Justin Verlander threw 133 pitches yesterday, which is a lot, and he gave up four runs on eight hits, which isn't so great. By most standards, he pitched a so-so game. By his standards, he was awful. But because the Tigers won a game they had to win, and because the prevailing narrative calls for Justin Verlander to be Bob Gibson right now, the press went looking last night for compliments that would frame his labors as something heroic. Thus:
Detroit Free Press: "... gritted out the victory ..."
Reuters: "... worked a gritty 7 1/3 innings ..."
MLive.com: "... worked 7 1-3 gritty innings ..."
Reuters: "... 7 1/3 innings of gritty work ..."
MLB.com: "... gritty 133-pitch effort ..."
ESPNDallas: "... a gritty effort by ace Justin Verlander ..."
Daily Press (Newport News, Va.): "... earned a gutsy victory ..."
Associated Press: "... a gutsy effort ..."
USA Today: "... a gutsy pitching performance ..."
Detroit Free Press (headline on a Mitch Albom column): "... gutsy Justin Verlander ..."
Toledo Blade: "... in the midst of a gutsy, MVP-type performance ..."
Detroit News: "... a gutsy, 133-pitch outing ..."
Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, Mich.): "... had to gut out a start ..."
ESPN.com: "... gutted it out for 133 pitches ..."
CBSSports.com: "... gutted through 133 pitches ..."
ClickOnDetroit.com: "... gutted it out ..."
Montreal Gazette: "... gutting it out into the eighth inning ..."
Tribune newspapers: ... "gutted his way through 7 1/3 innings ..."
Detroit News: "... gutted his way through 7 1/3 innings ..."
New York Post: "... gutty seven-plus innings ..."
Daily Tribune (Royal Oak, Mich.): "... 7 2/3 gutty innings ..."
Associated Press: "... wasn't great, but he was gutty ..."
That last one at least nods in the direction of reality, which is that, despite what this ESPN headline says, the Tigers helped Justin Verlander beat the Rangers. Good on you, AP desk person. Everyone else is just pointing at unicorns.