Verlander allowed three runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out four over five innings in Wednesday's start against the Cardinals.
Verlander entered the games having allowed one run all spring before the Cardinals touched him for a pair of home runs Wednesday. He told Oliver Macklin of MLB.com that he was working on his pitches and threw some pitch sequences he wouldn't normally throw during the regular season. Despite the ugly results, Verlander felt he took another step in the right direction toward the regular season.