2011 MLB Playoff Schedule: Tigers-Yankees Delay Ups Ante for Verlander-Sabathia

The rain may have washed out the marquee pitching matchup between Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia in Game 1 of the ALDS between the Tigers and the Yankees, but it hasn't diminished the responsibility that those two will carry onto the mound by any stretch.

If anything, the fact that Verlander and Sabathia will have to wait until Game 3 to get a fair, unweathered shot at one another raises the stakes between two of Cy Young's favorite sons and makes the tilt that much more appealing for casual followers and die-hard fans alike.

Granted, Game 1 of a postseason series in any sport is supposed to be the most important. Teams that win the first contest tend to claim victory in the series by an overwhelming margin. Pulling off the opening salvo gives the winning team not only a 1-0 advantage on the board, but also a shot in the arm of confidence and self-assuredness going forward.

That being said, it's necessarily impossible for either the Tigers or the Yankees to end the series after just one game. By rule, this hotly-anticipated ALDS, like any division series, must go at least three games to satisfy the "best-of-five" format.

Hence, when Verlander and Sabathia get back on the bump on Monday in Detroit, they will do so with the fate of their respective teams hanging firmly in the balance. Either these two aces will be duking it out to deliver an all-important 2-1 series edge in a rubber match for their clubs, or one will be pitching to close out the series entirely while the other works tirelessly to keep his team's hopes of postseason glory alive, if only for one more game.

Thus, the gravitas of Game 3, with Verlander and Sabathia going head-to-head and pitch-for-pitch, will reach beyond statistical probabilities and into the dramatic reality of the series at hand.

And who better to have pitching under those circumstances, both for the fates of the Tigers and the Yankees and the enjoyment of baseball fans everywhere, than Justin Verlander and CC Sabathia?

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