TOLEDO — A street vendor stood at the corner of Huron and Monroe streets Saturday selling orange and blue phiten necklaces — "Just like Justin Verlander wears!" — while fans in No. 35 jerseys crowded the sidewalks and sat in the windows of Pizza Papalis nearby.
This was clearly not going to be just another game at Fifth Third Field.
The Tigers were in Chicago that night in the midst of an eight-game losing streak, their worst stretch since 2005, yet their award-winning righthander went through his warmups 250 mile to the east. The Tigers' loss was Toledo's gain — for a night, anyway.