DETROIT -- Justin Verlander bounced back with a dominant performance at Comerica Park on Friday night. Unfortunately, the Detroit Tigers offense didn't reciprocate the favor, and a fantastic outing was spoiled. Two home runs surrendered were enough to hand the Cleveland Indians a 2-1 win, but it was more the fault of the offense than the pitching.
A wicked fastball kept the Indians hitters off-balance. Verlander faced a high pitch count due to those strikeouts, and the Indians capitalized on making him work to earn them. However, his fastball had a bite to it and with the exception of Carlos Santana and Marlon Byrd home runs, the Tribe offense couldn't catch up.