Justin Verlander, Ian Kinsler lead veteran push in Tigers’ recent roll

6:41 PM ET

DETROIT — You’ve seen what the Detroit Tigers look like when the team is sputtering. Now you’ve seen what the club can do when it gets on a roll.

This Tigers team that completed a sweep of the Minnesota Twins with Wednesday’s 6-3 win at Comerica Park must bear a pretty close likeness to the team general manager Al Avila envisioned when he was putting the final touches on the roster this winter.

The starting pitching has been strong. The offense has been rolling. The bullpen has been resolute. As such, the team now has rattled off four straight wins to pull within two games of .500 (19-21), making the club’s recent cringe-worthy skid (11 losses in 12 games) seem like something of the past, a nasty memory that they jettisoned when they departed Baltimore this past weekend.

It wasn’t quick work crawling out from the gaping hole, but it has been made easier by the type of veteran leadership within the Tigers’ clubhouse that made the dramatic turnaround possible.

Justin Verlander struck out 10 Twins on Wednesday and reached 2,000 career K’s. Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports

Take Wednesday’s game as a prime example: Justin Verlander delivered another gem, limiting the Twins to just three runs on six hits with 10 strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings. Second baseman Ian Kinsler homered in his fourth consecutive game. Closer Francisco Rodriguez recorded his 11th consecutive save.

Those that need to step up have answered the bell, and as a result, it’s a much different feeling in the Tigers’ clubhouse as compared to a week ago.

“The vast majority of our club is veterans, so when you’re a veteran, you’ve been through the extreme highs and lows of a baseball season,” said manager Brad …

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