AROUND THE HORN „
Tigers, Mets: Justin Verlander grabbed the bill of his cap two times as he faced home plate, acknowledging a warm welcome from fans in Detroit, then had to whip his head around twice toward the outfield as the Tigers sent pitches over the right-field wall. Verlander gave up back-to-back home runs in his Mets debut and Eduardo Rodriguez threw eight scoreless innings as the Tigers completed a threegame sweep with a 2-0 win Thursday. In the end, though, Verlander appreciated the crowd’s collective gesture at the start of his outing. “Any athlete in any situation, when they gave that much to an organization and that much of their career somewhere, it’s nice to hear the ovation, hear the applause,” said Verlander, who was drafted by the Tigers in 2004 and traded by them to the Astros in 2017. “That’s a fan’s way of saying thank you. Of course, it means a lot.” Riley Greene and Javier Baez hit solo homers off Verlander in the first inning and that was enough offense for the Tigers, who had 18,369 fans in the stands for their biggest crowd in nearly a month. Rodriguez (3-2) gave up just two hits and one walk while striking out nine. Alex Lange pitched the ninth for his fifth save. Verlander (0-1) settled in after his rough start, showing signs of the form that led to him winning the AL Cy Young award last year for the third time and helping the Astros win the World Series for a second time. The 40-year-old right-hander gave up two runs on five hits and a walk while striking out five in his 79-pitch outing.
He started the season on the injured list with a muscle strain in his upper back.
Rays: Zach Eflin pitched seven scoreless innings, Randy Arozarena hit one of his team’s three HRs and the Rays beat the visiting Pirates 3-2 to finish a threegame sweep of small-budget teams off to great starts. Taylor Walls and Yandy Díaz also homered for the Rays, and Eflin (4-0) scattered three hits and struck out 10. The Rays (26-6) are off to the best start through 32 games since the 1984 World Series champion Tigers went 27-5. The Pirates have dropped four games in a row.
Extra innings: Luis Rengifo homered, drove in four runs and finished a triple shy of the cycle, as the visiting Angels beat the Cardinals 11-7 to complete a three-game sweep. The Angels won their fourth straight, while the Cardinals lost their sixth in a row. ... The host Rockies used a five-run eighth to earn a 9-6 come-from-behind victory against the Brewers and claim a three-game series sweep. The Rockies extended their season-best win streak to four games. The Brewers lost their fourth straight . ... Braves slugger Ronald Acuña Jr. was removed from his team’s 6-3 road win against the Marlins out of precaution after he fouled a ball off his left knee in the sixth, just three days after he was removed against the Mets with a bruised left shoulder. “You hit a ball off your knee, it’s gonna hurt ... but he’s gonna be fine,” Braves mananger Brian Snitker said after the win over the Marlins.