Verlander (6-5) picked up the win Saturday against the Yankees. He pitched 6.2 innings, allowing one run, five hits and one walk while striking out five.
The 13th-year veteran failed to complete the seventh inning for the first time since May 3, a run that stretched across his last six starts. However, Verlander allowed five hits or less for the fourth straight outing while lowering his ERA to a season-best 3.77. The right-hander had issued two or more free passes in his first 10 starts of the year, but has only allowed a total of two over his last three. Verlander has a sweet 94:24 K:BB, and he's on pace to challenge 250 strikeouts, the number of whiffs he amassed in 2011 when he won the MVP award.