Story by
Justin Verlander gives up 3 home runs in Tigers' 4-3 loss vs Yankees
- Story by
- Justin Verlander gives up 3 home runs in Tigers' 4-3 loss vs Yankees
LAKELAND, FL – The Detroit Tigers lost, 4-3, to the New York Yankees on Thursday, March 12, at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in spring training.
Detroit is 4-10 with four ties in Grapefruit League play.
Advertisement
[ MUST LISTEN: Make "Days of Roar" your go-to Tigers podcast, available anywhere you listen to podcasts ( Apple , Spotify ) ]
What happened
Three left-handed hitters.
Three four-seam fastballs.
Three home runs.
That was the afternoon for right-hander Justin Verlander in his second start of spring training, as he allowed three solo homers: Jasson Domínguez and J.C. Escarra in the first inning and Seth Brown in the second inning. All three were hit to right-center field, with the wind blowing in that direction.
JEFF SEIDEL: Detroit Tigers newest bromance features trio of infield prospects
Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander (35) throws during the first inning against the New York Yankees at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, on Thursday, March 12, 2026.
In two starts, Verlander has allowed five runs on six hits and four walks with nine strikeouts across 5⅔ innings – an 8.44 ERA. The 43-year-old gave up two runs over two-plus innings in his first start, then three runs in 3⅓ innings in his second start.
Advertisement
This time, Verlander used his start to work on his mechanical tweaks affecting his fastball location, leading to the homers.
Verlander increased his pitch count to 61 pitches as he continues to build his workload, only to feel tired in his fourth and final inning. He appears to be the fourth starter in the order of the Tigers' rotation, which lines him up for March 30 against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix as his first start of the regular season.
Before then, Verlander is scheduled for two more starts in spring training.
THE LATEST: Justin Verlander working hard on control – of baseballs, and emotions
Advertisement
Starting off
The final line for Verlander: Three runs on four hits and two walks with five strikeouts across 3⅓ innings.
He threw 35 of 61 pitches for strikes.
The Yankees attacked his fastball, with home runs from Domínguez (down-and-in, 93.1 mph fastball), Escarra (middle-middle, 93.1 mph fastball) and Brown (middle-middle, 94.5 mph fastball). Of the three homers, only the swing from Domínguez produced an exit velocity of 100 mph, at 103.8 mph.
Aside from the homers, Verlander racked up a flurry of strikeouts: Ben Rice (looking, 77.8 mph curveball), Paul DeJong (swinging, 82 mph sweeper), George Lombard Jr. (swinging, 79.9 mph sweeper), Rice (swinging, 84.4 mph changeup) and DeJong (swinging, 88.2 mph slider).
Advertisement
Eight of his final nine pitches were balls, resulting in back-to-back walks with one out in the fourth inning to end his outing.
Verlander generated 12 whiffs on 30 swings for a 40% whiff rate with two fastballs, four sliders, two curveballs, two changeups and two sweepers. His fastball averaged 93.5 mph and maxed out at 95.5 mph.
At the plate
The Tigers scored their first two runs in the fifth inning.
Right-hander Will Warren had been mowing down the Tigers with 13 outs in a row – until one out in the fifth, when Dillon Dingler delivered a single and Zach McKinstry followed with a two-run home run.
Detroit Tigers outfielder Zach McKinstry (39) catches a fly ball during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland, Florida, on Thursday, March 12, 2026.
McKinstry pulled a middle-in sweeper to deep right field, producing a 104.7 mph exit velocity.
Advertisement
The homer cut the Tigers' deficit to 3-2.
Warren allowed two runs on two hits and zero walks with two strikeouts across six innings, throwing 64 pitches. The 26-year-old made 33 starts for the Yankees last season, logging a 4.44 ERA with 65 walks and 171 strikeouts over 162⅓ innings.
The Tigers scored their third and final run on Jude Warwick's sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. The sacrifice fly was set up by Brett Callahan's double and Max Anderson's single, both against right-handed reliever Angel Chivilli .
On the mound
The Yankees took a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning.
Left-handed reliever Johan Simon – a call-up from minor-league camp whom the Tigers acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays for sidearm reliever Chase Lee in mid-December – struggled, responsible for two walks, one single and one hit by pitch.
Advertisement
Simon loaded the bases with two outs.
He then walked Josh Moylan on seven pitches, making it 4-3.
ROSTER MOVES: Tigers cut three pitchers from spring camp, including arm with big upside
The highlights of the bullpen: left-hander Brant Hurter , right-hander Kenley Jansen , right-hander Kyle Finnegan and right-hander Burch Smith all put zeros on the scoreboard.
Hurter, Jansen and Finnegan projected to make the Opening Day roster.
Hurter replaced Verlander with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning. He escaped the jam with back-to-back strikeouts on seven pitches against Lombard and Yanquiel Fernández, then retired all three batters in the fifth inning.
Advertisement
In the sixth, Jansen struck out DeJong and Jones as part of a scoreless inning, though he didn't miss any bats with his revered cutter. After Max Schuemann reached safely on a fielding error, Jansen picked him off at first base for the third out.
Hurter threw 14 of 20 pitches for strikes, while Jansen threw eight of 11 pitches for strikes.
Three stars
1. Brant Hurter, 2. McKinstry, 3. Kenley Jansen.
Next up
Friday (6:05 p.m.) 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 allows 3 homers in Detroit Tigers' loss to Yankees
