Vintage Verlander, slightly different approach

Justin Verlander built his reputation stepping up when the Tigers needed him, whether it was a winner-take-all game in Oakland or a rubber game in a regular-season series with the lineup struggling and the bullpen taxed. In that sense, Wednesday’s 2-1 Tigers win was vintage Verlander.

“I can’t count the number of times our bullpen was strapped over the years and Ver went out and gave us eight or nine innings that day,” pitching coach Jeff Jones said of Verlander’s eight innings of four-hit ball. “That’s what it was reminiscent of for me.”

In other ways, though, Wednesday was a step towards Verlander 2.0, both in what he threw and how he carried himself. The your-best-against-my-best Verlander…