Verlander no-hits Texas until 7th, Tigers win

Tight right quad muscle aggravates Detroit ace

Detroit Tigers starter Justin Verlander fell seven outs short of his third career no-hitter, but the Detroit ace looked sharp in his final start before the All-Star break, and the Tigers backed him with three home runs in a 5-0 victory over the Texas Rangers.

DETROIT — Justin Verlander’s no-hit bid was finally over in the seventh inning — and before refocusing, the Detroit ace saw his shortstop do something amusing.

“When the double was hit, and the ball came back in, everybody started cheering,” Verlander said. “(Jhonny) Peralta caught the ball and looked up at the board checking the hits. That’s when I knew he didn’t know. I was like, ‘Come on, Jhonny.’ ”

Verlander fell seven outs short of his third career no-hitter, but the Detroit ace looked sharp in his final start before the All-Star break, and the Tigers backed him with three home runs in a 5-0 victory over the Texas Rangers today.

Mitch Moreland’s two-out double to right-center broke up Verlander’s bid. Verlander (10-6) left the game after the seventh with a tight right quad muscle, having allowed just that one hit and three walks.

“It was just kind of starting to get tight,” Verlander said. “There’s really no need to push it.”

Torii Hunter, Victor Martinez and Jhonny Peralta hit solo homers off Texas starter Martin Perez (3-2). The Rangers finished with two hits.

Verlander was picked for the American League All-Star team but was replaced for Tuesday night’s event. Under baseball’s labor contract, pitchers who start on the Sunday before the All-Star game may opt not to participate.

Although he also took a no-hitter into the seventh at Houston on May 5, Verlander’s overpowering aura hasn’t been quite the same this season. Sunday’s gem lowered his ERA to 3.50.

He struck out only three but was effective anyway.

“It was a little bit different Verlander than what we usually see,” Moreland said. “He mixed a lot of off-speed in there and kept us off-balance. I felt like we hit some balls hard, but it seemed like they went right to them. You’ve got to tip your hat to what he did, it’s always a battle going against him and he’s where he’s at for a reason. It was a tough one for us.”

Verlander no-hit Toronto on May 7, 2011. His other no-hitter came June 12, 2007, against Milwaukee.

Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Bob Feller and Cy Young are among the five pitchers with at least three no-hitters. Larry Corcoran, an ambidextrous pitcher who won 177 games from 1880-85, is the other one.

Verlander took the mound about 12 hours after San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum finished a no-hitter of his own at San Diego.

The drama began building in Detroit in the fourth when Tigers left fielder Matt Tuiasosopo got turned around on a line drive by Nelson Cruz. He was able to recover and reach up for the catch.

In the fifth, Hunter ran to the corner in right to catch a flyball by Elvis Andrus. Jurickson Profar, the next hitter, sent a smash toward Martinez, who was playing first base because Prince Fielder was Detroit’s designated hitter Sunday. Martinez made the stop and took the ball to first himself for the third out of the inning.

Hunter went deep in the first to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead, and Martinez and Peralta hit back-to-back homers in the fourth.

Detroit added two runs in the sixth on RBI singles by Peralta and Tuiasosopo, although that rally made Verlander wait a while before taking the mound again.

The following inning was when Moreland connected for the first Texas hit. Neither Hunter nor center fielder Austin Jackson had much of a shot at Moreland’s drive.

“Obviously, it’s one of those things you start to think about,” Verlander said. “I’ve been there before, where I’ve lost them in the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth. So I guess I’ve — not become accustomed to it — but you learn to just refocus and just get the next guy. That’s all I can do.”

This was much better than Verlander’s outing at Texas on May 16, when he allowed eight runs and didn’t get out of the third inning.

Verlander has been overshadowed a bit this year by fellow Detroit right-hander Max Scherzer, who is a strong candidate to start Tuesday night’s All-Star game at Citi Field in New York. But Verlander showed Sunday why he, too, is an All-Star.

“I think he’s been a very good major league pitcher that has expectations that are almost impossible to live up to,” Detroit manager Jim Leyland said.

Verlander received a nice ovation from the home crowd after the first Texas hit, and another one when he came back to the dugout after retiring his final batter.

NOTES: Perez allowed five runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out four and walked three. ... Leyland said Anibal Sanchez will start Friday at Kansas City in the first game after the All-Star break, followed by Verlander, Doug Fister, Scherzer and Rick Porcello.