line: 9 IP ,1 H, O R, 12 K, 2 BB.
Clint Hurdle made some ridiculous comments after the game, saying that getting no-hit would be “bittersweet” since he grew up a Tigers fan and would have liked to be part of history.
Can’t be too upset with tonight’s game, considering Verlander has already thrown two no-hitters and won the Cy Young and MVP awards last year. He was absolutely dominant and pitched a heck of a game. There’s still a chance to win the series in MoTown and get back to one game under .500. The Pirates also remained un-no-hit since 1971, when they were no-hit by Bob Gibson on August 14th. The streak is the second longest active in the majors, behind the Cubs.
Pirates (18-21) – Tigers (19-20)
Win: Verlander (5-1)
Loss: Morton (2-4)
Go Bucs
