Justin the Nick of Time: Detroit Ace Verlander Answers Challenge vs. Minnesota

The Tigers searched for someone who could help them get over a tough game one loss.  A game that featured poor situational hitting and an awful performance by relief pitcher Brandon Lyon late in the contest.

The Tigers handed the ball to Justin Verlander for the second game of the doubleheader; so he was the logical candidate the Tigers could count to will them to victory.

Verlander's performance quickly made everyone forget what took place yesterday afternoon by pitching well in the nightcap of the much-anticipated doubleheader.  It was good enough for the Tigers to win the game and end the day with a split by earning a 6-5 victory over the Twins.

Make no mistake. If the Tigers lost both games of the doubleheader, the Twins would feel very good about themselves leaving Detroit on Thursday, whether they were in first place, or tied atop the division.

Instead, the Tigers put pressure on the Twins to go win the next two games in order for them to stay alive in the AL Central race. A split will not do it for the Twins.

The Tigers ace set the tone early by being ahead of the count and throwing strikes in the first four innings of the game. Out of 35 pitches in the first few innings, 27 of them were strikes.

How amped was he to start the game? He threw inside to let the Twins know that he wasn't playing around, and in the second inning, he struck out the side.

In the fifth inning, his velocity was still being clocked in the 90s and the Twins could not hit anything off him.

The Twins finally figured Verlander out in the sixth inning, and they scored couple of runs off him to make it a 5-2 game. They had a chance to tie it up, but Verlander found a way to get out of the jam by striking out Michael Cuddyer.

The Twins made it interesting again in the eighth inning by scoring two runs to cut the deficit to one.  Jim Leyland came out to the mound and asked his prized starter if he was good enough to get one more out.

We all knew Verlander wasn't going to bail out with everything on the line.

He got the Tigers out of it again by forcing Cuddyer to ground out.

By then, the Twins knew it was simply his night. He would not be denied a victory.

It's the type of performance the Tigers expect out of him when he is out there. If Zack Greinke or Felix Hernandez did not have the years they are having, Verlander would be the Cy Young winner.

At least, he gets to pitch in meaningful games like this one with a chance to play in October unlike Greinke or Hernandez, so he won't complain about not getting the Cy Young award.

The Tigers should like their chances of getting past the first round if they make it because they have an ace that can win in a short series. In a five-game series, Leyland could use Verlander for Game 1 and 5, and Verlander could be one guy that gives the Yankees fits.

The Twins could use an ace like that. They don't have one, and that's why they are fighting for their playoff lives and hoping for the best regardless of which starter is pitching.

The Tigers don't have that problem.

They expect a victory every fifth day when Verlander pitches, and that's why they knew everything was going to be fine once the night was over.