Already the leading candidate for the AL Cy Young Award, Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers is now generating plenty of buzz for the AL MVP Award too as the dominating righthander takes the hill against the Chicago White Sox in baseball betting action on Friday night (7:05 pm Eastern, MLBN) at Comerica Park.

Verlander, who became the first MLB pitcher to hit the 20-win mark this season with a hard-fought 6-4 win over the Twins in Minnesota last Saturday, has earned the victory in eight consecutive starts since suffering his most recent loss back on July 15. Ironically, that defeat came at the hands of the White Sox, who touched up Verlander for five runs (four earned) and seven hits in six innings of work on their way to an 8-2 win.

In addition to leading the majors with 20 wins (against only five losses), the Tigers’ ace also boasts the most strikeouts (218), the lowest WHIP (0.90), and the most innings pitched (215 2/3) among all starting pitchers in baseball. Besides that mid-July defeat, Verlander has also beaten the White Sox twice this season – by a 9-3 count back on April 22, and again on July 26 in a 5-4 final.

John Danks (6-9, 1.26 WHIP) is scheduled to get the nod for the White Sox. The southpaw is coming off a sparkling win at Seattle last Saturday, when he held the Mariners to three hits and struck out ten in a complete-game 3-0 shutout in which he threw 81 of his 120 pitches for strikes.

The Tigers are 7-5 so far this season in a dozen games against the White Sox, and are at 7/1 on the current MLB futures to win the AL Pennant – well ahead of their AL Central rivals from the south side of Chicago who are listed at 22/1.

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