Detroit Tigers links: Justin Verlander solid, but not spectacular in season debut

Though it is already the middle of June, there was an Opening Day-like buzz surrounding Comerica Park on Saturday. It's fitting, though, as the Tigers' 5-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians was Opening Day for starter Justin Verlander. The 32-year-old righthander allowed two runs on three hits and a pair of walks in five innings, throwing 87 pitches. While he was likely on a pitch count, Verlander showed signs of fatigue in the fifth inning, when he allowed a hit and two walks for a run.

Overall, it was a solid debut for Verlander. John Niyo of the Detroit News was pleased with Verlander's fastball velocity, which sat in the 92-94 mile per hour range and got up as high as 97 miles per hour. James Schmehl of MLive was a bit concerned about Verlander's ability to generate swings and misses, but I'm not. The Indians have always given Verlander trouble, and he induced plenty of weak contact and off-balance swings throughout the day. Verlander may have to rely on his defense more often now, but we also did not see the best that he has to offer.

Tigers to decide on Rondon after Sunday rehab outing - The Detroit News, Chris McCosky
Bruce Rondon has an 11.74 ERA in eight appearances for Triple-A Toledo during his rehab assignment.

Rays 5, White Sox 4: From doing to undoing - South Side Sox, Jim Margalus
The White Sox got to Rays ace Chris Archer, but derped away a lead in the ninth for their second loss in a row.

Offense still missing, Royals Lose 3-2 - Royals Review, J.K. Ward
"It's a pretty miserable first place team that has struggled the past three weeks and is tearing apart at the seams with injuries and questions. Stability would be fun. Hopefully they can get some of that soon."

Twins call up Byron Buxton - Twinkie Town, Jesse Lund
The Twins lost yesterday, but their fanbase could not care less at the moment. Byron Buxton, the top prospect in all of baseball, will make his MLB debut in a Twins uniform today.

Francisco Lindor promoted by Cleveland Indians according to reports - Let's Go Tribe, Matt Lyons
Not to be outdone, the Indians have also promoted their top prospect, shortstop Francisco Lindor. He is not in the lineup today against Alfredo Simon.

Video: Joey Gallo home run, 461 feet - Lone Star Ball, Adam J. Morris
Speaking of top prospects, Rangers rookie Joey Gallo hit a mammoth upper-deck home run in yesterday's win over the Twins.

Astros 10, Mariners 0: Correa Night A Rousing Success, Astros End Skid - The Crawfish Boxes
Not to be outdone, the Houston Astros promoted top prospect Carlos Correa earlier this week. They hung an eight-spot on Felix Hernandez on Friday in Correa's home debut, but were blown out last night.

Proposing an All-Star Overhaul - FanGraphs Baseball, Dave Cameron
There are plenty of ideas floating around about how to fix the All-Star Game, but I'm with Dave here: more baseball is always better.

CWS GM1: Aggressive Cavs Right At Home - D1Baseball, Aaron Fitt
Tigers 36th round pick Daniel Pinero was 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and three stolen bases in a 5-3 win to open the College World Series yesterday.