Zumaya shot down by slow gun

ST. LOUIS -- Detroit reliever Joel Zumaya attracted quite a bit of attention in the AL playoffs by routinely topping 100 mph on the radar gun.

So fellow Tigers rookie Justin Verlander thought it was odd when he noticed Zumaya wasn't hitting triple digits on the Busch Stadium scoreboard in Game 3.

Instead of 103 mph heat, the speeds posted were in the mid-90s.

Zumaya recently was sidelined by an injured wrist and forearm, and Verlander wondered whether there might be a problem. Verlander wandered back into the clubhouse and was glad to see the TV radar gun registering Zumaya's pitches at 100 mph.

"He says in every stadium, he knows where the radar guns are and he checks them," Verlander said. "If he thinks the radar guns are low, and it gets in his head, there might be something to it.

"I don't know if it was something funny with the radar guns outside or not," said Verlander, who also reaches 100 mph. "I just knew Joel was a little down."

The radar gun at Busch is mounted behind the plate and instantly relays the speeds to the scoreboard operations booth.

Tigers closer Todd Jones found it funny that there might be some chicanery with speeds.

"It's a great day when you can lose 8 mph and throw 95," Jones said. "I would consider it the greatest compliment ever, if an organization thought enough of you to turn the radar guns down."

Slump busting

After skipping the off-day workout on Monday, Cardinals leadoff batter David Eckstein got his first two hits of the World Series in Game 3.

The St. Louis shortstop had been 8-for-50 in the postseason before Tuesday night. He's cut back on batting practice swings and unnecessary throws to rest his sprained left shoulder.

"I'd rather just keep playing," Eckstein said after the Cardinals' 5-0 win. "The days off at this point in time, as long as we get home at a decent hour to get enough sleep, I feel really good.

"It's one of those things that you just keep grinding out. The body wants to play every day," he said.

Eckstein was 0-for-11 in the World Series before getting two singles and a walk in his final three trips against Detroit.

"We want David in there every day," teammate Scott Rolen said. "He's a fighter. He's a big part of the team. I don't look at the scoreboard and see what it says because I know he's the guy to be up there."

---

AP Sports Writers R.B. Fallstrom and Larry Lage contributed to this report.