Tigers manager Jim Leyland had a plan: even with his team facing elimination in Game 5 against the Rangers, Leyland said Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde were off limits and that he wanted to get through the game with Justin Verlander and left-hander Phil Coke going the distance.
Which is exactly what happened in a 7-5 victory. Leyland rode Verlander for 7 1/3 innings, allowing him to throw 133 pitches before Nelson Cruz?s two-run homer knocked him out of the game. Coke took over after that and allowed one run before getting his fifth and final out to finish the Rangers.
It looked like Leyland?s intention to stay with Coke could backfire in a big way. After two quick outs to start the ninth in a 7-4 game, Josh Hamilton doubled. The Rangers, of course, follow Hamilton with four straight right-handed hitters, each arguably more dangerous than the last: Michael Young, Adrian Beltre, Mike Napoli and Nelson Cruz.
Leyland had his third-best right-handed reliever up in the pen in Ryan Perry. He also had starter Brad Penny up as sort of a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency option.
Leyland, though, opted to keep going with the lefty, even after Young singled in Hamilton and Beltre walked with two outs. Fortunately for the Tigers, it turned out just fine, as Napoli grounded out to end the game with the tying run on. Cruz, the hottest hitter in either lineup, was left on deck and awaiting Game 6.
Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/13/the-leyland-plan-gets-the-job-done/related/
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