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Justin Verlander has pitched in the majors for 19 seasons and at 41 years old, he knows when he has it and when he doesn't.
For a while on Monday, he didn't. His AL West-leading Houston Astros lost 5-3 to the Cincinnati Reds, with Verlander putting his team in an early hole. The three-time Cy Young winner walked the bases loaded in the first inning before a TJ Friedl sacrifice fly and Ty France base hit put the Reds up 2-0.
“I was all over the place in that first inning,” Verlander told reporters after the game. “The mechanics, not good. The location needed to be better. I made some decent pitches that weren’t called but it’s hard to get pitches when you’re all over the place.”
It's not often that a pitcher will take the blame for not getting calls. He's right, though — umpires tend to not give the benefit of the doubt to a pitcher who can't find the strike zone.
Verlander settled down from there, holding Cincinnati scoreless in the second, third, and fourth innings, allowing the Houston offense to even the score.
It came apart in the fifth, however, when Santiago Espinal hit a pop fly that fell between three Houston fielders as two runs came home. Amed Rosario then knocked in Espinal to make it 5-2.
Verlander's final line: 4.2 innings, 5 runs, 8 hits, 4 walks, 3 strikeouts. It was another rough outing for the future Hall of Famer as Verlander struggles to find consistency after missing more than two months with an injury.
“I felt the last few innings, especially the last couple, were a lot better,” Verlander added. “In the fifth inning, it was a tough pill to swallow.”
Astros ace Justin Verlander is still searching for his stuff
Verlander knows that trying to find his old form midseason is difficult. Not only is he working things out against live hitters in games that matter, but those hitters are at their regular season peak.
“I’m trying to be realistic with myself and knowing that I’ve been shut down for a while,” Verlander said, per Jeff Wallner of MLB.com. “That’s what Spring Training is for, to work out kinks. It’s hard to do it midseason, especially when guys are in midseason form and you’re not.”
It doesn't help that Verlander is used to being an ace. Just two years ago, in his age 39 season, he finished with a career-best 1.75 ERA en route to another Cy Young Award and a second World Series ring with the Astros.
“I’m not a patient person,” Verlander continued. “It is difficult for me not to do too much. I know when I’m right on the mound. I’m constantly striving to get to that level, and I’m not there. Lots of sleepless nights. That’s why I’m trying to be fair and giving myself more margin for error than I normally would.”
The Astros are headed back to the playoffs and Verlander figures to be a major piece to the postseason puzzle. He has a career 3.58 postseason ERA with two rings and a 2017 ALCS MVP award.
His team around him has put him in position to pick up more hardware if he can get back to his old self.
