46 Jose Valverde, RP

Tigers closer Jose Valverde entered Friday's contest against the Rangers in the ninth inning with a one-run advantage.

Valverde worked his way around a walk as he made it out of the inning unscathed for his fourth save of the season. He improved his ERA to 1.13 after Friday's 2-1 win. It was his first save since blowing a save Sunday.

Tigers manager Jim Leyland knows there are plenty of questions about his bullpen right now. The only ones he cannot seem to understand are those related to closer Jose Valverde, who has allowed just one run in seven innings of work.

"I don't know why I keep getting questions about Valverde," Leyland told MLB.com. "I'm thrilled to have him back."

Valverde's experience is a big plus for Leyland, who knows that Valverde has saved 280 games in his career, including 110 over the previous three seasons with Detroit. He gave Valverde another vote of confidence Thursday before the game against the Rangers.

"I know two things about Valverde," Leyland said. "He's not afraid and he's done it before."

Tigers closer Jose Valverde, who blew his first save Sunday, bounced back as he pitched a scoreless ninth inning in a non-save situation Tuesday night.

Valverde struck out two and improved his ERA to 1.29 after securing a 6-2 win for the Tigers. He has converted three out of four save chances and has allowed one run through his first seven innings of work.

There's no panic in the Tigers' clubhouse after closer Jose Valverde blew his first save Sunday against the Twins.

"My personal opinion is, he's done a pretty good job since he's been back," manager Jim Leyland said, per MLive.com. "He got two outs, with a chance to close it out, and the guy put a pretty good swing on a ball."

Valverde had opened the season with five straight scoreless outings before allowing one run on one hit and two walks Sunday. And it wasn't all bad news for the veteran reliever, who joined the team in late April. Valverde touched 96 mph on the radar gun and sat consistently around 93 mph Sunday.

"He's going to feel more comfortable and get his rhythm back," catcher Brayan Pena said. "The fact that he was throwing 93-95 mph, very consistently, that's a great sign."

Tigers closer Jose Valverde could not hang on the lead as he blew his first save of the season Sunday afternoon against the Indians.

Valverde entered the game in the ninth inning with a one-run advantage. He walked two and permitted a run-scoring single to Michael Brantley to tie the game. The right-hander allowed a run and a hit in an inning of a 4-3 defeat in extras. He walked two and struck out two in 29 pitches.

Valverde, who has three saves, allowed his first run of the season and saw his ERA rise to 1.50.