Detroit pitcher Justin Verlander wasted little time bouncing back from his All-Star Game shellacking on Sunday afternoon, as the Tigers' ace tossed eight shutout innings with three hits to pick up his 10th victory of the season.
Verlander threw 74 of his 117 pitches for strikes in the outing, and routinely confused Baltimore hitters en route to recording eight strikeouts. The strikeout total marked his eighth time this year alone where the reigning MVP has whiffed at least eight batters in a start, and bumped his season total up to 144.
With Verlander making quick work of the Orioles, Detroit hitters knew they wouldn't need to produce much in the scoring column in order to get a win. So it made perfect sense then that leadoff hitter Austin Jackson would step to the plate in the very first inning and smack a solo home run to right field on the second pitch of the game. Jhonny Peralta and Alex Avila would later add RBI singles to pad the lead, before a Miguel Cabrera eighth inning blast added yet another tally, but Jackson's quick strike would prove to be all Verlander needed.
Next up for the Tigers is a big four game homestand with the Los Angeles Angels. Monday's series opener, pitting Detroit's Rick Porcello against the Angels' Ervin Santana, will be televised nationally on ESPN.
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