Published: 6/14/2012

Justin Verlander pitches 8 innings for first win in a month, Tigers beat Cubs 5-3

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Detroit Tigers relief pitcher Jose Valverde, right, celebrates with catcher Gerald Laird after their 5-3 win over the Chicago Cubs in an interleague baseball game on Thursday. AP Enlarge

CHICAGO — Justin Verlander pitched eight solid innings for his first win in a month and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago Cubs 5-3 on Thursday in front of another receptive crowd at Wrigley Field.

Verlander also helped himself with a pair of sacrifices as Detroit capped an encouraging 4-2 interleague road trip to Cincinnati and Chicago. Austin Jackson hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the seventh and a two-run homer in the ninth.

The combination of Verlander and a picturesque day in Chicago led to a season-high crowd of 42,292 that ran the total for the series to 124,782, setting a Wrigley Field record for a midweek three-game set. Tigers fans made up a good amount of that total, and they cheered everything Verlander did in the finale.

Detroit relief pitcher Jose Valverde finished the game for the Tigers.

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