I had to, because I couldn't remember the last time Justin Verlander lost a game.
It was over two months ago, on the night of July 15, when the White Sox batted around against him, and the Comerica fans booed. Back then, they were still Pretenders, Raburn was Ryan Strangeglove, and Gov. Inge was batting .084.
Since then, JV has won eleven straight starts, equalling a Tiger record set in 1930 by Earl Whitehill and tied in 1946 by Hal Newhouser.
Every game is a masterpiece. Like this afternoon's in Oakland: eight innings of three-hit shutout ball, with six strikeouts; his 24th win against five losses.
His 2011 season reminds the fan of Bob Gibson in 1968, when the Cardinal ace went 22-9 and posted a 1.12 ERA, the lowest since 1900 and probably forever. The fan wonders how either pitcher ever managed to lose a game.
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