Detroit ― Justin Verlander was part of the Tigers’ teardown, and now he’ll be a part of their revival.
Verlander, 43 later this month, is back as a Tiger for the first time in 3,086 days, after signing a one-year, $13 million contract to pitch for Detroit in 2026. The move comes nearly a decade after he was dealt away to Houston, where he won two World Series championships and two more Cy Youngs.
Verlander was the No. 2 overall pick by the Tigers in 2004 and made his major-league debut in 2005. He burst onto the scene in 2006 in winning American League rookie-of-the-year honors while leading the Tigers on a stunning ride to the World Series.
Verlander pitched parts of his first 13 major-league seasons with the Tigers, and often was the most-dominant pitcher in the game. With Detroit, he was 183-114 with a 3.49 ERA and 2,373 strikeouts in 2,511 innings. Verlander led the Tigers to the 2006 and 2012 World Series, and won the Cy Young in Detroit in 2011.
Now, he’s back, older and more susceptible to injuries, but coming off a strong finish to the 2025 season with the San Francisco Giants, and poised to be the veteran anchor in a stacked rotation for a Tigers team that is coming off back-to-back postseason appearances.
Here’s a quick look back at five of Verlander’s most memorable moments in his No. 35 Tigers uniform:
June 12, 2007
This proved to be a magical Tuesday night at Comerica Park, where there were about 34,000 in the stands, and almost as many seagulls in the ballpark. The gulls must’ve known something was up, as Verlander had the performance of his life, no-hitting the Milwaukee Brewers. It was the first no-hitter by a Tiger since Jack Morris in 1984, and the first by a Tiger at home since Virgil Trucks in 1952. Verlander got a little help on defense from Neifi Perez and Magglio Ordonez, but he took care of the rest, striking out 12 and sealing it when J.J. Hardy flew out to Ordonez in right, setting off a raucous celebration, with Verlander jumping into Pudge Rodriguez’s arms.
May 7, 2011
It hadn’t been the best of starts to the season for Verlander, who as 2-3 with a 3.75 ERA entering this Saturday afternoon game at Toronto. The season turned quickly, as Verlander threw his second no-hitter ― becoming the second Tiger ever to throw two, joining Trucks (who threw both in 1952). It was a different no-hitter than his first, in that he struck out only four, but his command was on point. He only walked one, and that came in the eighth inning, denying him his shot at a perfect game. But that was followed by a double play, meaning Verlander faced the minimum 27 batters. Rajai Davis struck out swinging, as Verlander and Alex Avila embraced. That start turned the season around for Verlander, who won the pitching Triple Crown, won his first career Cy Young Award, and became the first AL pitcher to win the Most Valuable Player since Dennis Eckersley in 1992.
Oct. 11, 2012
Like early in that 2011 season when Verlander wasn’t great, Verlander also didn’t have the best postseason track record entering 2012. But he was sharp in Game 1 of the AL Division Series against the Oakland A’s, and he got the ball again for Detroit for the do-or-die Game 5 in Oakland. The A’s never had a chance. Verlander threw one of the greatest postseason games in franchise history, a complete-game shutout in which he allowed four hits and one walk (and hit a batter), while striking out 11. He threw 122 pitches that Thursday at the Coliseum, and he probably could’ve thrown 122 more, in sending Detroit to the AL Championship Series and the World Series.
Oct. 10, 2013
Sound familiar? Almost one year to the day of that 2011 gem in Oakland, the Tigers were back for another do-or-die Game 5 in the ALDS at the Coliseum, and this one had some spice after tempers flared back in Detroit between Victor Martinez and A’s reliever Grant Balfour. The Tigers got the last laugh this Thursday night, thanks to that right arm of Verlander, who pitched into the ninth inning, while allowing just two hits and a walk. It might’ve been even more dominant than the 2012 masterpiece, with Verlander striking out 10. In 15 innings across two starts in that year’s ALDS, Verlander didn’t allow a run; he allowed one in a Game 3 loss in the ALCS.
Aug. 20, 2017
Just about every time he took the ball for the better part of a decade, it was “Must See JV” in Detroit. You never knew when he might throw a no-hitter. He threw two, and took several others into the ninth inning. This one, on a Sunday afternoon, he took it into the sixth inning, before old friend Curtis Granderson homered. That was it for the Los Angeles Dodgers, as Verlander allowed just two hits and a walk over eight innings, while striking out nine. As he walked off the mound after the eighth inning, he received a standing ovation from the crowd of just over 30,000, many of them suspecting it would be his last home start as a Tiger. Turns out, it was … until now.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
@tonypaul1984
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Tigers, JV get back together: 5 memorable starts from first go-around
Reporting by Tony Paul, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
