C.J. Wilson couldn't limit

C.J. Wilson couldn't limit the damage from a lucky Tigers bounce off Miguel Cabrera's grounder in the sixth.Would you pay C.J. Wilson, a free agent after the season, huge money based on the three postseason starts he's made for the Texas Rangers this season?

Wilson had the perfect stage to show he belonged among the AL's elite pitchers Thursday in a mano-a-mano battle against Justin Verlander, the league's best pitcher.

Match Verlander pitch for pitch and inning for inning and the odds were good the Rangers would have yet another postgame celebration with the bubbly stuff, especially since Detroit Tigers manager Jim Leyland revealed before the game that key relievers Joaquin Benoit and Jose Valverde would not pitch.

In the first five innings, Wilson had a lively fastball and effectively mixed his cutter, curveball and slider to keep Detroit's hitters off-balance.

Dangerous Miguel Cabrera chopped a ball toward third base that seemed destined to wind up a double play, but it bounced off the left corner of the third base bag and ricocheted a foot over Adrian Beltre's head for a run-scoring double that gave the Tigers a 3-2 lead.

If Wilson pitches out of the jam without yielding more than one more run at the most, the Rangers could still come back and win because Verlander had a rising pitch count, and the Rangers had nearly knocked him out of the game in the top of the sixth inning.

"Even with that play it's still 3-2 and we're still in the game. I didn't make the right pitches to get out of the inning," Wilson said of the ricochet. "You can't control something after it happens.

"I can't go rake the line or make the base move. The ball went over the base. I was done with it at that point. My job was to get the other guys out."

Wilson is supposed to be the Rangers' ace, their horse. He's supposed to be the guy who sets the tone for the rest of the starting rotation, which is what he did in the regular season.

Wilson is 0-2 with a 7.59 ERA in 16 2/3 innings. His six-inning performance in Game 5 represents the longest of his three postseason starts.

More alarming is that Wilson has allowed six homers in the postseason; this from a dude who has allowed just 26 homers in 427 1/3 in two seasons as a starter.

"I'm trying to improve. I'm still a novice at this whole starting pitching thing," said Wilson, converted from a reliever before the start of last season.

"As much as I want to be a Cy Young winner and all that stuff like the other guy was tonight, I have to slug it out and take my lumps to be the best guy I'm going to be."

Richard Durrett and the ESPNDallas.com team have the inside scoop on the Rangers, the American League and Major League Baseball. Blog | ESPN DallasThe Rangers needed Wilson to pitch deep into the game and give their bullpen a chance to win it because the previous two games had depleted the Tigers' bullpen.

Now, the Rangers must place their fate into the hands of Derek Holland or Colby Lewis at Rangers Ballpark for Game 6 or 7, if necessary. The Rangers remain in control of the series, but it's a lot more tenuous than it was Wednesday night.

And for those general managers wondering just how much cash to offer the quirky left-hander when free agency begins, a word of advice: Buyer beware.