ALDS Schedule 2014: Start Time and Preview for Friday's Game 2 Matchups

Just as the two Wild Card Games were stark contrasts from each other, the opening games of the American League Division Series couldn't have been more different. Baltimore used a potent offensive attack to decimate Detroit's bullpen. In the night cap, Kansas City used a strong bullpen and efficient offense in Los Angeles. 

While you can't declare a series over after just one game, the Tigers have the most to be concerned about. They were supposed to ride dominant starting pitching and power in the middle of the order to victory. The power showed up, but Max Scherzer struggled hitting his spots and that always-volatile bullpen imploded. 

In the other series, if the Royals are going to keep this a low-scoring series, they are going to be playing for the American League pennant. The Angels got the kind of pitching performance they needed from Jered Weaver, but when only three players are getting hits (four total), it's hard to win a lot of games. 

We've got a look at what's in store for Friday when these two series resume in Baltimore and Los Angeles, including previews and pitching matchups. 

Matchup	Start Time (ET)	Network
Detroit Tigers (Justin Verlander) at Baltimore Orioles (Wei-Yin Chen	12 p.m.	TBS
Kansas City Royals (Yordano Ventura) at Los Angeles Angels (Matt Shoemaker)	9:30 p.m.	TBS

Detroit Tigers at Baltimore Orioles

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

This is the stage where it will be determined if Justin Verlander is still capable of greatness or a shell of his former self. The former American League MVP did show signs of improvement down the stretch. His 3.89 ERA in September was the best in a single month since April, and he allowed two earned runs with 10 strikeouts and no walks in 15.1 innings over his last two starts. 

Those aren't the numbers that Verlander was putting up at his peak, but they are a lot better than 5.54 and 6.82 ERA totals in May and June. It's curious that Tigers manager Brad Ausmus chose to go with the right-hander over David Price in this now-crucial spot. 

Rob Neyer of Fox Sports noted that while Verlander did get better down the stretch, there's an explanation for it that goes beyond simply figuring things out:

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Way back on the 11th of August, Verlander lasted just one inning against the Pirates. In his succeeding seven starts, he pitched 47 innings, gave up only two home runs, and struck out 41 while walking only 10.

A couple of caveats, though: all seven of those starts came against Central Division foes, and only the Twins (yes, this surprises me, too) scored more runs than the league average this season. Verlander did pitch well down the stretch ... but he’s still obviously not the Verlander of old. 

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If Verlander struggles and is unable to throw more than six innings, the Tigers are in big trouble. Their weakness all season has been in the bullpen, which came to light in Game 1 when three relievers combined to give up eight runs on five hits and two walks before getting two outs to end the eighth inning.

The Orioles counter with Wei-Yin Chen, who is actually a poor man's Verlander. They had nearly the same average fastball velocity—Chen, 91.8; Verlander, 92.3—and fielding independent ERA (3.89 for Chen; 3.74 for Verlander, per FanGraphs). Chen had a superior strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.89 to 2.45) and WHIP (1.228 to 1.398). 

Both pitchers give up a lot of flyballs, so expect Camden Yards to be a launching pad for the second straight day. The Tigers were able to hit three homers off Orioles pitching in Game 1, but they were all solo shots because Ian Kinsler and Torii Hunter went 1-for-8 with three strikeouts.

In a game of matchups, and one that will surely come down to the bullpen once again, the Orioles have to get a huge edge because of their relief depth and Buck Showalter's ability to manipulate matchups.

Kansas City Royals at Los Angeles Angels

Harry How/Getty Images

If there's a silver lining for the Angels after losing Game 1 in extra innings, it's that they are set up to win Game 2. The funny thing is it has nothing to do with them. 

For reasons known only to him, Royals manager Ned Yost has opted to start rookie Yordano Ventura on Friday. His numbers this season don't look bad on the surface. A high walk total (69) does stand out like a sore thumb, but 168 hits allowed, 3.20 ERA and 159 strikeouts in 183 innings are good for a 23-year-old. 

A deeper dive into Ventura's season shows that he is wearing down. Nearly half of his walks (30) came in the last two months, and he allowed 50 baserunners in 37.1 innings during September. Kansas City's defense bailed him out of jams, so his 2.41 ERA in the final month looks great, but he keeps flirting with disaster. 

Yost didn't help Ventura get comfortable in the postseason, putting him in the sixth inning of the Wild Card Game against Oakland after James Shields allowed two runners to get on base. As Jon Morosi of Fox Sports noted, it was the first time Ventura entered a game in this situation:

Predictably, Ventura left a fastball over the fat part of the plate that Brandon Moss crushed over the center-field fence. Kansas City's comeback saved Yost from even more criticism than he received during the game, but this move is puzzling because he had another power arm capable of starting. 

Danny Duffy, who came out of the bullpen in Game 1 to pitch a scoreless inning, had 25 starts this year with a 2.55 ERA and 108 hits allowed in 141 innings. He can be erratic like Ventura, but didn't have an ERA over 2.41 in this last three months as a starter. 

The Angels are an interesting offense to evaluate. They led the majors in runs scored (773), but only three players had on-base percentage totals over .340, and Mike Trout has to be on point so often for this team to score. 

When he's not getting on base, the Angels can't manufacture runs. It doesn't help when Trout, Albert Pujols, Howie Kendrick, Erick Aybar and Josh Hamilton are going a combined 0-for-21. Another problem they have is Mike Scioscia trying to do his best Yost impression by giving away outs. 

Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com noted that the Angels attempted the seventh-fewest sacrifice bunts in baseball this season only to have Scioscia call for three of them in three straight innings:

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In Game 1 of the American League Division Series -- a 3-2, 11-inning loss mired by missed opportunities -- Angels manager Mike Scioscia called for it in three straight innings late into Thursday night, and it backfired each time. ...

But bunting was hardly a fabric of the Angels' high-powered offense all year, until their most important game of the season against one of the best bullpens in baseball. The most surprising instance came in the eighth, when Scioscia kept the bunt sign on with Calhoun, who had a .450 slugging percentage in the regular season and faced a hitter-friendly 3-1 count.

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If you want to try one bunt and hope that it works, you may face criticism if it doesn't pan out. Doing it three times, including two times to put the go-ahead/winning run with Josh Hamilton coming up, is plain dumb. 

Hamilton hasn't been a great hitter since the first half of 2012 with Texas, and he hasn't been a good hitter since signing with the Angels. He grounded out and struck out in those two at-bats. 

Neither of these managers are good at in-game tactics, so the winner of the series will be which one makes the fewest mistakes. In Game 1, it was Yost. We will have to see what Game 2 has in store, though it would be a surprise to see Scioscia take the bat out of his players' hands again. 

Stats via Baseball Reference and FanGraphs.

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