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Justin Verlander entered the fifth inning of his Sunday start with a decent game going. He'd allowed two runs over four innings, and was trying to help the Tigers avoid a sweep at the hands of the division-leading Indians. All was going okay ... then the fifth inning started, and things fell apart ... really apart.

Verlander allowed not one, not two, not three, but four home runs during the fifth, becoming the first Tigers pitcher in franchise history to ever allow four or more homers in a single frame. What began as a tied game quickly morphed into a six-run thrashing that ended in a 9-3 final. Here's the supercut version of the homers, as hit by Juan Uribe, Tyler Naquin, Mike Napoli, and Lonnie Chisenhall:

What made the sequence odd -- besides Verlander allowing four home runs like that -- is how none of them came on fastballs over the middle. You think home-run barrage, you tend to think a bunch of sloppily placed heaters. Nope. The Indians were eating the offspeed stuff like it was food. No wonder Verlander looked flummoxed:

Justin Verlander managed to do something that hasn't been done by a Tigers pitcher. USATSI

Believe it or not, Sunday marked the second time in Verlander's career he'd yielded four long ones in a start. The other time came back in September 2007, also against the Indians. Verlander has also given up three home runs in a start four times, with the most recent coming almost a year to the day -- on June 19, 2015. Maybe the Tigers should just make plans now for next June?