The Houston Astros may soon have Justin Verlander back in the lineup after a positive update from his minor-league rehab start on Thursday. The hard-throwing 41-year-old tossed 57 pitches in four innings for the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Astros' Double-A affiliate. Verlander has been away from the team for nearly two months because of a nagging neck injury.
This start marked his second rehab outing after throwing 52 pitches in his first rehab start for Triple-A Sugar Land on August 10. Verlander described how he felt good during the game with Matt Kawahara of the Houston Chronicle.
“Especially the last couple innings, kind of felt like I was able to dial in a little bit,” Verlander said. “And physically felt good.”
Verlander threw 41 strikes out of 57 pitches. He's on track to have a bullpen session on Sunday, after which the Astros will decide his next steps.
When asked about the quality of his pitching, Verlander expressed optimism.
“I thought it was good … Kind of as the mechanics started to find themselves, I think the velo jumped up a bit. And I thought particularly the fourth inning was really good.”
Houston Astros need Justin Verlander to return for World Series run
The American League is stacked this year and the Astros are far from the favorites. Their 65-55 record is only sixth-best in the AL but good enough to lead the West. To make matters worse for a possible postseason run, Houston is only sporting a 22-28 record against >.500 or better teams. Compare that to the Orioles (34-23), Guardians (33-26) or Yankees (41-27), and it is clear the Astros will need Verlander fully healthy to put their best foot forward.
To their credit, Houston is also heating up at the right time. They have won eight straight. Shay Whitcomb, who led the minor leagues with 35 home runs last year, got called-up as the Astros gear up for the postseason.
Houston also received an injury update concerning Alex Bregman's elbow. He did not play Friday although the injury is not thought to be serious.
The Astros are already without Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, Lance McCullers Jr. and Luis Garcia from their rotation, as all are on the 60-day IL. Only Garcia has an outside shot to return but hasn't resumed throwing after two failed rehab assignments.
Although the playoffs are looming, there are still over 42 games left in the regular season. There is plenty of time for the Astros, who have won six AL West titles, four AL Pennants and two World Series titles since 2017, to get even better.
Follow Us
Subscribe