DETROIT _ It was dubbed a pitching matchup of the new guard versus the old guard, the up-and-comer against the grizzled vet, today's hits mashed up with throwback music on a baseball diamond near you.
"It's a little bit of new school versus old school," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "Don't tell Ver I said that."
Justin Verlander wouldn't have cared. Mets right-hander Noah Syndergaard is what Verlander used to be, with the fastball he used to have, a youthful confidence exuberating from his slow walk to the mound. But Verlander is better now, at age 33, armed with more experience than yesteryear, and a new trick.
The Tigers' ace played it over and over against the Mets _ that short slider, or cutter, changing speeds with ease _ in pitching his team back into the win column, 4-3, Friday at Comerica Park.
Verlander recorded his fifth consecutive quality start with six strong innings, allowing two runs on four hits, striking out nine and walking one. He set the tone with a seven-pitch first inning and walked off the mound after the top of the sixth inning as the American League leader in innings pitched and strikeouts, a Cy Young Award contender once again.
Verlander's only blemish came in the fourth inning, when Kelly Johnson _ 0-for-15 off the righty lifetime _ ambushed a first-pitch hanging curveball and hit it out to right field.
The Mets' lead was short-lived, however, when Victor Martinez hit a hanging pitch of his own in the next half inning for his 19th home run of the season, a two-run shot.
Miguel Cabrera, who singled to leadoff the inning, scored on the homer.
Cabrera went 2-for-4. He put the Tigers on the board in the first inning, driving in Ian Kinsler on an RBI groundout to third base on the eighth pitch against Syndergaard, fighting off upper-90-mph fastballs and low-90-mph sliders.
Kinsler led off the bottom of the first inning with a hard single. He had no problem with Syndergaard's heat, and even less of a problem advancing against the young fireballer. After singling, Kinsler stole both second and third base. He singled two innings later for his 41st multi-hit game of the season, which ranks third in the AL.
Syndergaard allowed four runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out seven and walked two.
The Tigers' bullpen took the baton from Verlander after the sixth and upped their consecutive scoreless innings streak to 12 before Francisco Rodriguez allowed a run on a hit in the ninth inning. Shane Greene pitched the seventh and Justin Wilson the eighth. For Rodriguez, it was his 31st save in 33 opportunities.
With the win, the Tigers pull into a tie for the second AL Wild Card spot. They stand 2{ games behind the Indians in the AL Central.
