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Heat exhaustion: Verlander toils in first inning
- Updated: May 4, 2016
CLEVELAND — Replay allowed the Indians to take a run off the board from the Tigers in the top of the first inning Tuesday night. Justin Verlander could only wish replaying his matchups in the bottom half could be as productive.
For the Tigers, the opening inning was the decisive one in Tuesday’s 7-3 loss. For Verlander, the opening inning has been counterproductive so far this year.
As he searches for tweaks to turn his season around (he’s now 2-3 with a 6.49 ERA), first-inning pitches are at the top of his list. He had 38 of them Tuesday, and they shaped the rest of his outing, during which he allowed seven runs on eight hits over five innings.
“I had to go to the gas pedal a little early in the game, and I think that’s something I need to work on,” Verlander said. “I think my offspeed stuff early in games, I’m throwing it for balls and falling behind guys. So that’s kind of put me in a situation where I need to attack early in the game with the fastball, because I’m not throwing my offspeed stuff for strikes.”
Twenty-eight of Verlander’s first-inning pitches were fastballs, 12 in a row at one point. By the time Mike Napoli stepped to the plate …
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