Detroit — A team from Detroit that acted for most of April as if anything fewer than seven runs was a mini-slump, has now scored once in two games.
The Tigers’ latest taste of American League Central frustration came Friday night as the Cleveland Indians popped them, 2-1, at Comerica Park.
On a chilly night when Justin Verlander struck out 10 Indians, he also got nailed for a pair of solo home runs, by Carlos Santana and Marlon Byrd. It wasn’t latitude the Tigers or Verlander could afford Friday.
“One of the best games I’ve seen him pitch in the last year-and-a-half,” said Tigers manager Brad Ausmus, who wouldn’t have gotten much argument from Verlander scholars.