DETROIT --- The Detroit Tigers may be down 2-0 in the World Series, but players have hardly lacked the confidence needed to overcome their early deficit.
Their cool -- even though they know 14 of the last 15 teams to win the first two games have gone on to a World Series title -- lies in their dominance at Comerica Park this season.
As tough as the task appears to be, Tigers players sounded confident on Friday afternoon they can rally in time to yet again save their season.
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Detroit, which is perfect at home in the postseason, has won 54 of 85 games played at Comerica Park this season, including eight straight.
The World Series resumes at 5:07 p.m. on Saturday when Detroits Anibal Sanchez faces the Giants Ryan Vogelsong in Game 3 of the World Series.
Everybody is going to be relaxed, Sanchez said. We know we are home, we play really good here. Were going to keep doing the same. We need to make some runs.But tomorrow is going to be a different story. They won (at) home. We need to win at home.
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San Francisco Giants
Sanchez should have added an extra really when he spoke about how well the Tigers play at home.
Even though Comerica Park has played as a pronounced pitchers park in years past, Detroit has excelled here offensively this season. The Tigers averaged 4.85 runs per game at home and boast a .278.342.451 slash line compared with 4.11 runs away from Comerica and a .258.327.395 line.
Triple crown winner Miguel Cabreras home and road splits were as significant as his teams. Of Cabreras 44 homers, 28 occurred in Detroit. Cabrera had 1.095 OPS at home compared with .913 on the road.
Home cooking might just be the remedy Tigers hitters are looking for after they produced only three runs and 10 hits in the first two games of the World Series. Thus far, Detroits offense is hitting .167 compared with the Giants .258 average.
Catcher Alex Avila believes the root cause is the teams level of comfort.
You get to sleep in your own bed, and youre just a little more familiar with your surroundings, a little bit easier to go through your routine Avila said. Thats probably the biggest thing, being able to go through your routine. Being comfortable allows you to have confidence. It definitely helps when people are not yelling that you suck.
Tigers center fielder Austin Jackson is excited about the prospect of fan energy being on the side of his team. Having witnessed the electric display put on by the Giants faithful at AT&T Park in the first two games of the series, Jackson cant wait to see what Detroit has in store for his club. The Tigers drew more than 3 million fans this season, an average of 37,383 per contest.
Its an unbelievable atmosphere, Jackson said. You feed off that, that fan energy. You feed off that, and its just unbelievable when you go out there and you can feel that the fans are with you.
Dan Hayes is the White Sox Insider for CSNChicago.com