Justin Verlander reaches milestone, hits stride in Tigers' win

Since his first full season in 2006, Justin Verlander has been a face of the Detroit Tigers franchise along with Miguel Cabrera and a key catalyst for all of their success.

During his tenure, the Tigers have won four division championships, appeared in five postseasons and won two American League pennants. On a personal level, Verlander won the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2006, and both the AL Cy Young award and MVP in 2011. He's also pitched two no-hitters and led the league in strikeouts three times, proving that his dominance has been more than just hype.

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Now, the 33-year-old right-hander is adding franchise milestones to his résumé as well. During Wednesday's 6-3 win against the Twins, Verlander joined Mickey Lolich as the only Tigers' pitchers to reach 2,000 career strikeouts.

Verlander hit the milestone when he fanned Minnesota's Eddie Rosario in the fourth inning. The strikeout was the seventh of his 10 on the afternoon, and made him only the 76th pitcher in MLB history to reach the plateau.

It's a significant moment for Verlander, who's had a bit of a tumultuous run over the past two-plus seasons. Between a triceps injury that delayed his 2015 season and other undefined struggles that have fueled inconsistency, Verlander has been more of a question mark than a steady ace at a time when Detroit needed the ace version.

Perhaps that tide is beginning to turn though, as Wednesday's outing offered more than just a milestone, it provided hope that Verlander is hitting his stride and can be that guy again. He allowed just three earned runs over 7 1/3 innings, and over his last three starts has posted a 1.61 ERA to go along with 27 strikeouts.

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That's more in line with the dominance we've been accustomed to with Verlander. If he can cut back on the walks — he's walked at least two in all nine starts this season — and ramp up the efficiency a bit, perhaps we'll see him take a couple more strides in the right direction.

The Tigers definitely need it after getting off to a slow start this season. Beyond that though, it's something baseball fans should root for as well. Verlander has been one of baseball's very best over the last decade, and it would be great to see him prove there's still some gas left in his tank. Perhaps even enough to fuel a run at the exclusive 3,000 strikeout club.

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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813