BOSTON — So close. And yet so … irrelevant.
The beauty of the baseball postseason is you strive for brilliance and settle for success. Therefore, when the Tigers’ hopes of a five-man no-hitter Saturday night blew up with a ninth-inning, one-out single by Boston’s Daniel Nava, you found little regret among the visitors here at Fenway Park, as the Tigers held on for a 1-0 victory over the Red Sox to capture the American League Championship Series opener.
“At this point, it’s not about throwing a no-hitter,” Tigers starter and winner Anibal Sanchez said. “The win is more important than the no-hitter.”
Sure. The Tigers now ensure themselves of no worse than a split in enemy territory, and they still worked their way into the baseball record books. The combined 17 strikeouts — by Sanchez (12), Al Alburquerque (two), Mike Francesa’s favorite, former Yankee Jose Veras (two) and closer Joaquin Benoit (one) — ties the all-time postseason record set previously by St. Louis’ Bob Gibson against the Tigers in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series and San Diego’s Kevin Brown (16) and Trevor Hoffman (one) against Houston in Game 1 of the 1998 National League Division Series.
That the Tigers accomplished this with the slimmest of margins made for a memorably tense night at Fenway.
“Particularly in a place like this, you almost feel you’re behind in this ballpark with one run,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. “With the [Green] Monster, although the ball wasn’t really carrying tonight, you never feel comfortable.”
Indeed, Nava’s pinch runner, Quintin Berry, stole second base with two outs, and it wasn’t until Red Sox rookie Xander Bogaerts popped up to his fellow rookie (and former Boston teammate) Jose Iglesias, now the Tigers’ shortstop, that the visitors could breathe easy and enjoy what they accomplished.
The 29-year-old Sanchez, who led the AL with a 2.57 ERA in the regular season, lasted just six innings because he threw a whopping 116 pitches, a tribute to the Red Sox hitters’ competitiveness. He navigated through Boston’s fearsome lineup by walking six and striking out 12 and holding the Red Sox hitless (of course) in five at-bats with runners in scoring position. He finished his night by striking out Stephen Drew to leave the bases loaded in the sixth, pumping his first animatedly as he surely knew he had thrown his last pitch.
In the first inning, Sanchez became just the second pitcher in postseason history to strike out four batters in one inning, joining the Cubs’ Orval Overall (first inning, 1908 World Series Game 5) in that ultra-exclusive club.
The only other pitcher to strike out at least 12 and walk at least six in a postseason game? You have to go all the way back to the legendary Walter Johnson, who did so for the Washington Senators in Game 1 of the 1924 World Series. The Big Train pitched 12 innings against the New York Giants for a complete-game victory, which was the style at the time.
Sanchez’s stuff, his catcher Alex Avila said, was “so nasty to the point that there [were] times I didn’t even know where it was going.”
“Whether it was Sanchez or every guy they brought out of the bullpen, it was power stuff,” Red Sox manager John Farrell said. Seven of the strikeouts came on calls, directing attention toward controversial home-plate umpire Joe West. Yet, Farrell declined to point a finger in that direction.
If you have watched Sanchez pitch since he joined the Tigers in July 2012, you know he can match up against anyone. So much so that he worked through his uncharacteristic generosity — he averaged 2.7 walks per nine innings in the regular season — to author his piece of baseball near-history. When Biogenesis redemption case Jhonny Peralta stroked a two-out, sixth-inning, RBI single, continuing his fantastic autumn and boosting his impending free-agent market — and silencing the dopey Red Sox fans who chanted “Steroids!” during his at-bat — the Tigers gained a 1-0 lead and gave their pitchers the smallest cushion with which to work.
Following Sanchez’s dramatic sixth, Alburquerque threw a perfect seventh, striking out pinch-hitter Jarrod Saltalamacchia looking and fanning Jacoby Ellsbury swinging. Then came Veras, who whiffed the two batters he faced, Shane Victorino (swinging) and Dustin Pedroia (looking). Lefty Drew Smyly retired David Ortiz on a flyout to center field to finish the eighth, and then came Benoit, who became Detroit’s closer in the middle of this season and picked up the save while blowing the no-hitter.
It was a near-miss we will never forget. The Tigers clearly were consoled by the reality their marvelous pitching landed them what they need most of all in October. They’ will punt on the history and settle for the victory.