Verlander earns win #19 as Tigers defeat the Rays, 5-2

Justin Verlander became the first 19-game winner in the majors and Alex Avila hit his 15th homerun of the season as the AL Central-leading Detroit Tigers beat the Rays 5-2.

Verlander (19-5) won his seventh consecutive start, giving up one run and three hits in seven innings. The 19 wins match his career high, set in 2009.

With the win, the Tigers expanded their AL Central lead to 5 1/2 games ahead of Cleveland, who lost to Seattle 3-2 and moved back into a 2nd place tie with idle-Chicago.

The Tigers took a 2-1 lead in the second when Avila hit a two-run shot off Jeff Niemann (8-5).

Jhonny Peralta made it 4-1 in the eighth on a two-out, two-run single off reliever Juan Cruz.