LAKELAND, FL – The Detroit Tigers won, 11-3, against the Boston Red Sox on Friday, March 6, at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in spring training.
Detroit is 3-6 with three ties in Grapefruit League play.
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What happened
All eyes were on Justin Verlander.
The 43-year-old franchise icon made his first start of spring training for the Tigers after returning on a one-year, $13 million contract. The right-hander experienced ups and downs in his clash with a minor leaguer-laden Red Sox lineup as he prepares for his 21st MLB season.
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Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (35) throws during the first inning against the Boston Red Sox at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, on Friday, March 6, 2026.
Kristian Campbell – a 23-year-old former top prospect who struggled last year in MLB and could be headed back to Triple-A – provided the biggest threat among the nine position players.
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Campbell showed why by winning a 10-pitch battle in the first inning and hitting Verlander’s down-and-away sweeper for a two-run home run to left field. Before the homer, Braiden Ward walked on eight pitches when a called third strike on an elevated full-count slider was overturned by the ABS challenge system.
The homer put the Red Sox ahead, 2-0.
Verlander didn’t complete the first inning.
He exited the game after 22 pitches (including 10 foul balls) with one out in the first inning, but the reentry rule in spring training allowed him to return for the second.
He bounced back by retiring all three batters on 12 pitches in the second inning. After that, he allowed two baserunners and recorded two outs across 16 pitches in the third before right-handed reliever Drew Anderson replaced him.
Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (35) is relieved during the third inning against the Boston Red Sox at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, on Friday, March 6, 2026.
Starting off
In his first spring start, Verlander allowed two runs on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts across two-plus innings, throwing 32 of 50 pitches for strikes.
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His performance improved significantly in the second and third innings.
An adjustment to his slider helped him.
The four strikeouts: Max Ferguson (swinging, 84.2 mph changeup) in the first inning, Nathan Hickey (swinging, 88.3 mph slider) in the second inning and Tyler McDonough (swinging, 88 mph slider) and Ferguson (swinging, 88.6 mph slider) in the third inning.
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Verlander threw 20 fastballs, 19 sliders, five changeups, four curveballs and two sweepers, generating 11 whiffs on 28 swings (39.3% whiff rate) with two fastballs, six sliders and three changeups.
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His fastball averaged 94 mph – and maxed out at 95.4 mph on his fifth pitch of the game, which marked the fastest pitch he has thrown in spring training, including bullpen and live batting practice sessions.
That’s a positive sign as he builds his workload.
At the plate
The Tigers erased a two-run deficit with nine runs in a stretch of three innings, featuring a five-run seventh.
It all started with John Peck.
Detroit Tigers third baseman Kevin McGonigle (85) slides safe into third during the second inning against the Boston Red Sox at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, on Friday, March 6, 2026.
A two-run triple from Peck tied the game, 2-2, in the fifth after walks from Kevin McGonigle and Parker Meadows, facing right-handed reliever Seth Martinez. In the sixth, Jakes Rogers (fielder’s choice) and Jace Jung (single) combined to drive in two runs off righty reliever Tayron Guerrero, taking a 4-2 lead.
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The Tigers then scored five runs in the seventh.
The big swing belonged to Matt Vierling.
Vierling pulled a middle-in slider from left-handed reliever Jeremy Wu-Yelland for a three-run home run to left field, driving the ball 358 feet with a 100.8 mph exit velocity. He continues to shine in spring training, hitting .533 (8-for-15) with a 1.521 OPS across six games.
The homer increased the Tigers’ lead to 7-2.
On the mound
Replacing Verlander, Anderson dominated for the third consecutive outing in spring training. The 31-year-old has completed 8⅓ scoreless innings with one walk and 10 strikeouts in three games.
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This time, he fired 3⅓ scoreless innings.
Anderson sent down all 10 batters he faced, beginning with a swinging strikeout of Connor Wong with a 96.6 mph fastball to end the third inning after taking over for Verlander. He also had two strikeouts in the fourth and one strikeout in the sixth.
Although Anderson won’t be in the Tigers’ five-man rotation unless someone gets hurt, he is shaping up to be a key multi-inning option out of the bullpen. His fastball averaged 95.1 mph against the Red Sox, and he generated seven whiffs on 20 swings (35% whiff rate) with three fastballs and four changeups.
Right-handed reliever Will Vest turned in his best performance among his three appearances this spring, retiring all three batters he faced and throwing nine of 12 pitches for strikes.
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Vest struck out Mickey Gasper looking with a changeup to open the seventh inning.
It was his first perfect outing.
Three stars
1. Anderson, 2. Vierling, 3. Vest.
Next up
Saturday (1:05 p.m., Detroit SportsNet/MLB Network) vs. Pittsburgh Pirates in Lakeland.
Contact Evan Petzold at epetzold@freepress.com or follow him @EvanPetzold.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Justin Verlander spring debut for Detroit Tigers features slider work