Scherzer Confident As Tigers Prepare To Face Orioles In ALDS
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
CBS DETROIT - Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Max Scherzer broke onto the national scene in 2013 with an All-Star berth and a Cy Young award, and he said Wednesday - and has said so throughout this season - that he is a better pitcher now than he was last year.
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus agreed.
"He's had another excellent season," Ausmus said Wednesday. "I remember him saying in spring training, I don't know if I read it or heard him say it, that to expect him to have a season this year like he did last year just wasn't going to happen. Well, he came pretty darn close. The one thing he has, and I've said it all year long, he has a fastball that can be a swing-and-miss fastball. You don't see many swing-and-miss fastballs at the major league level, and it's nice to have that to lean on, especially when you get behind in the count, but he's improved his breaking stuff.
"His curveball's a lot better this year, he's always had the slider, his change-up's good, he's a true four-pitch pitcher, top-of-the-rotation- type guy that he can get strikeouts, he can get out of tough situations, first and third, one out, by getting a strikeout," Ausmus continued. "He's a number-one-type pitcher, so we certainly feel very comfortable sending him to the mound."
Scherzer has evidently been comfortable, too. Through 33 starts this season, he has a 3.15 ERA and an American League-high 18 wins. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is even better than it was in 2013. Some scoffed when Scherzer turned down the sizable contract extension the Tigers offered this offseason, believing 2013 was a career year Scherzer would be unable to replicate, but the pitcher's bet on himself has paid off.
"I do feel like I'm a better pitcher today than I was last year at this time," Scherzer said. "Going forward, I only anticipate getting better as well."
The Tigers face the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Division Series, which begins Thursday, and the lineup of the Orioles could be a handful for Scherzer. Baltimore ranks eighth in the majors in runs scored and ninth in batting average. The Orioles also have more home runs (211) than any team in baseball.
"I think if you fall behind against these hitters, they have the power to be able to beat you, so you can't just be laying cookies in there in 2-0 situations, but from the other side, I can't be in those situations tomorrow," Scherzer said. "I can't be in 2-0 counts, I can't be in 2-1 counts, because if I do I'm going to get beat, so it's just an onus on me to work ahead in the count."
While Baltimore has power, it seems to lack speed. The Orioles have stolen just 44 bases this season, fewest among major league teams. Scherzer said he will still keep an eye on runners but will know ahead of time which ones he does - or does not - need to consider as he pitches.
"You just try to identify which guys are capable of stealing that base against you," Scherzer said. "Once I have an idea of which guys I need to pay attention to more, those will be the type of guys that, like I said, I'll hold the ball, I'll do a lot of different things to try to disrupt their timing so they can't just steal a base on me, but given that if they are a low stolen base team, I probably won't have to do as many techniques as I would, say, have to do against Kansas City."
One particular Baltimore batter is on the minds of Tigers fans as the series approaches - three-time All-Star Nelson Cruz. Cruz smashed six home runs in six games against the Tigers during the 2011 American League Championship Series. In his career, Cruz is 11 for 25 against Scherzer, giving him a .440 batting average against the Detroit ace. Scherzer said that as he develops a game plan he will take into account his own progress as a pitcher as well as what Cruz has done in the past.
"I've had more recent at bats against him since 2011, and I feel like I'm a different pitcher than I [was in] 2011," Scherzer said. "I'm aware he's a very talented hitter, but that's something that I'll sit down tomorrow and come up with a game plan of what I want to try to do against him, how I want to try to execute my pitches to get him out, and hopefully multiple times, so that's something that'll be addressed tomorrow."
First pitch for the series opener is schedule for 5:37 p.m. Thursday.
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