Houston — Justin Verlander and John Hicks went to the same high school (Goochland) in Virginia. Verlander was teammates with Hicks' older brother.
And in his first two at-bats Wednesday, Verlander gave young Hicks the equivalent of a high school swirly. A tapper back to the mound and a three-pitch strikeout.
But Hicks got his redemption in the top of the ninth inning. He laced an 0-1 fastball from Verlander over the wall in left field to give the Tigers a most improbable 2-1 victory over the Houston Astros.
How improbable, there were betting lines in Las Vegas before the game at minus-500, making the Astros the biggest favorite ever in a big-league baseball game.