Sporcle Saturday: Verlander Bookends

As Jim wrote in his excellent column yesterday, Justin Verlander has had quite a career against the White Sox. After 12 seasons and 42 games logged against the Sox (he has the most starts against the Sox by an opposing pitcher since 1980), it seems fitting to pay a Sporcle tribute to the guy.

Your challenge: name each of the batters Verlander faced in his first start against the White Sox (April 13, 2006) and his last start against the White Sox (August 25, 2017). Good luck!

Quiz Parameters

• As usual, the quiz will accept first and last names, as well as last names only.
• Given the recency of some of the names on this list, I’ve only allotted five minutes for completion.
• As hints (kinda unhelpful this week, but they may help you sort things mentally, at least), I’ve provided the season and the defensive position played.

Useless information to amaze, annoy, confound, and/or sadden your friends:

• I mentioned this in a comments section yesterday: Verlander never recorded a shutout against the Sox. 4 CGs, no shutout. One game came close, though.
• Verlander’s first line against the Sox: welcome to the league, rook: 2 ²⁄₃ IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 0 SO.
• Then again, it was a humdinger of a game (Sox won, 13-9). Garland’s line: 5 IP, 13 H, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO.

Direct link here

All data from baseballreference.com