Justin Verlander could have whined about the lack of run support in the team's loss to the Indians on Sunday. After all, it has been a troubling trend for the Tigers ace in all but two of his past 10 starts.

He was in no mood, however, to place blame on his teammates after they surrendered their 13th loss in the past 16 games.

"We had a lot of our key pieces that were missing, and quite honestly, we've missed them all year, whether it's been injuries early on or trades after the second half," said Verlander, who was saddled with the loss Sunday despite making his sixth straight quality start. "It's kind of disappointing that we never had a chance to play as the team that was constructed, but that's the game of baseball. It happens sometimes."