Here’s the latest edition of Rant and Rise for October 12, 2012:
Washington Nationals Force Game 5 Against St. Louis Cardinals
After being outscored the previous two games 20-4, the Nationals came through in Game 4 on Thursday thanks to a walk-off home run by Jayson Werth in the bottom of the ninth inning for the 2-1 win. What’s even more disappointing for the Cardinals, they failed to take advantage of a solid performance by Kyle Lohse–who allowed two hits and one error over seven innings of pitching.
Detroit Tigers Take Game 5 From Oakland Athletics
The Tigers wasted a perfect opportunity to close out their series against the Athletics on Wednesday and luckily–Justin Verlander came through when it mattered the most on Thursday with one of his best performances of the season.
Verlander pitched nine innings and struck out 11 batters as Detroit defeated Oakland 6-0 to advance to the ALCS for the second-straight season. Now, all that’s left for the Tigers is to wait and see who their next opponent is going to be–the Baltimore Orioles or New York Yankees.
Tennessee Titans Top Pittsburgh Steelers
The Titans have been one of the biggest disappointments of the 2012 season, but their luck may be turning around after a surprise win over the Steelers on Thursday night.
Despite rushing for less than 25 yards in four of his first five games, Chris Johnson came up big for Tennessee as he recorded 91 rushing yards in the 26-23 win. As for Pittsburgh, the loss drops them to 2-3 on the year–with all three losses coming on the road.
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