DETROIT -- For a pitcher like Rick Porcello, a new rule change that will no longer allow pitchers to fake a pickoff to third base and throw to first isn't a big deal.

For Max Scherzer, it's huge.

Under a rule change imposed by Major League Baseball, the fake-to-third, throw-to-first ploy will now be ruled a balk.

The change was approved at the MLB owners' meetings earlier this month.

"I'm pissed," Scherzer said during Saturday's TigerFest at Comerica Park.

The move was used by pitchers to trick a runner on first base into trying to swipe second. It proved particularly effective for Scherzer, who picked off two baserunners with it last season.

"(Scherzer) gets one or two guys a year on that thing," Justin Verlander said.

He won't anymore.

Considered an age-old play, the Playing Rules Committee approved the proposal with MLB executives and umpires in agreement.

The players' union vetoed the plan, but the collective bargaining agreement allowed MLB to implement the change after a one-year wait.

"Of course I'm opposed to it," Verlander said. "Any time they take anything away from pitchers, which seems to be the common thing that past 15 years, I'm opposed."

Proponents of the rule change argued the move slowed down the game, but Verlander wasn't buying it.

"It happens once or twice a game. It might speed up the game by 15 seconds. Yay!" he said sarcastically. "Job well done."

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