VerHagen on 1st win as starter: 'A fun night'

DETROIT -- Drew VerHagen was 0-5 with a 9.35 ERA in six Major League starts before Tuesday’s doubleheader nightcap. He hadn’t survived the fifth inning in his previous two starts since joining the Tigers’ rotation two weeks ago. But he hadn’t shown a slider like the ones he was throwing Tuesday night at Comerica Park in Detroit’s 10-6 win to split the day-night doubleheader.

“He came in after the first or second inning,” catcher John Hicks said of VerHagen, “and was like, ‘Hey, is my slider a little different today?’ And I said, ‘Yeah, it’s actually bigger. It’s really sharp.’ To him, it seemed like he had more depth than usual, and it definitely did.”

Said VerHagen: “That’s my slider. It’s been in and out at times this year, and throughout my career since I started throwing it. But that’s the pitch I’m trying to throw right there when I throw the slider.”

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This was the version of VerHagen the Tigers had been waiting for since former manager Brad Ausmus put him on Detroit’s Opening Day roster in the bullpen in 2016. He pounded the zone for 60 strikes out of 79 pitches, including eight swings and misses out of 25 sliders. All seven hits VerHagen allowed were on the ground, and the only extra-base hit he surrendered was an Adam Engel chopper in the fifth that bounced over the head of third baseman Dawel Lugo to plate former Tiger James McCann with the lone run off the Detroit starter.

“He did a heckuva job giving us a chance,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said.

In the end, it was the 61-minute rain delay that chased VerHagen, not the White Sox. And by the time Chicago was done with Detroit’s bullpen, it was an add-on home run from Jordy Mercer and RBIs from Lugo, Hicks and Travis Demeritte that loomed as the difference.

VerHagen was designated for assignment by the Tigers in May when his early-season struggles out of the bullpen made it difficult to trust him in a close game, notably with inconsistent command. He accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Toledo over free agency with a promise to let him start and eventually be considered for a return should the need arise. It’s what VerHagen wanted all along, preferring a starting job as a way to use all his pitches, work the slider and curveball rather than simply pound sinkers and pace himself through a lineup.

“That’s kind of the challenge I’ve had to face,” VerHagen said. “Sometimes the curveball, since it’s slower, gives guys more time to recognize it. So I have to spot those better to play them off each other a little more.”

The Tigers turned to VerHagen as a starter because they had virtually no other choice. With Ryan Carpenter’s struggles on repeat, Beau Burrows batting inconsistency at Toledo and Kyle Funkhouser regrouping at Double-A Erie, Gardenhire needed someone to provide Detroit with innings and a chance to win. VerHagen struggled on both counts in his first two starts, both times paying for big hits and big innings. Tuesday night’s performance was a relative breakthrough.

“He threw the ball awesome,” Hicks said. “He was getting the ball to the corners of the plate. He stayed out of the middle. When he’s given up hits the last couple [of] outings, balls kind of leak back to the middle.”

Though VerHagen didn’t have a 1-2-3 inning, he also never looked like a pitcher on the verge of collapse, mainly because none of the hits were all that damaging. Just two balls in play off him had an exit velocity over 99 mph, and both were singles. The only fly ball to reach the outfield was John Jay’s flyout to left after Jose Abreu’s leadoff single in the fourth. VerHagen struck out the next two batters.

VerHagen put all four batters in the fourth in 0-2 counts. The only three-ball count he allowed all game was a full count to Matt Skole, whose ensuing squibber resulted in a two-out infield single in the second inning.

“That was a little unfortunate [that] it started raining, because I was feeling good and I didn’t really feel like I was losing steam, either,” VerHagen said. “All my stuff was working, throwing both breaking balls over for strikes, [my] fastball command was good. So it was a fun night.”

The performance was certainly enough to earn VerHagen another turn, probably more. The Tigers will be watching innings limits on Daniel Norris and Spencer Turnbull down the stretch, and they could well end up with piggyback starts or a six-man rotation to help manage the workload. Even if VerHagen’s stint ends up being a stopgap until Detroit’s highly regarded pitching prospects are ready for the Majors, his stretch run is a potential boost for his career going forward.

“I’ve had moments like that in the ’pen, but I haven’t done it as a starter here in Detroit,” VerHagen said. “It felt good to do it in this uniform and in this ballpark.”

“He was great,” said Hicks. “You can’t say enough about how good he was today.”