Throughout the World Series, Deadline Detroit will provide you with a by-the-numbers look at each game. For Game 1, we provide you with an in-depth analysis of the performance of Tigers starter Justin Verlander and Giants starter Barry Zito.
Verlander had an uncharacteristically short outing, lasting only four innings. This was Verlander's shortest outing since June of 2010.
| Innings | Hits | Runs | Earned Runs | Strikeouts | Walks | |
| 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Barry Zito pitched 6 scoreless innings in his previous outing against Detroit in 2011. In this game, Zito was able to take the Giants into the 6th inning. He allowed only a single run. Zito is not a high velocity or over-powering pitcher, averaging just over 5 strikeouts per nine innings. He also tends to walk a fair number of batters, averaging 3.5 walks per 9 innings during the 2012 season. Tonight he struckout three Tigers while walking only one.
| Innings | Hits | Runs | Earned Runs | Strikeouts | Walks | |
| 5.2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Now let's take a deeper look at pitching performances of Verlander and Zito.
Over 4 innings, Verlander used a pitch selection of five pitches, predominantly relying on his four-seam fastball. The top speed he reached was a 98 MPH four-seam fastball.
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | Max Speed | Pitches/Strikes | |
| Four-seam Fastball | 95 | 98 | 50/36 | |
| Changeup | 86 | 89 | 17/10 | |
| Slider | 84 | 87 | 12/8 | |
| Curve | 80 | 84 | 15/7 | |
| Two-seam Fastball | 95 | 95 | 3/2 |
Verlander's pitch count was driven up in the 3rd inning. He had to throw 38 pitches to get out of that inning. After the 3rd inning, Verlander had thrown 70 pitches, which did not bode well for the Tiger ace going the distance. After requiring 27 pitches to complete the 4th inning -- driving his pitch count to 97 -- it was obvious that this was not the Justin Verlander that we had seen throughout the postseason.
| Inning | Pitches | Strikes | Strike Percentage |
| 1 | 18 | 13 | 72% |
| 2 | 14 | 9 | 64% |
| 3 | 38 | 24 | 63% |
| 4 | 27 | 17 | 63% |
Barry Zito outpitched Verlander, using a mix of 6 different pitches. In comparison to Verlander's top speed of 98 MPH on a pitch, Zito reached a max speed of 86 MPH. Zito relied on his mix of pitches, leaning most heavily on his Cutter and two-seam fastball to beat the Tigers.
| Pitch Type | Avg Speed | Max Speed | Pitches/Strikes | |
| Four-seam Fastball | 84 | 86 | 15/8 | |
| Changeup | 75 | 76 | 7/4 | |
| Slider | 78 | 79 | 3/1 | |
| Curve | 72 | 73 | 16/12 | |
| Cutter | 80 | 82 | 21/16 | |
| Two-seam Fastball | 84 | 85 | 19/12 |
The Tigers were not able to get to Zito throughout the game. He was able to get through each inning with a maximum of 17 pitches. He was able to get through the 4th inning throwing only 8 pitches.
| Inning | PItches | Strikes | Strike Percentage |
| 1 | 17 | 11 | 65% |
| 2 | 13 | 9 | 69% |
| 3 | 13 | 8 | 62% |
| 4 | 8 | 6 | 75% |
| 5 | 13 | 9 | 69% |
| 6 | 17 | 10 | 59% |
