MINNEAPOLIS, July 21 (UPI) -- Justin Verlander regained his typical form Thursday, striking out nine over eight innings and leading the Detroit Tigers to a 6-2 victory over Minnesota.
Verlander (13-5) put together a streak of nine straight starts with two earned runs or fewer before suffering a rare poor performance last Friday against the Chicago White Sox. He gave up five runs on seven hits in that game, but bounced back against the Twins Thursday to produce a dominating effort.
Verlander, who threw a no-hitter in May, allowed a run on five hits and did not walk a batter while pushing the Tigers a half game in front of Cleveland for the lead in the American League Central.
Phil Coke came on in the ninth and gave up a run in a non-save situation.
The Tigers produced 12 hits in support of Verlander, including a two-run homer by Brennan Boesch in the fifth and a solo shot by Jhonny Peralta in the eighth. Peralta also drove home a run in the sixth with a double.
Michael Cuddyer delivered Minnesota's first run with a single in the sixth after the Tigers had built a 5-0 lead.
The loss went to Carl Pavano (6-7), who surrendered five runs on nine hits in six innings. The Twins had won their previous two games.
