- Jhonny Peralta has had some hot streaks before for the Tigers, never this consistently in such pressure situations. Yeah, I do believe he is earning himself a new contract for next season, despite the PED suspension. He could have handled it better on and off the field. Jose Iglesias would be ideal as the utility infielder.
- The Red Sox inability to put quality swings against the Tigers' starting pitchers is stunning. They look completely confused by Justin Verlander so far today, just like Anibal Sanchez and Max Scherzer before him. Verlander left a bad pitch up over the plate to David Ortiz, and Andy Dirks tracked it down. It's about the only mistake he has made so far today. Brilliant work so far.
- No, I don't believe Peralta would have caught the drive by Ortiz.
- John Lackey had a pretty good year for the Red Sox in 2013. His ERA was just slightly higher than Verlander's and his WHIP considerably lower. It was actually the lowest WHIP of his career. And he's been in this situation before under postseason pressure.