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The game of baseball is a game of key moments. One mistake pitch might be all that separates a team from a win or a loss. On Tuesday night, the Houston Astros, in Justin Verlander's second start back in his return from the injured list, may have encountered a different fate had it not been for the veteran starter's pitch decision in the third inning of their 5-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
In that aforementioned inning, Verlander allowed four runs to cross the plate, which ended up being the Astros' undoing on the night. With two outs in the inning, the 41-year-old starter faced Nick Castellanos, with Trea Turner and Bryce Harper at second and first base, respectively. At first, it seemed as though the at-bat was going to go Verlander's way, as he got ahead in the count with a 93-mph fastball on top of the zone. However, Verlander decided to throw a curveball on the second pitch, and promptly got punished for it with a three-run dinger.
Following the game, Justin Verlander expressed his regret for not going with his gut to throw another fastball, as he feels as though Castellanos was waiting to pounce on an off-speed pitch.
“The selection bothers me. I kind of went away from my instincts there. First pitch, I just threw him a heater that my instincts said he wasn’t on, and [I] probably could have gone back to it — and should have gone back to it — and didn’t. That’s the game of baseball. That’s the chess match. You’ll have to ask Nick, but I felt like he was sitting soft,” Verlander said, per Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.
As fate would have it, Castellanos was indeed sitting on something soft like the Astros veteran thought.
“I had a pretty good idea that I was going to see an off-speed pitch at some point in the at-bat. And I saw that curveball pretty early, and hit it well,” Castellanos said.
If Justin Verlander could have a do-over, he definitely would take the opportunity. Other than that disappointing third inning, the Astros veteran was in control even though his stuff on the night wasn't at its best. The Astros have gone through a murderer's row of opponents as of late, having lost six of their past eight contests against teams with a winning record.
The Astros' goal now is to avoid getting swept by the Phillies. Spencer Arrighetti will be taking the ball against Taijuan Walker as Houston attempts to stop the bleeding.
A lowdown of Justin Verlander's 2024 season for the Astros
Now 41 years of age, some decline is to be expected out of Justin Verlander. Verlander's declining velocity is a telltale sign that he too is succumbing to the effects of Father Time. His average fastball velocity this season of 93.8 is the lowest it has been since his weird dip from 2014 to 2015.
The good news is that Verlander appears to have plenty of gas left in the tank even though he may no longer be one of the best starting pitchers in the MLB. Despite missing over two months of action due to a neck injury, Verlander allowed just two runs in five innings of work in his first game back in a 4-1 Astros loss to the Red Sox. The Astros, however, may need him to channel his younger self as they look to hold on to the AL West division lead.
