DETROIT -- John Lackey figured there would be no margin for error. So when Justin Verlander began overpowering the Boston lineup, Lackey did his best to match him, out for out. "I knew I was going to have to pitch pretty good today," Lackey said. "Hes having a great career, great season, great post-season. The guys came through." Lackey edged Verlander in the latest duel of these pitching-rich playoffs, and Bostons bullpen shut down Detroits big boppers with the game on the line to lift the Red Sox over the Tigers 1-0 Tuesday for a 2-1 advantage in the American League championship series. Mike Napoli homered off Verlander in the seventh inning, and Detroits best chance to rally fell short in the eighth when Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder struck out with runners at the corners. "The runs are pretty stingy," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. "This is what its about in post-season, is good pitching." Despite three straight gems by their starters, the Tigers suddenly trail in a best-of-seven series they initially appeared to control. Game 4 is Wednesday night at Comerica Park, with Jake Peavy scheduled to start for the Red Sox against Doug Fister. Peavy set the tone Tuesday during a pregame news conference, when he sounded miffed that so much of the attention was focused on Verlander before Game 3. "Its been funny for me to watch all the coverage of the game coming in," Peavy said. "Almost like we didnt have a starter going today. Our starter is pretty good, too." So the Tigers arent the only team in this ALCS with good starting pitching. That was evident after Lackey allowed four hits in 6 2-3 innings, striking out eight without a walk in a game that was delayed 17 minutes in the second inning because lights on the stadium towers went out. It was the second 1-0 game in this matchup between the highest-scoring teams in the majors. Dominant pitching has been a running theme throughout these playoffs, which have included four 1-0 scores and seven shutouts. The Red Sox are now two wins from an American League pennant after overcoming each of Detroits biggest stars. Max Scherzer started Game 2 for the Tigers and was terrific, but Boston rallied from a five-run deficit against the Detroit bullpen to even the series. Then on Tuesday, Boston came away with a win in Detroit against Verlander, and when Cabrera and Fielder came up in the eighth, the Red Sox held on. Cabrera, who failed to reach base for the first time in 32 post-season games for the Tigers, never looked comfortable against Junichi Tazawa, swinging and missing at the first two offerings and eventually chasing an outside pitch for strike three. "To me, I (got) myself out. I was swinging at a lot of balls out of the strike zone," said Cabrera, who has been banged up for a couple of months but homered in Game 2. "When you swing at balls, youre not able to have success." Fielder looked even more overmatched against Koji Uehara, striking out on three pitches. Uehara also worked the ninth for a save, ensuring that Lackeys fine performance wouldnt go to waste. Lackey pitched poorly his first two seasons in Boston after signing an $82.5 million, five-year contract in December 2009. Then he missed all of 2012 following elbow ligament-replacement surgery. Hes been better this season, and he kept the defending AL champions off balance Tuesday by effectively changing speeds. Napolis first at-bat in the majors was against Verlander on May 4, 2006, at Comerica Park. He homered then, too. "Hes tough. He was on his game tonight. He was keeping all of us off balance," said Napoli, who rubbed his bat on teammate Jonny Gomes beard before going up to the plate. "I got to a 3-2 count and put a good swing on a pitch, was able to drive it." Detroits three starters in the ALCS -- Verlander, Scherzer and Anibal Sanchez -- have combined to allow two runs and six hits with 35 strikeouts in 21 innings. Still, the Tigers have fallen behind because their bullpen blew a four-run lead late in Game 2 and the offence came up empty at home on Tuesday. Detroit stranded runners on first and third in the first, then wasted Jhonny Peraltas leadoff double in the fifth. Peralta reached third with one out, but an overanxious Omar Infante struck out and Andy Dirks grounded out. Napolis homer was the first run allowed by Verlander since Sept. 18 -- he pitched six scoreless innings in each of his last two starts in the regular season before blanking the opposition for 21 innings in the playoffs. "We won a game with four hits tonight. It says a lot about this team," Gomes said. College Tom Brady Jersey . Snedekers best result so far this year is a tie for eighth place at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. He sits 113th in FedEx Cup standings and has dropped to 31st in world rankings — not the results expected from a player ranked fourth in the world only two years ago. Sale Michael Jordan Jersey . "I honestly dont know," he said. Try this: 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds by Rajon Rondo, a 62-37 rebounding advantage by the Celtics and a horrible 4-for-30 shooting performance on 3-pointers by the Nets. https://www.sportsstarsjerseys.com/michael-jordan-jersey/. Red Sox outfielder Jonny Gomes, the bandleader of the beard brigade during Bostons run to the 2013 World Series title, said he will be shaving his off before spring training so that he can file it "in the archive" with his memories of the teams improbable championship. Tom Brady Jersey Super Bowl . It has been eleven years, eight months, and 261 days since I played my last CFL game. Michael Jordan Jersey Chicago Bulls . The Kings paraded the Stanley Cup through downtown Los Angeles on Monday to celebrate their second NHL title in three seasons.TORONTO – The shootout has proven a viable saving grace for this years edition of the Maple Leafs. When Reid Boucher shot wide in what would be the Devils final attempt on Jonathan Bernier in the third round of the skills competition Sunday, he handed Toronto its eighth victorious decision in the shootout this season – tied for the most in the NHL. In fact, the Leafs have more victories in the shootout since the start of November (six) than they do in regulation/overtime (five), a fact thats masked, until recently, just how poorly the team has performed in the past two-plus months (12-16-5). But for a team that was teetering on a four-game losing streak – the second longest this season – the winning decision at the ACC, in a reality divorced from the game itself, was nonetheless needed and important. "Well, we can breathe," said Randy Carlyle, following the 3-2 victory, the second in two tries against the Devils this season, both wins coming in the shootout. "Theres been a lot of gasping going on, and even in this game there was a lot of gasping going on how tight it was." It was not a pretty performance in many regards – the Leafs were outshot 38-25 and out-attempted 83-48 – but one that at least offered some of the requisite intensity and desire that had been missing amid the recent slide and quite often throughout whats been a disappointing campaign to date. And they might very well have won it in regulation had it not been for a blown call on Tyler Bozaks apparent go-ahead goal in the second frame. "Guys are a little looser tonight already," Mason Raymond told the Leaf Report shortly after the win. "It feels good. It feels good to get a win." "Hopefully this relieves a little bit of the stress thats involved for our hockey club, and they can get back playing to the way were capable of playing," added Carlyle. Consistency has been a foe of his team so far. The Leafs have reeled off exactly one winning streak since October – it lasted three games, two of which were won in shootouts – winning back-to-back games on just two other occasions. Stringing together heartier efforts against the Capitals and Devils in recent days then is just a mild step in the right direction. The teams response in an upcoming back-to-back with the Bruins and Sabres will indicate whether, in fact, a corner is gradually being turned. "I dont think its an exact recipe you can follow," Raymond said of achieving consistency. "Youve got to build off the things, in my opinion, that you did well, stay positive and believe. I think thats a big part of it is just believing that we can get the job done and go out there and get wins." "I think the last few games our compete level and effort has been way better," said van Riemsdyk, who scored for the second straight game, "and I think if we continue to play in that same mold well have some more results that we want." Five Points 1. Gardiners Development Pt. 1 Carlyle labeled 23-year-old Jake Gardiners performance in Washington Friday night as "the model in which wed like him to play. Gardiner, who had been scratched for just the second time all season one night earlier in Carolina, raised his performance in the eyes of the coaching staff against the Capitals. "Much different Jake Gardiner," said Carlyle, observing improved strength and intensity in the defensive zone as well as better decision-making with the puck. Such is the road to development for a young defender in the NHL. Many ups come with many downs. "Jake is a talented young player and there are steps that he has to continue to take," said Carlyle, who met with Gardiner briefly at the end of Sundays morning skate. "With Jake, he has the ability to move the puck both with his hands and with his feet – he can skate. He would like to make more consistent decisions with the puck and so would we. Weve struggled to find a consistent level for him over the last probably five or six games." That inconsistency led Carlyle to scratch Gardiner last week, a questionable move that blew up in a 6-1 loss to the Hurricanes. But if the sit-down was designed to spark a reaction then it may have achieved some success the next night in the U.S. capital. "I think what happens with young players is they find that theyre always trying to do one thing and maybe trying to do too much of one thing and that sometimes turns into where you skate the puck into areas where you shouldnt and turn over the puck," said Carlyle. "But hes a young player that has got a tremendous upside." 2. Gardiners Development Pt. 2 What Carlyle has done additionally, in the meann-time, is remove Gardiner from the teams top two pairings – he and 19-year-old Morgan Rielly formed the third grouping for the second straight game against the Devils – and thus lighten the burden he is exposed to on a night to night basis.dddddddddddd Speaking to the Leaf Report on Sunday morning, Gardiner described his decision-making with the puck as one needed improvement, an issue again at times on Sunday night. "Dont try and force anything," he said. "I think I was trying to make plays that werent there and I was maybe trying to move the puck a little bit too quickly. When theres not an open guy, maybe just be patient and hold onto the puck a little bit." Gardiner, who played over 24 minutes against the Devils, is averaging nearly 22 minutes per game this season, second on the team. 3. Bolland Front Dave Bolland hasnt played since Nov. 2, when his left ankle was sliced by the skate blade of Canucks forward Zack Kassian. The 27-year-old has missed 32 games with the injury, but is due to finally start skating with the team on Thursday. Bolland recently traveled to Montreal in hopes of having a new boot designed specifically to support the injured area. That boot was due to arrive in Toronto on Monday with the Mimico native then expected to skate before joining the Leafs on a four-game road trip next week. An exact timeframe for return remains unclear. 4. Harder to Play Against? Asked before the game if this version of the Maple Leafs was as difficult to play against as the one that ended a lengthy playoff drought last season, Carlyle responded flatly in the negative. "Nowhere near," he said. "Weve been scratching our heads and trying to figure out why." And if there was one element that remained constant from a Friday loss in Washington to Sundays win in Toronto, it was the intensity of his group. The execution may have been lacking at times, but the compete Carlyle has been prodding for remained. "Thats one thing that weve really tried to put at the forefront in the last three weeks to a month is that our compete level has to go to a level where were satisfied," said Carlyle on Sunday morning. "Thats the one thing that weve said is our compete level has to go up." Carlyle pointed to the simple will required to win puck battles. "We have been guilty of just standing around in those situations," he said. "I call it getting inside. I think to be inside in todays NHL is the key because you cant hook and hold, you have to skate your way to get inside. "When we do it we can play effective hockey and give ourselves a chance to win. And when we dont do it were receiving the game, were standing around. I would say thats the biggest mystery for the coaching staff." 5. Stunted Starts Toronto has exited the first frame with a lead in 12 of 47 games this season, trailing, by comparison, on 17 occasions. Substandard starts have been a source of considerable trouble, often requiring the club to dig out from an early hole without much ultimate success. "All year long, weve [had] pretty poor starts," said Gardiner. "We try to dig ourselves out of it and then we start playing well and its too late by that time so if we can play almost desperate and aggressive I think well have better starts and itll lead to a better outcome." The Leafs started slowly again on Sunday – outshot 7-1 in the opening 10 minutes – but rebounded during the back half of the period, finding the games first goal from Tyler Bozak, his seventh this season. "We were rusty, I thought, for the first 10 or 12 minutes of the game," said Carlyle. Stats-Pack 8-4 – Leafs record in the shootout this season. 13 – Points in the past 11 games for Tyler Bozak, who has 19 points in 23 games this season. 8 – Shootout wins for the Leafs this season, tied with the Capitals for the most in the NHL. 1 – Goals in the past 14 games for Nazem Kadri. 24:23 – Ice-time for Jake Gardiner against the Devils, second on the team to Dion Phaneuf. 62% - Leafs success rate on the draw against the Devils. 2 – Consecutive games with a goal for James van Riemsdyk, who had two in the preceding 15 games. Special Teams Capsule PP: 1-4 Season: 21.8% (5th) PK: 3-4 Season: 77.4% (27th) Quote of the Night "I asked him if he could watch it after the game and maybe next time he has a game [with us] he can apologize or something because that was pretty brutal." - James van Riemsdyk, on his conversation with an official following Tyler Bozaks waved off goal in the second period. Up Next The Leafs visit the Bruins in Boston on Tuesday night. ' ' '