1954 In his first start of 1954, on April 17 against the Baltimore Orioles, Garver allowed five hits and no runs, throwing a shutout in a 1–0 victory. He led the AL in ERA in mid-May 1954, having posted an 0.49 mark in his first five games. After Garver's second shutout of the year on July 30, in which he held the Red Sox to four hits in a 5–0 win, general manager Muddy Ruel observed that the pitcher seemed more confident this season. He threw a third shutout on August 10, outpitching Wynn in a 4–0 victory over Cleveland that biographer Gregory H. Wolf called "impressive". In 35 games (32 starts), he had a 14–11 record, 93 strikeouts, 62 walks, and 216 hits allowed in innings. His 2.81 ERA was seventh in the AL, and his 16 complete games tied for fifth in the league, with Trucks and Arnie Portocarrero. Though sabermetrics had not been developed at the time, Garver's 4.4 wins above replacement was the sixth-best mark among AL pitchers. 1955 The 1955 Tigers were the first winning MLB team Garver had ever played for. On June 7, Garver pitched all 12 innings of a game against the Yankees, allowing three runs and earning the victory when Fred Hatfield hit a home run in the bottom of the 12th inning. In July, Garver allowed 10 runs in 45 innings over five consecutive starts, each of which he won. Detroit contended for the pennant until August, when a 12–18 record took them out of competition. Garver, who had posted a 10–9 record through July 26, lost seven of his final nine decisions, posting a 5.61 ERA over that span, though the Tigers also did not score many runs for him. In 33 games (32 starts), Garver had a 12–16 record, a 3.98 ERA, 83 strikeouts, and 67 walks in innings. His 16 losses were third in the AL, behind Jim Wilson's 18 and Bob Porterfield's 17. Garver led the AL with 102 earned runs allowed and 251 hits allowed. 1956 Before his first start of the 1956 season, on April 20, Garver injured his elbow while throwing curveballs in cold weather during batting practice. The Sporting News reported that his career might be over. He pitched one game in May, three in July, and one in September. In those six games (three starts), he had an 0–2 record, a