Justin Verlander: Detroit Tigers Ace Wins AL Best of the Night Award

Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander did not look like his usual self on Sunday against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park, nor did he pitch like his usual self.

Apparently, he didn't feel like his usual self, either. He admitted after the game to the Detroit Free Press that he "didn't feel particularly great."

From the sound of things, he basically showed up to a joust without a suit of armor. Which, in case you're planning on taking up that particular hobby, is not recommended.

It was a grind for Verlander on Sunday, make no mistake about that. He didn't have his best stuff, and he was tasked with giving the Tigers quality innings on a day when their lineup wasn't able to muster that much offense against Kevin Correia and Pittsburgh's pitching staff.

Given the circumstances, you'd think we'd be gathered here to talk about a game in which Verlander battled through six innings and gave the Tigers just enough.

We're not. We're sitting here talking about a game in which he threw 117 pitches and recorded his third complete-game victory of the season in a game the Tigers won 3-2. He allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk while striking out seven.

On Sunday, Detroit's armor-less ace prevailed.

He wasn't able to throw a fastball any harder than 97 miles per hour, but Verlander really only made two mistakes. Garrett Jones hit the first mistake out of the park for a two-run home run that tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh.

Verlander's second mistake came in the bottom of the eighth after Delmon Young had given the Tigers the lead back with an RBI single. He left a pitch up to Josh Harrison, the same man who broke up his no-hit bid several weeks ago, and he drove it out toward the wall in left field.

The ball looked like it had a shot, but Ryan Raburn caught it just in front of the wall. Instead of a game-tying home run, it was merely a loud out.

Verlander watched the ball careen toward the wall in a crouch in front of the mound. When Raburn caught it, Verlander could only smile and shake his head.

That was pretty much it for the Pirates. Verlander breezed through the heart of their order in the bottom of the ninth, getting Andrew McCutchen to fly out and striking out Casey McGehee and Pedro Alvarez to seal his eighth win.

MLB.com has the video highlights if you want to catch a glimpse of Verlander's complete game for yourself.

There are two things worth noting about Verlander's victory on Sunday. 

Firstly, it was Verlander's second complete-game victory over the Pirates this season (his first being his near no-hitter on May 18). According to the Elias Sports Bureau (via ESPN.com), Verlander is just the third pitcher to record two complete-game victories over the same opponent in interleague play—the others being James Shields in 2011 and Tim Lincecum in 2009.

Secondly, the other tidbit from the Elias Sports Bureau is that Verlander is now 4-1 this season in seven games in which he's relinquished a lead. He surrendered a grand total of eight leads last season and went 3-1 in those games.

That pretty much sums up the kind of season Verlander is having. Sunday was just another battle in what is becoming a long line of battles. Nothing is coming easily this season for the reigning AL MVP and Cy Young award winner.

For his efforts on Sunday, I'm giving Verlander today's American League "Best of the Night" award. We've seen him pitch a lot better, but he ended up coming through to help the Tigers avoid a sweep at the hands of the Pirates.

If only he could pitch every day for the Tigers.

Actually, he probably could.

Just throwing it out there.

If you ever want to nominate a player for the American League "Best of the Night" award, hit me up on Twitter.