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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Baseball notebook: Verlander’s streak ends

Detroit’s Justin Verlander saw 12-start winning streak end. (Associated Press)

Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander’s streak of consecutive winning starts has ended at 12.

The Detroit ace left Saturday night’s game against the Baltimore Orioles after seven innings with his team trailing 5-4.

Verlander allowed all five runs in the first three innings.

He was bidding to become the first pitcher to win 13 starts in a row since Ellis Kinder of the Boston Red Sox in 1949, according to STATS LLC. The major league record of 21 was set by the Philadelphia Athletics’ Lefty Grove in 1931.

Verlander broke the previous Tigers record of wins in 11 straight starts, shared by Earl Whitehill (1930) and Hal Newhouser (1946).

Making his last start of the regular season, Verlander fell short of becoming the first pitcher with 25 wins since Oakland’s Bob Welch went 27-6 in 1990.

Yankees honor Maris’ 61-homer season

Fifty years have passed and others have since broken the season home run record. To the families of Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle, Maris’ 61 in 1961 remains the record.

“The family feels that it’s his record, also knowing that is arguable with a lot of people,” Roger Maris Jr., said Saturday before the Yankees culminated a season-long commem- oration of the Maris- Mantle home-run chase with a ceremony.

Among those attending were Maris’ wife, Pat, and six children, along with two of Mantle’s sons and Yankees teammates Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Moose Skowron, Bobby Richardson and Bob Cerv.

“I think there needs to be a distinction,” Randy Maris added when asked whether steroid allegations in recent years should cause his father’s achievement to be considered the record.

Flanagan threatened suicide before

Police records show former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Mike Flanagan threatened to kill himself several times before committing suicide .

Flanagan won the Cy Young award in 1979 and was a member of the Orioles’ 1983 world championship team. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound outside his home last month.

Records obtained by The Baltimore Sun reveal that Flanagan had previously threatened to shoot himself and had walked outside with a gun several times. His wife, Alex, had discouraged him from suicide each time.

Alex Flanagan told detectives that the couple was upset that he had been working without a contract for a year and a half as a commentator with the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network.