Presumed American League Cy Young Award front-runner Justin place Detroit Tigers head back to Target Field for the second of three weekend games with the Minnesota Twins.
Verlander, who's won between 11 and 19 games in each of the past five seasons, earned victory No. 19 with a 5-2 triumph at Tampa Bay on Aug. 22, when he tossed seven innings of three-hit, one-run ball with eight strikeouts.
He's won each of his last seven starts while pitching at least six innings and allowing three runs or less six times.
Two of those victories have come against the Twins and raised Verlander's career mark against them to 9-7 in 20 outings.
In 132 innings against today's hosts, he's allowed 131 hits and struck out 116 batters.
The Tigers won their second straight game and maintained a 6 1/2-game lead over Cleveland for AL Central Division supremacy on Friday, when Victor Martinez drove in four runs and Delmon Young knocked in three runs against his former team in an 8-1 win.
Rick Porcello (12-8) held Minnesota to one run on seven hits and three walks over 6 1/3 innings for Detroit, which won for the seventh time in eight games.
Scott Diamond (0-2), in his second career start, was touched for five runs on 11 hits in 6 1/3 innings to take the loss.
Minnesota has scored five runs during a six-game skid.
The Twins send veteran righty Carl Pavano to the mound in search of a first victory since July 7.
The 35-year-old is 0-4 in eight starts since he'd improved to 6-6 on the season with a 6-2 win against the Chicago White Sox.
Minnesota is 3-5 in those eight subsequent outings, in which Pavano has surrendered nine hits or more seven times and four runs or more four times.
He lost a 6-2 decision to the Tigers on July 21 and is 5-3 in 11 career starts against them.
