The Tigers' Justin Verlander was very good during the regular season; not only will he run away with the AL Cy Young Award, but he might well win league MVP honors as well. He hasn't been as good in the postseason; he has a 5.54 ERA and has walked seven batters in 13 playoff innings in 2011. Pitching in the rain twice didn't help matters much.
If Verlander isn't on his game this afternoon and the Rangers' C.J. Wilson is, Detroit will be going home for the winter. Verlander could help send the series back to Texas with a good performance today.
Meanwhile, in the Battle of the Waiver Wire, Randy Wolf faces Kyle Lohse in St. Louis tonight as the Brewers try to even up the series. (Kidding, mostly; these guys are pretty good for fourth starters.)
More details on today's games after the jump.
Game time for Rangers/Tigers: 3:19 pm CDT. Rangers lead series 3-1. TV: Fox. Announcers: Joe Buck and Tim McCarver.
Game time for Brewers/Cardinals: 7:05 pm. CDT. Cardinals lead series 2-1. TV: TBS. Announcers: Brian Anderson (play-by-play), Ron Darling (analyst), John Smoltz (analyst), Craig Sager (reporter).
MLB.com Gameday for ALCS Game 5
MLB.com Gameday for NLCS Game 4
SB Nation game preview for ALCS Game 5
SB Nation game preview for NLCS Game 4
This is the only thread I'm posting for today's games. If you need overflows due to extra innings or rain delays, post them in the fanshot section.
Discuss amongst yourselves.