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Cleveland woes continue for newly engaged Verlander

Duane Burleson / Getty Images Sport / Getty

According to the Holmes and Rahe stress scale, marriage is the seventh-most stressful life event a person can endure, so it's possible Justin Verlander just had things other than baseball on his mind Tuesday in Cleveland.

Barely 24 hours after his engagement to actress and supermodel Kate Upton was made public, the Detroit Tigers' venerable right-hander threw up a stinker against the Indians, allowing seven runs for the second time already this season while failing to pitch beyond the fifth inning.

Verlander, whose velocity has been down all year, was torched for three runs in the bottom of the first - through six starts, his first-inning ERA stands at 12.00 - coughed up another run in the third, and was sent to the showers after serving up a three-run homer to Francisco Lindor with nobody out in the fifth.

(Courtesy: MLB.com)

In all seriousness, of course, Verlander's impending nuptials were probably a complete non-factor against the Indians. His struggles probably had more to do with the locale, frankly. Of the 21 outings since his 2005 debut in which Verlander has allowed seven or more runs, five have come in Cleveland, contributing to his unsightly 5.61 ERA in 155 2/3 career innings at Progressive Field.

Verlander, a six-time All-Star, didn't make any excuses after watching his ERA balloon to 6.49 in his club's eventual 7-3 loss.

"Bottom line, I need to pitch better," he told MLB.com's Jason Beck. "And I'm going to."

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