Justin Verlander proves he’s not a liar, downs famous Taco Bell order before opening day start

Justin Verlander made headlines this offseason when he revealed the secret of his success to late night host Conan O'Brien. Before each of his starts, Verlander said, he liked to make a run for the border and down a meal of his favorite items from Taco Bell.

And lest you doubt that Verlander doesn't actually eat three crunchy taco supremes (no tomato), a cheesy gordita crunch and and a Mexican pizza (no tomato), the Detroit Tigers ace tweeted a picture of his meal on Wednesday night. According to Taco Bell's website, that's about 1,630 calories, 96 grams of fat and 2,300 mg of salt sitting on Verlander's coffee table.

But hey, who cares about numbers when Verlander is putting up big stats on the field? The big righthander went 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA in 2011 using the same diet. He also made a dominant 2012 debut in Thursday's 3-2 opening day over the Boston Red Sox, striking out seven batters and allowing only two hits over eight scoreless innings.

Jose Valverde's diet of vultured wins, however, is up for inspection. The Tigers closer blew a two-run lead in Thursday's ninth inning, robbing Verlander of what should have been his first victory of the season.

Make sure you're ready for opening day ...
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