HOUSTON (SportsRadio 610)- The first time Justin Verlander started a game against the New York Yankees in the postseason stands out because it was his first playoff start.
"I remember going out there the day before the start," Verlander recalled Saturday a day before his 27th postseason start. "This was old Yankee Stadium, and standing on the mound, because I had never pitched there, standing on the mound and just kind of taking it all in, which was honestly a pretty cool experience."
A rain-out delayed Verlander's playoff debut by a day, so he took the mound two days after his upstart Tigers dropped their ALDS opener. He pitched into the sixth, with a Johnny Damon three-run homer serving as the lone blemish on his line. He didn't factor in the decison, but the Tigers won the game 4-3 to draw level in the series.
"I remember kind of running out of gas," Verlander admits 13 years later. "At that point in the year, my rookie year, I was running on fumes. I gave it everything I had. And I remember I was winning the ball game, which was important winning one in Yankee Stadium."
The Tigers won the next two games at home and then swept through the ALCS before falling in the World Series. Verlander faced the Yankees again in the Division Series four years later as well as the ALCS in 2012 and again with the Astros in 2017. His team has never lost a playoff series against the Bronx Bombers, but he knows they pose a stiff challenge in 2019.
"The power, 1 through 9 is prodigious, and we all know that," Verlander said. "They have a bunch of different ways to hurt you. They have speed, they have guys that are really aggressive, they have guys that aren't. I mean, it's just a good mix. You have to have a unique game plan for every single guy, and you have to be able to adjust quickly, because they do, as well."
Verlander beat the Yankees both times he faced them in the regular season, but he did allow three runs in both outings, with D.J. LeMahieu causing him the most problems, collecting three hits in six at bats, including a double and a three-run homer.
"I think LeMahieu has just been incredible for them," Verlander said. "He's somebody that gets on base at an incredible clip. He hit right around .330 this year and just does so many things so well. And when you can have a lineup behind him with a lot of guys that hit a lot of homers, if he's on base that much, it just creates that much more damage."
When Justin Verlander throws the first pitch of game two of the American League Championship Series at 7:08 Sunday night, he'll join Pedro Martinez, Art Nehf, and Carl Erskine as the only pitchers in baseball history to start seven playoff games against the New York Yankees. He's 4-0 with a 2.33 ERA in those outings, and allowed just one run over 16 frames in winning the MVP of the ALCS in 2017, but he knows that success means nothing moving forward.
"I think I just have put together some good performances in the past."
