Tigers catcher Alex Avila dubbed starting pitcher Justin Verlander's performance Tuesday against the Indians as "probably his best start this year." After allowing hits to three of the first five batters, Verlander settled down to allow one run in eight innings and didn't walk a batter for the first time all year.
"I think that was probably his best start this year as far as his command at velocity like that," Avila said, per MLive.com, "plus his curveball was the best it has been, too. I think that just kind of carried over once he found that command with the fastball."
Verlander said he fixed a flaw in his delivery after comparing film from 2011 to film from this season. He said his left leg was landing about five or six inches more toward the third-base side than it should have been.
"I was kind of tying myself up," he said. "It was hard for me to locate down and away to a righty and in to a lefty. And it was hard for me to get on top of stuff, because when you're closed off, you kind of have to fall off to one side and I think that was leading to a lot of problems."