Verlander (0-1) took the loss Thursday, allowing two runs on five hits and one walk over five innings against Detroit. He struck out five.
Verlander made his first start of 2023 after being held out for the first five weeks of action with a strained right shoulder. The 40-year-old struggled to get through the first inning, giving up back-to-back solo home runs to Riley Greene and Javier Baez. Outside of the two long balls, Verlander exited Thursday's outing relatively unscathed, giving up just three other hits and no additional runs. Though he managed to make it through five innings, Verlander was yanked at just 79 pitches. He'll likely continue to face some workload limitations for his next couple starts as he builds up.