Miguel Cabrera's two home runs were all the cushion Justin Verlander needed as the Detroit Tigers cruised to a 5-1 win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
Cabrera finished 3-3 with three RBI, a walk and the two long-balls. He now has 18 homers and is hitting .323 with a .385 on-base percentage.
Verlander, 9-5, lowered his ERA to 2.58 and recorded seven strikeouts, giving him a major league-best 128 on the season. The outing provided further justification for the mid-season praise coming Verlander's way.
It was a much-needed performance from Detroit's ace-slugger combination. The Tigers had dropped two straight to open the four-game series -- it wraps up Thursday afternoon -- and risked falling further behind the division-leading Chicago White Sox and second-place Cleveland Indians, each of whom won Wednesday.
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