Detroit Tigers manager Brad Ausmus announced his starting rotation for the American League Division Series against the Orioles with right-hander Max Scherzer taking the ball for Game 1 as expected.
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner will be opposed by Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman and posted an 18-5 record with a 3.15 ERA in 33 starts spanning 220 1/3 innings this season. Scherzer is 3-1 with a 3.92 ERA in six career starts against Baltimore with 45 strikeouts and nine walks in 39 innings.
The Tigers will send 2011 AL Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander to the mound for Game 2 despite an off year in which the right-hander went 15-12 with a 4.54 ERA in 32 starts.
Lefty David Price, the 2012 AL Cy Young winner and acquired from the Tampa Bay Rays in late July, will start Game 3 for the Tigers back at Comerica Park and right-hander Rick Porcello is scheduled to pitch Game 4.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter has yet to announce the rest of his starting rotation beyond Tillman in Game 1, but Wei-Yin Chen, Miguel Gonzalez, and Bud Norris are expected to start with the 23-year-old Kevin Gausman shifting to a relief role in October.
