Justin Verlander has been put in just about every situation on the mound and come out of them all as one of the game’s best pitchers.
Even so, his accomplishments do not protect him from the nerves he was already starting to feel Thursday ahead of his scheduled start Friday in Game 5 of the ALCS at Yankee Stadium.
“I don’t know what stuff I’m going to have [Friday],” Verlander said before his teammates blew out the Yankees 8-3 in Game 4 of the ALCS on Thursday night. “It’s kind of the fear of the unknown.