Detroit Tigers will face the Cleveland Indians WATCH FREE: Live Streaming of Major League Baseball from Progressive Field at 7:05 PM ET
The Indians will try to win consecutive home games against the Tigers for the first time in two seasons and prevent Verlander from winning a fourth straight start in Cleveland on Tuesday night.
The Indians (20-25) also ended a five-game home skid to Detroit, which had won 11 straight on the road, including the first six of this nine-game trip.
"As long as we win, that's the main thing," said Indians manager Terry Francona, whose team was outscored 34-8 in the previous four games.
The AL-leading Tigers (27-13) fought hard despite arriving three hours before the first pitch because of travel delays from Boston. The defeat was the third in 14 games at Cleveland for Detroit, which has not lost two in a row there since a four-game slide in 2012.
"We were hoping to go back and get some sleep with a win, but it wasn't to be," Detroit manager Brad Ausmus told the team's website.
Verlander (5-2, 3.15 ERA) has a 2.70 ERA while winning three straight starts at Progressive Field. After going 1-7 with a 9.00 ERA in his first eight starts at Cleveland, he's gone 8-3 with a 3.36 ERA over his next 12 outings there.
His last two overall against the Indians came at home, during which he's not yielded an earned run in 12 innings while going 1-0. He gave up three unearned runs, six hits and four walks in a season-low five innings of a 7-5 victory over Cleveland on April 17.
After allowing two or three runs in each of his eight previous starts, the right-hander yielded all five in the fifth inning Wednesday, but still earned the victory during a 7-5 win at Baltimore.
"Winning as a team is all that matters," said Verlander, who is 3-0 despite a 4.33 ERA in four road starts this year.
Brantley is batting .390 (16 for 41) against Verlander, and .410 with six home runs and 17 RBIs during a 16-game home hitting streak.
The game can be found live streaming free at www.wiziwig.tv/competition.php?part=sports&discipline=baseball
