35 Justin Verlander, SP

Tigers starter Justin Verlander was given a 2-0 lead to begin the game in Cleveland Wednesday night. By the end of the second inning he gave it back.

Detroit then scored four times for him in the third inning and three more in the fifth for a 9-2 lead. Verlander uncharacteristically gave back some of those runs. He allowed an RBI single to Michael Brantley in the fifth followed by a Carlos Santana two-run homer before the game went into a rain delay.

Verlander came back after the delay to get the final two outs of the fifth inning to qualify for the win and improve to 5-4. The ace gave up five runs on 10 hits and a walk in five innings with nine strikeouts over 110 pitches. His ERA is 3.66.

Verlander has back-to-back poor starts and is 1-2 in his last three outings. He's given up 16 runs over a span of 12 2/3 innings in his last three starts. He next starts Monday against Pittsburgh.

Tigers pitching coach Jeff Jones said that starting pitcher Justin Verlander is "trying to get back to the basics" after allowing seven earned runs in his last start, the Detroit Free Press reports.

"He wants to get back to the basics and quit thinking so much about the delivery -- just repeat his delivery, hit his spot with each pitch and not think about the process," Jones told the Free Press after Verlander's bullpen session Saturday. "Between starts, he wants to get away from thinking about the process and focus on hitting the glove and getting all of his pitches working. He was very good today."

Verlander is 4-4 with a 3.17 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 54 innings.

Yes, Tigers ace Justin Verlander is coming off a miserable start, and if you look at the PitchFX data, his average fastball velocity for this season is about two miles per hour lower than it was last season -- a significant drop by any standard.

But why is it only an issue now? Why wasn't it when he was dominating with a 1.55 ERA over his first seven starts? This is a game, right? It's supposed to be fun? So why are you inventing things to worry about?

Yes, inventing them, because according to that same PitchFX data, he averaged 95.5 miles per hour in that start, the hardest he's thrown this season. In fact, he hasn't thrown that hard over a full season since 2009. Velocity wasn't Verlander's problem Thursday. The Rangers were.

I'll offer you Matt Harvey for him right now.

A funny thing happened early in Thursday's expected pitcher's duel between Cy Young candidates Justin Verlander of the Tigers and Yu Darvish of the Rangers; the offenses spoiled the party.

Verlander lasted just 2 2/3 innings in the game as he ran into a huge amount of trouble in the third inning. Verlander allowed two hits to open the inning, and then threw a wild pitch and then walked in the first run of the inning.

He allowed another bases-loaded walk, but had a chance to get out of the inning with just the two runs allowed. Unfortunately, he surrendered a two-run double to Mitch Moreland and then a three-run home run to Geovany Soto to end his game.

This is just the fourth time in Verlander's career that he has not gotten out of the third inning, and the first since June 22, 2010. He allowed eight runs on six hits and two walks, with his first home run allwoed since his second start of the year.

Verlander falls to 2-2 on the season, taking the loss in a 10-4 final. Verlander's ERA jumped from 1.93 to 3.17 with this start. He will try to bounce back Wednesday, against the Indians. 

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (4-3) allowed four runs -- three earned -- and six hits over five uneasy innings during a 7-6 loss to Cleveland on Saturday night. He struck out seven batters and walked five -- the first time since Aug. 17, 2010 against the Yankees that he has issued five walks.

With temperatures hovering around the mid-50s, the 2011 Cy Young Award winner uncharacteristically labored and needed 110 pitches (69 strikes) to complete his outing, which matched his shortest of the season. His ERA stands at 1.93.

"My fastball control just wasn't good at all," Verlander said. "I was trying to get ahead with the fastball and then throw off-speed stuff, hoping I could grind out six innings, but I didn't even do that."

Verlander will attempt to secure his fifth win during his next scheduled start Thursday at Texas. He is 3-1 with a 1.08 ERA over four starts on the road this season.