On August 21, 1935, the Detroit Tigers again purchased Lawson from Toledo, with the intention of using him as a relief pitcher during the final weeks of a season that was heavy with doubleheaders. On August 24, manager Mickey Cochrane tabbed Lawson to start for the Tigers against Lefty Grove and the Boston Red Sox. Lawson was at the time the best pitcher in the American League (his 2.70 ERA led the American League in 1935), and an account in the "Detroit Free Press" analogized Cochrane's decision to start Lawson against Grove and Boston to throwing a sacrificial lamb to the lions. The newspaper's game summary opened: "They tossed the lamb in to the Lions at Navin Field Saturday afternoon, and while 22,000 wide-eyed fans stared in disbelief, the lamb up and ran the lions right out of the ballpark." Lawson held Boston to five hits in nine innings and won a 2–0 shutout victory. Four days later, on August 28, he pitched a four-hit shutout and prevented a batter from advancing beyond second base against the Philadelphia Athletics. Lawson also hit a single and a double against Philadelphia, and the shutout gave him an 18-inning scoreless streak in the week since joining the Tigers. In all, Lawson appeared in seven games, four as a starter, for the 1935 Tigers compiled a 3-1 record with a 1.58 ERA.