Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander faltered in the first inning his first All-Star Game start for the American League. After striking out Carols Gonzalez to start the game, the National League rallied to score five runs on four hits.
Verlander made it out of the inning but did not return for the second inning as expected. After Ryan Braun doubled to score Melky Cabrera and his day-glow orange shoes, Verlander looked like he might work his way out of a big inning, as he struck out Joey Votto. But a pair of walks to Carlos Beltran and Buster Posey loaded the bases and then Pablo Sandoval cleared them off with a triple. Dan Uggla then singled home Sandoval to complete the scoring before Verlander forced Rafael Furcal to ground into a fielder's choice.
According to Jayson Stark, Verlander's start was historically bad, as he was just the second starting pitcher to give up at least five run in the first inning.
Last starter to give up 5+ R in the 1st inning of an ASG: Roger Clemens in 2004. And who else? Uh, nobody -- till now.
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) July 11, 2012
For more on the Detroit Tigers, check out Bless You Boys. You can also head over to SB Nation's main MLB hub at Baseball Nation, or watch SB Nation's YouTube channel: