Verlander took the loss in Sunday's 2-0 match against the Rangers in Game 1 of the ALCS, allowing two runs on six hits and two walks across 6.2 innings. He struck out five.
Verlander had a solid performance on the losing side of a pitchers duel, yet his team could not bail him out of the 12th loss of his postseason career. The veteran right-hander was victim to an RBI single in the second inning to give the Rangers an early lead, and a fifth-inning solo home run by Leody Taveras furthered the damage. However, Verlander hasn't lost a beat in his age-40 season, tossing his seventh quality start in eight games since September. So far this postseason, Verlander has pitched to a clean 1.42 ERA and 1.18 WHIP across 12.2 innings with 11 strikeouts.