Justin Verlander shook off a bit of a rocky start and pitched another gem to pick up his 18th win in a 7-1 drubbing of Minnesota.
Verlander (18-5) also picked up his 14th win following a Tigers loss this season. He threw 7 2/3 innings, giving up a run on seven hits while striking out eight.
Verlander looked a little off in the first inning, giving up a lead off hit and a walk, but he struck out two batters and eventually got out of the inning unscathed.
Offensively, Alex Avila continued his scorching-hot August with a 2-for-2 performance at the plate, driving in a run and walking twice. Miguel Cabrera went 2-for-3 with three RBI.
Cabrera’s third-inning hit scored Brennan Boesch and Delmon Young to get Detroit on the board, giving Verlander all the run support he’d need. The Tigers weren’t done though, tacking on two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings to stretch the lead to 7-0.
Verlander eventually got touched up on the scoreboard when he allowed an RBI single to Justin Morneau with two outs in the eighth to score the Twins’ only run. Phil Coke came in and threw one pitch to Jason Kubel, who flew out to end the inning.
With such a big lead, Jose Valverde got the night off and Joaquin Benoit pitched the ninth.
Verlander lowered his ERA to 2.31 and his WHIP to 0.88.