Familiar. 

Indians 5, Tigers 4

The focus of the afternoon was on Justin Verlander (1 GS, 5 IP, 3.60 ERA, 6.10 FIP). The Tigers didn’t need to win today, but they really wanted to see signs of good things to come from Verlander, and I would argue they did. He sat 93-94 and reached back for 94-97 when he got into trouble in the 5th inning. He didn’t strike many out, but given how long he’d waited to get back on a mound, he looked about as good as we could have hoped. The Tigers lead for most of the day, getting out to a 2-0 lead and then a 3-1 lead before the bullpen let them fall to 4-3 and 5-4. In the 9th, they got a walk from Miggy and a single from Cespedes before JD bounced into a double play. They’ll try to take the series on Sunday with Alfredo Simon (11 GS, 71.2 IP, 2.76 ERA, 3.59 FIP) on the hill.

The Moment: Gose makes a diving catch to preserve Verlander’s 1st inning.