Justin Verlander walked off the mound after his seventh inning of work, and manager Jim Leyland was waiting for him at the bottom of the steps, ready to give the Detroit ace the customary handshake that would signify the end of the right-hander's night. So Verlander took a detour, cutting across to his right and using a different entrance to the dugout. "I tried to circumvent the system," Verlander said. "I tried to go the other way and sneak around him, but he was too quick for me." Leyland met Verlander at the bottom of that other set of stairs, and that was that. The Tigers went on to a 7-5 win over the Cleveland Indians on Friday night in the opener of this three-game series. Verlander allowed three runs in seven innings, and Jose Valverde held on through a shaky ninth to give Detroit a 3½-game lead over the Indians atop the AL Central.
