(My Sportsbook) - Justin Verlander will try to build off his last outing when he takes the hill this afternoon for the Detroit Tigers, who close out a three-game set against the Cleveland Indians at Comerica Park.

Verlander had his best showing of the year in his last start, holding the New York Yankees scoreless over seven innings on Monday. The right-hander scattered seven hits in the 4-2 victory and also struck out nine batters while walking none.

Unfortunately, it was only the first victory on the season for Verlander, who has been shaky to start the year, having posted a 1-2 overall record with a subpar 6.75 earned run average.

Putting together two consecutive strong outings could prove difficult for Verlander, who has struggled in his career against the Indians. In 15 starts against the Tribe, the young hurler has achieved a miserable 4-10 mark to go along with an equally-poor 6.70 ERA.

Countering Verlander will be Cliff Lee, who is also coming off his best start of the new campaign. It has been a rough start to the year for last season's American League Cy Young winner, who has posted just a 1-3 mark with a 3.94 ERA.

However, the last time the southpaw was on the hill he tossed eight scoreless innings against Boston on Monday, scattering five hits while striking out five batters. Unfortunately, Lee's strong showing did not finish with a win, as the Indians were defeated 3-1 in the final inning.

This will be the 18th career start for Lee against the Tigers. In his previous 17 showdowns with the team from Motown, the southpaw has collected a 5-6 ledger with a 5.21 earned run average.

On Saturday, Curtis Granderson smacked a two-run homer, part of a three-run eighth inning that rallied Detroit past Cleveland, 9-7.

Adam Everett added a grand slam for the Tigers, who halted a three-game losing streak. Ryan Raburn, Magglio Ordonez and Carlos Guillen also knocked in runs for Detroit.

Joel Zumaya (1-0) got the win after throwing a scoreless eighth inning, and Fernando Rodney allowed two hits in the ninth but held on for his fifth save. Tigers starter Zach Miner gave up six hits and five runs in five innings.

Asdrubal Cabrera had two hits and three RBI for the Indians, losers in three of their last five. Shin-Soo Choo drove in two runs while Victor Martinez hit safely twice, knocked in a run and scored twice.

Rafael Betancourt (0-1) was tagged for the loss and a blown save, as he was charged with three hits and three runs -- two earned -- over 1 2/3 relief innings. The Tribe's Aaron Laffey yielded six hits and five runs with five walks in his 3 1/3-inning start.

Cleveland won 11 of its 18 matchups with the Tigers last season and is 13-8 in its 21 most recent visits to Motown.