Justin Verlander

stop carrying Tigers games.

Not so on this chilly but sunny- and sold out- Thursday afternoon.

Justin Verlander cruised along on the strength of a devastating back-door curve ball, mixing in his fastball mostly to keep hitters honest or to get a two-strike count. According to MLB Network's Mitch Williams, Verlander never topped 94 mph.

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he 2012 season.

The Tigers added Prince Fielder to an already-strong core comprised of superstars Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera. RF Brennan Boesch is back, and will play right field every day. Up and down the lineup are dangerous, powerful hitters like the aforementioned Boesch, as well as SS Jhonny Peralta, C Alex Avila, LF Delmon Young and even 2B Ryan Raburn- hitters who should do well to complement the explosiveness of Cabrera and Fielder.

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lthy, and will add a major boost to their bullpen, but the rotation has been spotty at times.  Justin Verlander has rebounded after a slow start and rookie Armando Galarraga has been excellent, but the other three spots have been questionable at best.  Kenny Rogers will take the mound tonight in Baltimore, looking for his seventh win of the year.  His age and injury history have contributed to his inconsistency and mediocrity over the last two years, and the Tigers will need him to step up in the second half.  Dontrelle Willis is in the process of altering his mechanics in the minor leagues and is not expected back until September.  His unique, deceptive pitching motion used to be a major element of his success, but he seemed to gain weight two years ago, and has subsequently been injured due to added stress on his knee, so it will be interesting to see if he slims back down and returns to the impressive pitcher he was from 2003-2006.

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e Red Sox in the ALCS and you have to wonder if that might be a sign of things to come this season. Justin Verlander had an excellent season last year following the 2006 season when he pitched in the World Series and had a similar dramatic increase in innings pitched, however he is the exception to the rule. Given history, I would be hesitant to count on Carmona to repeat his success of last year.

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uerOF Tori HunterOF Grady SizemoreOF Magglio OrdonezUTIL David OrtizSP Josh BeckettSP John LackeySP Justin VerlanderCLOSER Jonathon Papelbon

AL BATTING CHAMP

Ichiro Suzuki

HOME RUN LEADER

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