Tigers get on the board, lead 2-0

And there are Justin Verlander’s runs. Ease up, fellas. He’ll take it from here.

Except that’s too glib by half. Because Jarod Parker is pitching almost as well as Verlander -- his change-up is filthy, and he’s locating well. Pitchers throwing well can still get dinged. The A’s can still get to Verlander.

All things being equal, though, being down 2-0 to Verlander in an elimination game is kind of messed up.

Omar Infante singled to open the inning, moving to second on a wild pitch. Austin Jackson doubled him home on a slider low in the zone for the Tigers’ first run. With no one out, manager Jim Leyland had Quintin Berry bunt Jackson to third, which is just a terrible, horrible decision to, wait, hey, it worked. A wild pitch in front of Derek Norris brought home the second run of the inning.

Parker then got Miguel Cabrera to fly out, and he made Prince Fielder look like Emmanuel Burriss with a three-pitch strikeout, all change-ups. But the damage was done, and the Tigers hold a 2-0 lead that must seem more like a 4-0 lead with Verlander on the mound.

Alright, so I’m a Verlander fanboy. But, still.