Verlander, three homers help Tigers beat White Sox
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[April 05, 2017]
CHICAGO -- Even heading into his
ninth career Opening Day start, Justin Verlander admits he still
battles a case of the jitters every time out.
A heavy dose of offensive support from his teammates, however,
calmed the Detroit Tigers ace down in a hurry.
Verlander struck out 10 over 6 1/3 innings and JaCoby Jones, Nick
Castellanos and Ian Kinsler all homered as the Tigers beat the
Chicago White Sox 6-3 on Tuesday.
Verlander struck out at least one hitter in every inning he pitched
and was anchored by Detroit's home-run power a day after the
scheduled season opener for both teams was washed out by rain.
Even with the delay, Verlander mowed through the White Sox offense.
"He was just in control today," Kinsler said of Verlander's effort.
"He looked really sharp."
Verlander had plenty of support.
The Tigers jumped on White Sox starter Jose Quintana for five runs
in the second inning. Jones hit his first career home run -- a
three-run shot into the White Sox bullpen -- after Quintana
surrendered a single to Justin Upton and hit Mikie Mahtook with a
pitch.
With two outs in the inning, Castellanos drilled a 387-foot, two-run
homer to extend the lead to 5-1.
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Although the inning was the only one in which Quintana struggled, it
proved to be all the Tigers needed.
"I tried to keep the game close," Quintana said. "But the five runs,
that's too much against Verlander. He threw the ball well."
Kinsler, who reached base four times, made it 6-1 with a solo shot
off of Quintana in the fourth inning. Quintana, who pitched 5 1/3
innings and walked three and struck out two, surrendered only five
hits in his first career Opening Day start, but three were home
runs.
"To put up six runs against that type of pitcher is a great effort
by the offense," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "We didn't get a
bunch of hits -- Quintana actually pitched pretty well despite the
number of runs that were given up."
The White Sox, playing their first game under manager Rick Renteria,
got to within 6-2 in the fourth inning on a Jose Abreu RBI
groundout, but struggled against Verlander, who yielded six hits and
walked two.
Verlander registered his final strikeout in the seventh inning when
he struck out Avisail Garcia to become the first Tigers pitcher
since Mickey Lolich in 1970 to strike out 10 hitters on Opening Day.
"(Reaching 10 strikeouts) isn't something you're
cognizant of when you're out there," Verlander said.
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![](../images/040517pics/sports83.jpg)
Tigers starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) delivers a pitch
during the first inning of the game against the Chicago White Sox at
Guaranteed Rate Field. Mandatory Credit: Caylor Arnold-USA TODAY
Sports
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Verlander relied on a steady diet of fastballs throughout his start
and effectively used the pitch to keep White Sox hitters
off-balance.
"We had a lot of guys that had a tough time laying off that pitch,"
Renteria said. "Even though you talk about it, you go over it, it's
still one of those things where you're facing an ace. He is an ace
and he did what he normally does, he attacks the zone and then he
ends up making you chase up out of the zone."
Jacob May capped the scoring in the ninth inning with an RBI
groundout.
Chicago took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Melky Cabrera drove
in Tyler Saladino with a double. Saladino was one of the lone bright
spots for the White Sox as the leadoff hitter went 2-for-4 with a
walk. Cabrera also had two doubles, and Abreu had two hits for the
White Sox.
But it was far from being enough to keep up with the Tigers' offense
on a day when Verlander -- nerves and all -- was in command from the
start.
"It felt good," he said. "It's good to get the first one out of the
way and it's good to get the win."
NOTES: Tigers OF J.D. Martinez had a cast removed and underwent
therapy on Monday after spraining the Linsfranc ligament in his
right foot last month while making a catch. Manager Brad Ausmus told
reporters recently that Martinez would miss 3-4 weeks. ...Tigers LHP
Kyle Ryan will leave the team on paternity leave Tuesday night until
Friday to be with his wife, who is scheduled to undergo a C-section
on Wednesday in Lakeland, Fla. Blaine Hardy will replace Ryan until
he returns. ...White Sox LHP Jose Quintana matched a career high
when he allowed three home runs in a game. According to Baseball
Reference, Tuesday's outing marked the fifth time in Quintana's
career he has surrendered a trio of homers. ...LF Melky Cabrera
became the first White Sox player to collect multiple doubles on
Opening Day since former 1B Frank Thomas accomplished the feat in
1999. [© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All
rights reserved.]
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