Rested Tigers face Giants in World Series showdown

Seeking their first World Series crown in 28 years, the Detroit Tigers will count on formidable pitchers to cool off hot-hitting San Francisco when the championship showdown begins on Wednesday. Major League Baseball's best-of-seven final features a Giants' squad bidding for a second title in three seasons against a Tigers team longing to erase the memories of a 2006 World Series loss to St. Louis under similar circumstances. The Tigers, who swept the New York Yankees to win the American League title, have a six-day layoff entering the World Series, just as they did six years ago when they came out flat and fell to the Cardinals in five games. "We wanted to change what we did last time," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "Last time we just sat around for six days." Detroit played intersquad games Sunday and Monday waiting for the Giants to take the National League title, San Francisco winning three games in a row when facing elimination to advance for the second playoff series in a row. The Tigers have had time to rest their pitchers and organize them exactly how they want for the World Series while the Giants had not even pondered who to send to the mound until advancing less than 48 hours before game one. "It was draining. Seems like every series is draining," said Giants catcher Buster Posey. "There was so much riding on every pitch. But it ended the way we wanted it to end. We're happy to be at this point. We've got another series." The Giants ousted defending champion St. Louis by outscoring the Cardinals 20-1 over the last three games and that powerhouse batting lineup will face Tigers ace pitcher Justin Verlander in the World Series opener. "I think we learned our lesson from 2006 and we'll approach things a little differently this time," Verlander said. Detroit's starting pitchers have allowed only seven earned runs in 62 innings, a 1.02 earned-run average (ERA), in the playoffs. Verlander is 3-0 with a 0.74 ERA, having struck out 25 batters while allowing only 10 hits and walking over 24 1/3 playoff innings. Rival hitters are only batting .122 against the 29-year-old right-hander, who led the major leagues in regular-season strikeouts and innings pitched. Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister joined Verlander to allow New York only two runs on 14 hits over 27 1/3 combined innings, a 0.66 ERA that was the second-lowest by a starting rotation in any major league playoff series. "The pitching staff has been excellent," Tigers slugger Prince Fielder said. "Everybody has great pitching. Sometimes good hitting is going to get stopped by it, but when our pitchers are better than their pitchers, we usually win." Verlander, the American League Rookie of the Year six years ago and now the reigning American League Most Valuable Player, also started the 2006 World Series opener but surrendered seven runs on six hits in five innings in a loss to a team that, like this year's Giants, took seven games to reach the Series. "I hope it's the complete opposite result as last time," Verlander said. Leyland, who turns 68 in December, is managing on a one-year contract just as Tony La Russa did last year when he retired after guiding the Cardinals to the World Series crown. At mid-season Leyland faced firing rumors as the Tigers struggled to stay near the top of the AL Central division. Now he might guide the team to its first World Series crown since 1984.