The Tigers escaped the ALDS against the A’s despite scoring more than three runs just once in five games. They’re going to need to do better than that against the Red Sox, and it will have to start at the top with leadoff man Austin Jackson.
Looking lost at the plate, Jackson went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts on Thursday to finish the ALDS 2-for-20 with 13 strikeouts and just one walk. He scored one of Detroit’s 17 runs in the series.
Jackson fared far better in the regular season against the Red Sox, batting .478 and scoring seven runs in the six games in which he played. Overall, the Tigers were 4-3 against the Red Sox, despite being outscored 43-34.
(20 of those runs the Red Sox scored came in one game, the last played by the two teams back on Sept. 4. The Tigers’ starter in that one, Rick Porcello, isn’t part of the postseason rotation.)
The rotations for the ALCS have yet to be announced, but they’ll probably shake out like this:
Games 1 & 5: Anibal Sanchez vs. Jon Lester
Games 2 & 6: Max Scherzer vs. John Lackey
Games 3 & 7: Justin Verlander vs. Clay Buchholz
Game 4: Doug Fister vs. Jake Peavy
Those pitching matchups are obviously the Tigers’ biggest advantage in the series, while the Red Sox hold edges offensively and defensively.
One way for the Tigers to even those up would be to have Jackson starting getting on base in front of Torii Hunter and Miguel Cabrera. The Tigers were 43-24 when he reached base twice in a game this year, which is actually a better winning percentage than they had when Miggy homered (.642 to .625).
