Mizzou in the Majors: Max slated for Game 4

News reports Sunday say that Jim Leyland plans to stick with his usual pitching rotation, with Max Scherzer pitching 4th in the order.  This would mean Max will not pitch in his home town of St. Louis, whether or not the Cardinals make it to the World Series.  Because the National League won the All Star Game, the NL team will have home field advantage, hosting, games 1 and 2, then 6 and 7, if needed.  Game 4 will be in Detroit.

♦ Fister, Sanchez, Scherzer to follow Verlander (mlb.com)

Tigers manager Jim Leyland was asked Sunday if the National League pennant winner would influence how he ordered his rotation. He responded by putting his rotation in order.

"There's no secret to my rotation. My rotation is going to be [Justin] Verlander, [Doug] Fister, [Anibal] Sanchez and [Max] Scherzer," Leyland said. "There's no secret to that, unless they're scouting this simulated game."

It's the same order the Tigers used in their American League Division Series against Oakland, and a similar setup to what they used in the AL Championship Series to watch the innings on Scherzer after his shoulder scare last month. Once again, Scherzer would be the only one of the four guaranteed not to get a second start.

If that order sticks, a potential Game 7 start would fall to Sanchez, who would be eligible for free agency just a few days later.

Verlander, whose rough inning in the All-Star Game has been blamed by many for the NL having home-field advantage, will start Game 1 in the National League city and potentially Game 5 in Detroit.