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Justin Verlander keeps pitching like a Hall of Famer. The only thing missing now is the win column. The 42-year-old right-hander turned in another strong outing for the San Francisco Giants on Thursday night, holding the Colorado Rockies to two earned runs over 6 1/3 innings. But for the third straight start, Verlander walked off the mound without a victory, as the Giants’ bullpen faltered late in a 4-3 loss at Oracle Park.
“It kind of stinks to mess up the win for JV,” reliever Tyler Rogers said after allowing the game-tying and go-ahead runs in the eighth inning. “He’s still searching for that first win as a Giant.”
Verlander scattered five hits, walked one and struck out four. He departed after allowing a solo home run to Ryan McMahon — who snapped a franchise-worst 0-for-35 slump — that cut San Francisco’s lead to 3-2. It was a solid effort from Verlander, who has now allowed two or fewer runs in three straight starts, yet remains winless in a Giants uniform.
“I really try and take a long view of this game,” Verlander said. “You give your team enough chances, the wins will start coming.”
The Giants blow a 4-1 lead to the worst team in baseball
After Verlander’s exit, Camilo Doval handled the rest of the seventh, but the Rockies rallied in the eighth. Brenton Doyle singled, stole second, and scored on Jordan Beck’s ground-rule double off Rogers. Hunter Goodman then drove in Beck with a single to center, putting Colorado up 4-3. Rogers took the loss, while rookie Zach Agnos locked down the save for Colorado, capping off the Rockies’ first back-to-back wins of the season and snapping their 13-game road losing streak.
San Francisco’s offense gave Verlander a 3-1 lead with a two-run sixth, highlighted by Wilmer Flores’ RBI double and a run-scoring two-bagger from Mike Yastrzemski. Heliot Ramos got the Giants on the board in the first with a 430-foot leadoff homer. Verlander, who is chasing 300 career wins, remains stuck at 262. Still, both he and manager Bob Melvin emphasized the bigger picture.
“Of course we want to get him his first win, but it’s more important just winning the game,” Melvin said. “He’s pitched well enough to win, and it’s just unfortunate it hasn’t happened yet.”
Despite a long bottom of the sixth that may have cooled him off in the cold Bay Area air, Verlander didn’t protest his removal.
“I just asked him if he took me out because I’m old,” Verlander joked. “But seriously, I didn’t get quite loose enough coming back out. That’s on me — something I need to adjust for.”
For Verlander, the focus remains on team success, even if personal milestones are on the horizon.
“You can’t sit here and be like ‘woe is me,’” he said. “You’ve got a bunch of teammates and you’ve got to trust each other. And we do.” The Giants will try to bounce back Friday, but for now, Verlander will have to wait just a bit longer for that elusive first win in Orange and Black.
