Very close.

Tigers 5, Rangers 0

Justin Verlander (10-6, 126 IP, 3.50 ERA, 3.23 FIP, 3.1 WAR) almost joined some elite company, coming within just 7 outs of his third career no-hitter on Sunday. The only pitchers to accomplish that feat are Feller, Young, Ryan, and Koufax and Verlander has teased entry into that club on several occasions, including twice now in 2013. He was very solid across 7 innings, giving up 1 H, 3 BB, and 0 R while striking out 3. It was nice to watch a cruise-control Verlander start after a less that Verlander-ish first half. It was a good half by almost anyone’s standards, but Verlander has set a very high bar. The offense also did their job with 3 solo HR from Hunter, Martinez, and Peralta to go with RBI singles by Peralta and Tuiasosopo in the 6th inning. The win gives the Tigers a 52-42 record heading into the break and no worse than a 1.5 game lead in the AL Central on the other side of the break. In case you’re wondering, New English D now endorses scoreboard watching across the final two and a half months. At least six Tigers will hop a plane for Citi Field tonight, but the whole crew will be back in action Friday behind Anibal Sanchez (7-6, 92 IP, 2.93 ERA, 2.30 FIP, 3.3 WAR).

The Moment: Verlander makes a run at his 3rd no-hitter.