And I thought Justin Verlander’s day was done after seven.
Shows how little I know.
The Tigers ace came bouncing out of the dugout with a spring in his step after the Tigers got him a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh, then proceeded to shut down the Red Sox 1-2-3 before leaving to chants of “MVP” from the crowd of 45,027 here at Comerica Park.
No doubt, it’ll be closer Jose Valverde working the ninth.
Verlander’s line will be: 8 IP, 2 H, 7 Ks, 1 BB.
And, oh, if the Tigers hold on, it’ll be his first victory on Opening Day. In his previous four Opening Day starters, Verlander was 0-1 with three no-decisions.
In the eighth, by the way, he cruised through Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Mike Aviles and Jacoby Ellsbury, getting a flyout, lineout and a groundout.
The Tigers scored first in the bottom of the seventh on two-out doubles from Jhonny Peralta and Alex Avila, both to left field.
The crowd, by the way, is the largest ever for Opening Day at Comerica Park and the second-largest regular-season crowd in the stadium’s 13-year history.
Due up for the Tigers in the eighth: Jackson, Boesch, Cabrera.
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