DETROIT -- Just one more foot to the left and Justin Verlander would have made history Wednesday night. He still made a stirring statement that his days as a dominant pitcher are far from over.

Verlander lost his bid for a third career no-hitter on a leadoff double in the ninth inning, and he settled for a one-hitter as the Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels 5-0 at Comerica Park.

Angels catcher Chris Iannetta lined a 2-2 pitch onto the chalk of the left field line as Verlander came up just shy of becoming the sixth pitcher in major league history to record at least three no-hitters.

"It's heartbreaking," Detroit catcher James McCann said. "That's literally as close as you can get -- one hit that lands on the foul line. With all that being said, it was a heck of a night for him. It was a lot of fun, but it's like having your heart ripped out there, being that close to a no-hitter."

Verlander has been in a gradual decline since winning the American League Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards in 2011. He had a 4.54 ERA last season and started this season on the disabled list.

However, Verlander (2-6) showed major progress recently. He held opponents to one earned run or none in five of his previous six starts before Wednesday's overpowering performance.

"This has special meaning because of the way the fans were treating me," said the 32-year-old right-hander, who walked two and struck out nine while facing one batter over the minimum. "I knew they've wanted to see me back (to my old form), just as bad as I have. Really from the sixth inning on, it was unbelievable. It really gave me goose bumps coming off the mound in the seventh, the way they were reacting. It's nice to hear that."

Prior to Iannetta's hit, the only Angels to reach base were third baseman Kaleb Cowart, who drew a one-out walk in the third, and left fielder David Murphy, who received a leadoff walk in the eighth. Both were erased from the basepaths by double-play grounders.

Verlander struck out five consecutive batters during the sixth and seventh innings, including the top of the Angels' order.

"Over the last seven or eight starts, he's kind of shown he's still got Justin Verlander inside of him," Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. "Tonight was a little bit of an exclamation point."

Verlander threw his first no-hitter on June 12, 2007, against the Milwaukee Brewers and recorded his second on May 11, 2011, against the Blue Jays at Toronto.

Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Bob Feller, Cy Young and Larry Corcoran are the only pitchers with at least three no-hitters.

Verlander nearly joined them until he left a 97 mph fastball over the plate to Iannetta.

"I threw what I wanted, I just didn't locate it," Verlander said. "Me and (second baseman Ian) Kinsler actually just talked about it a second ago. It's the only ball all night that I threw over the heart of the plate."

It was a small consolation for the Angels (64-62), who lost for the fifth time in six games.

"There's always an amount of pride if you can break up a no-hitter, but it's a game we really didn't give ourselves a chance," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said.

Verlander was supported by the long ball as Detroit (60-66) snapped a five-game losing streak.

Third baseman Nick Castellanos smacked a solo home run off Hector Santiago (7-8) in the second. First baseman Miguel Cabrera extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a two-run shot in the fifth, and right fielder J.D. Martinez blasted his 34th homer in the same inning.

Santiago gave up five runs on seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Even if Santiago had pitched better, there was no stopping Verlander.

"We've seen Justin for a long time," Scioscia said. "It seems as the game goes on, historically, you really see him start to smell the end of it and his stuff picks up. That's what we saw tonight."

NOTES: Detroit RHP Shane Greene will undergo season-ending surgery Thursday for a pseudoaneurysm in the circumflex artery of his right shoulder, which has caused numbness in his middle finger. Greene, who is 4-8 with a 6.88 ERA, is expected to be ready for spring training. ... Tigers DH Victor Martinez was batting .192 since July 20, dropping the cleanup hitter's season average to .243 entering Wednesday. "It's been definitely the toughest year in my career, by far," he said before going 1-for-4. ... Angels RHP Matt Shoemaker will return from Triple-A Salt Lake and start a matinee Thursday against the Tigers. Shoemaker, who is 5-9 with a 4.76 ERA, made one start for Salt Lake and pitched six innings without giving up an earned run. "He really pitched well in his one (minor league) start," manager Mike Scioscia said.