The Detroit Tigers defeated the Miami Marlins 8-7 in 11 innings on Opening Night where Justin Verlander was strong, the Ian Kinsler led the way for the lineup, Francisco Rodriguez collapsed, base running was brutal, but the Tigers found a way to prevail. In a lot of ways, this game was the perfect summary of the Tigers’ 2015 performance without injuries, but with the win.
Verlander got the Opening Day start for the Tigers and picked up where he left off in the second half of 2015. Outside of one mistake to Giancarlo Stanton, Verlander was sharp, surrendering no hits through 5 innings and finishing with a line of 6 IP, 3H, 3 ER, 5 K, and 2 BB.