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With 10 strikeouts of the 21 Yankees batters he faced Thursday afternoon, former Missouri All-American Max Scherzer earned his first career postseason victory and was responsible for the Game 4 win that completed a sweep of the Yankees and sent the Tigers to the World Series.
After finishing the regular season with a 16-7 record and a 3.74 ERA, he has stepped it up in his two postseason starts so far, allowing just one run in 11 innings pitched and striking out 18. His 0.82 postseason ERA and strikeout numbers are second on the team, behind only Justin Verlander.
A native of St. Louis, Mo., Scherzer has the chance to possibly play in the World Series in his hometown as the Cardinals have a 3-1 lead on the Giants in the National League Championship Series. After capping a starting pitching rotation that shut down the Yankees, Scherzer is likely to get another start in the World Series.