2011 MLB Playoff Schedule: Verlander vs. Sabathia and 3 Best Pitching Matchups

There's enough great pitching in the 2011 MLB postseason to make even Cy Young blush.

And keep in mind, the man after whom baseball's Most Outstanding Pitcher award is named has been six feet under for nearly 66 years.

Pitching is the key to World Series success, which makes picking the winners in the best mound-based matchups this fall so difficult to call. 

Justin Verlander vs. C.C. Sabathia

Speaking of Mr. Denton True Young (also known as Cy), Game 1 of the ALDS between the Detroit Tigers and the New York Yankees will feature perhaps the most riveting head-to-head battle of the entire postseason.

In the Tigers dugout is Justin Verlander, the prohibitive favorite to claim the 2011 AL Cy Young, and perhaps the MVP as well, after sewing up the Triple Crown of pitching in the Junior Circuit.

The Yankees will counter Verlander's brilliance with a Cy Young winner of their own in hefty lefty C.C. Sabathia. The unquestioned ace of New York's ragtag rotation, Sabathia deserves some MVP pub of his own after posting yet another stellar season on a starting staff so severely lacking in reliable arms.

That being said, this game may not turn out to be as much of a pitcher's duel as one might expect. Neither pitcher has put up particularly strong postseason numbers in the past and both will be throwing against prolific lineups.

Either way, look for this game to come down to a battle of the bullpens. 

Yovani Gallardo vs. Ian Kennedy

You may find yourself wondering, "Yovani who?" or "Since when do the Kennedys play baseball?"

But, fear not, Gallardo vs. Kennedy has the potential to be as good as any pitching matchup you'll see in October.

Gallardo owns the edge in postseason experience, having logged seven innings across two starts in the 2008 NLDS. With all the talk about Zack Greinke in Milwaukee, it was Gallardo who turned out to be the ace of the Brewers staff.

The 25-year-old righty from Michoacan, Mexico posted full-season, career-best marks across the board, including wins (17), earned-run average (3.52), WHIP (1.22), innings pitched (207.1) and strikeouts (207).

As good as Gallardo has been for the Brew Crew, no pitcher in all of baseball had a more startling, if anonymous, season than Ian Kennedy.

In his second season in Arizona since being traded away by the Yankees, Kennedy emerged as the top-flight starter fans and observers had long expected him to be. The USC grad finished the 2011 season in the Top 10 in the NL in nearly every statistical category, thereby asserting himself as a dark horse to win the Cy Young.

Neither pitcher has all that much experience against the other's offense to speak of, though Gallardo's home-field advantage may be enough to put him over the top in this one, as he's been more than a full run better at Miller Park than on the road this season. 

Cliff Lee vs. Chris Carpenter

Cliff Lee and Chris Carpenter need no formal introduction, especially when pitching against one another. These two former Cy Young winners—Carpenter with the Cardinals in 2005, Lee with the Indians in 2008—will face off in Game 2 of the NLDS between St. Louis and Philadelphia.

Carpenter put together a surprisingly strong season for the Cards, posting an ERA of 3.45 and a WHIP of 1.26 in 237.1 innings, including two complete-game shutouts in September.

Carpenter carried St. Louis' staff through a trying season in which they were without presumed ace Adam Wainwright, who was ruled out for 2011 after undergoing Tommy John surgery back in spring training.

Lee didn't have quite that same pressure on his shoulders, but was brilliant this season nonetheless. On a staff stacked with the likes of Roy Halladay, Roy Oswalt and Cole Hamels, Lee truly stood out, notching a sparkling 2.40 ERA with 238 strikeouts in 232.2 innings along with an ML-best six shutouts.

In the process, Lee put up two of the most dominant months of the season by any pitcher, with just three runs total allowed in June and August combined.

It should come as no surprise, then, that the younger, more currently dominant Lee owns a decisive edge in this matchup, though Cy Young could hardly complain either way.

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