Game one of 2006 featured not one, but two rookies on the hill. The first time the Fall Classic has started with two wet-behind-the-ears pitchers.
Anthony Reyes, with all of five wins to his name in '06, was pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals. What was he doing on the mound with a 5-8 record and a 5.06 ERA? I have no idea. But at the end of the game, the Detroit Tigers had seen enough of him,
The Bengals sent a much better to do the pitching chores. It was a very young Justin Verlander. 17-9, with a 3.63 ERA. As of the end of the 2014 season, he's over the 150 win total. Still, this was not going to be a start to remember for Justin.
The Cardinals pounced on him, scoring early and at will. Reyes gave up a run in the bottom of the first to the hometown team, but the lead did not last too long. In the top of the second, St. Louis tied the game. Then came the next inning, and the tie was broken.
Verlander gave up a single to start the frame, then looked to have settled down. The next two men went back to the dugout, and Justin was one out away from a fairly easy inning. But Chris Duncan rocked a double to right to make it a 2-1 Cardinal lead. They would not relinquish it. Before Detroit could recover, the very next batter, Albert Pujols, took Verlander out of the park. 4-1, St. Louis.
Verlander got through the next two innings, allowing only a walk while fanning four. But when St. Louis got another run off him in the top of the sixth, he was removed. He ended the game allowing seven runs (six earned) and fanning eight.
Reyes was fairing much better. It was shutout ball from the second inning on. But in the bottom of the ninth, he faltered a bit himself. Craig Monroe, who had doubled and scored the run in the bottom of the first, led off the ninth with a home run. It was just the fourth hit of the game for Detroit. Reyes had faced his last batter. But Monroe had just stroked the last hit of the game. It went into the record books as a 6-2, St. Louis win.
The Cardinals avenged their embarrassing loss to Detroit in 1968 (Blowing a 3-1 lead in that. That wasn't the only time they did, either!) by winning this thing in five games. That's how you hold a 3-1 lead! Verlander ended up the losing pitcher in the last game.
Oddly enough, Reyes, never pitched again the World Series, and was out of the bigs by 2010. He had only 13 wins at the major league level. Verlander, the two-game loser of the 2006 Fall Classic, lost his only start of the 2012 World Series, leaving him with an 0-3 all time in the October Classic.
It's always amazed me, the way it works in the World Series. Bob Feller, the great Cleveland Indian pitcher, lost both his games in 1948, then didn't even pitch at all in 1954. So he never got that win in the World Series. Then, you have guys like Reyes, who shouldn't even be there on the mound at all in the Fall Classic. First game, first win. Easy as 1-2-3, eh? Not for everyone, it seems. But sometimes, it's just in the Cards for rookies!
References
Baseball Almanac, Inc. Baseball Almanac: Baseball History, Baseball Records and Baseball Research. Baseball Almanac, Inc. Web. 04 Apr. 2015,.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 04 Apr. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
Youtube. Youtube. Web. 04 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
Anthony Reyes, with all of five wins to his name in '06, was pitching for the St. Louis Cardinals. What was he doing on the mound with a 5-8 record and a 5.06 ERA? I have no idea. But at the end of the game, the Detroit Tigers had seen enough of him,
The Bengals sent a much better to do the pitching chores. It was a very young Justin Verlander. 17-9, with a 3.63 ERA. As of the end of the 2014 season, he's over the 150 win total. Still, this was not going to be a start to remember for Justin.
The Cardinals pounced on him, scoring early and at will. Reyes gave up a run in the bottom of the first to the hometown team, but the lead did not last too long. In the top of the second, St. Louis tied the game. Then came the next inning, and the tie was broken.
Verlander gave up a single to start the frame, then looked to have settled down. The next two men went back to the dugout, and Justin was one out away from a fairly easy inning. But Chris Duncan rocked a double to right to make it a 2-1 Cardinal lead. They would not relinquish it. Before Detroit could recover, the very next batter, Albert Pujols, took Verlander out of the park. 4-1, St. Louis.
Verlander got through the next two innings, allowing only a walk while fanning four. But when St. Louis got another run off him in the top of the sixth, he was removed. He ended the game allowing seven runs (six earned) and fanning eight.
Reyes was fairing much better. It was shutout ball from the second inning on. But in the bottom of the ninth, he faltered a bit himself. Craig Monroe, who had doubled and scored the run in the bottom of the first, led off the ninth with a home run. It was just the fourth hit of the game for Detroit. Reyes had faced his last batter. But Monroe had just stroked the last hit of the game. It went into the record books as a 6-2, St. Louis win.
The Cardinals avenged their embarrassing loss to Detroit in 1968 (Blowing a 3-1 lead in that. That wasn't the only time they did, either!) by winning this thing in five games. That's how you hold a 3-1 lead! Verlander ended up the losing pitcher in the last game.
Oddly enough, Reyes, never pitched again the World Series, and was out of the bigs by 2010. He had only 13 wins at the major league level. Verlander, the two-game loser of the 2006 Fall Classic, lost his only start of the 2012 World Series, leaving him with an 0-3 all time in the October Classic.
It's always amazed me, the way it works in the World Series. Bob Feller, the great Cleveland Indian pitcher, lost both his games in 1948, then didn't even pitch at all in 1954. So he never got that win in the World Series. Then, you have guys like Reyes, who shouldn't even be there on the mound at all in the Fall Classic. First game, first win. Easy as 1-2-3, eh? Not for everyone, it seems. But sometimes, it's just in the Cards for rookies!
References
Baseball Almanac, Inc. Baseball Almanac: Baseball History, Baseball Records and Baseball Research. Baseball Almanac, Inc. Web. 04 Apr. 2015,
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen, and Michael L. Neft. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York: St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 04 Apr. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org>.
Youtube. Youtube. Web. 04 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
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