Houston Astros star pitcher Justin Verlander pitched for four innings on Saturday night with the Double-A Corpus Christi team. This is likely to be his last game before he rejoins the Astros’ main team.
In the game against the Frisco RoughRiders, a team affiliated with the Texas Rangers, Verlander gave up six runs, with five of them earned, and seven hits. He managed to strike out three batters, walked one, and threw 51 out of 77 pitches accurately.
Verlander, who is 41 years old, had been on the injured list at the beginning of the season due to inflammation in his right shoulder.
During the game, Verlander faced some challenges. He had two wild pitches and two pitch-clock violations.
In the third inning, he needed 42 pitches to get through, allowing Frisco to score six runs, aided by two errors from the Corpus Christi team. However, Verlander finished strong, retiring the last five batters he faced despite the 10-3 loss for Corpus Christi.
In his first rehab start for the Triple-A Sugar Land team, Verlander allowed six earned runs and struck out six batters before pitching into the fourth inning. He threw 65 pitches in that game.
Houston manager Joe Espada mentioned that they hope Verlander feels well after this game and that they look forward to having him back on the main team soon. Espada also stated that they don’t anticipate Verlander needing more than two minor league starts before returning to play for Houston.
