Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander is once again pitching like the Justin Verlander who dominated opposing hitters and consistently won 17-24 games in a season.
The 33-year-old has been terrific atop the Detroit rotation, pitching to an 11-6 record with 155 strikeouts in 147.1 innings pitched. Verlander’s ERA sits at 3.54, but the ace has been much better than that number would suggest.
A bad start against Pittsburgh (10 hits and seven runs allowed in 4.1 innings pitched) and two rough outings against Cleveland (17 hits and 15 runs allowed in a combined 9.2 innings pitched) have driven the longtime Tiger’s ERA up.