Justin Verlander was 25-15 over his first two major league seasons -- and he was still learning how to pitch.

The Tigers righthander had the requisite stuff, including a fastball that approached 100 miles per hour, but he didn't pace himself well and would feel fatigued on the mound as he reached 70 pitches.

That was back in 2006 and '07. What we're seeing now is a collision of superior stuff and know-how.

Verlander has emerged as a favorite to win the American League Cy Young Award following an amazing June during which he went 6-0 with a ridiculous 0.92 ERA. He capped the month Thursday by leading the Tigers to a 5-2 victory over the Mets.

"If I'm in that conversation, that means I'm doing what I need to do for this team," he said. "Obviously, we're battling for first place here. If I'm in that conversation now or I win it at the end of the year, that means I've done what I wanted to do, which is win games, pitch well, and hopefully pitch us into first place."

His dominance goes back to the no-hitter he threw May 7 at Toronto. From that point on, Verlander has gone 9-0 in 11 starts with a 1.54 ERA while holding opponents to a .166 batting average.

At age 28, it looks like it's all coming together for the former Old Dominion pitcher who was the second overall pick in the 2004 draft. Overall, he is 11-3 with a 2.32 ERA. Verlander has learned to how to pitch deeper into games -- and to keep a few bullets in the chamber for the later innings. It's something many pitchers, young and old, struggle to do.

"I feel like I'm learning how to pitch better -- learning how to use my stuff a little bit better," Verlander said. "I feel like my fastball control this year has been a lot better than years previous, and I think that has a lot to do with the mentality that I've been taking out there -- just nice and methodical, nice and easy the first few innings and establishing a rhythm."

Verlander now reaches back for something extra on his fastball late in games, and it's there. During a recent outing, his 116th pitch was clocked at 100 mph. Opponents are batting .138 off him during the first three innings, and that goes up to only .215 in the fourth through sixth innings.

In the final three innings, it drops to .204. Verlander gets stronger, it seems, as the game progresses.

He has thrown between 110 and 120 pitches in 11 of his 18 starts, so he has been consistent. And he is pumping the strike zone. Thursday, 80 of his 120 pitches were strikes.

It that game, Verlander tamed a red-hot Mets lineup that had scored 30 runs over the previous two games and forced the Tigers to send outfielder Don Kelly to the mound on Wednesday night.

Verlander didn't have his best stuff or control, but he still gave up only one run on seven hits over seven innings.

"I didn't pitch well, but I battled well," Verlander said. "That's something I pride myself on."

Another sign of a maturing pitcher.