Justin Verlander was out for nearly two months this summer due to a neck injury.
After his recent tough start in Houston’s 9-7 victory over the Angels on Friday night, the 41-year-old pitcher admitted he should have taken more time to heal.
“I think I came back from the neck injury a little fast,” he said. “Obviously I know the schedule, I know the calendar and I want to be an asset for this team and to do that I need to be able to pitch and find out where I’m at.
Obviously, the results have not been good, but there’s nothing you can do besides trying to pitch.”
In that game, Verlander allowed eight hits and six runs in 4 2/3 innings. This marks the third time in four starts that the three-time Cy Young Award winner has given up eight hits and at least five runs.
His recent struggles have led some to wonder if he might be left off the playoff roster for the AL West leaders, especially since their magic number decreased to four with this win.
Manager Joe Espada avoided the question about Verlander’s potential role in the postseason when asked after the game.
“I’ve talked to you guys every single day,” he said. “I’m not going to get into playoff implications. We’re trying to get to the playoffs, right? And we’re trying to put these guys in a position to succeed so we can get to the playoffs.”
Verlander went on the injured list on June 15 and returned on August 21. Since coming back, he has won only one of six starts and hasn’t pitched more than five innings in any of those games.
“I haven’t been good since I’ve been back, so it’s hard,” he said. “But I’ve had hard stretches in my career before (and) just got to find a way to work through it.”
As he left the mound on Friday night, which was his last home start of the regular season, Verlander received a warm ovation. He patted his chest and waved to the crowd before heading into the dugout.
“These fans know the game, they pay attention,” he said. “They know I’m out there grinding and trying to give everything I can.
I’ve worked as hard as humanly possible trying to bounce back as quick as I can from the injury and get back out there and for them to have that ovation after such a difficult day, yeah, they touched me.”
Verlander, now in his 20th season in the MLB, mentioned that this has been one of the hardest times in his successful career. He has a record of 4-6 with a 5.55 ERA in 16 starts this year.
“Every time I pitched, I’ve felt like I’m kind of inching closer to where I want to be,” he said. “But it’s just not even close to consistent. You see that with the results. At this level the margin for error is so small.
The first couple of innings today I felt were where I wanted to be, where I’ve been kind of searching for, and then it just obviously wasn’t great after that.”
When asked about possibly not making the playoff roster, he said that’s “not his decision,” but added that he likely came back too soon in an effort to help the team in October.
“I see the calendar, I know what time of year it is,” he said. “That’s why I had to come back and try to find myself … sitting there, trying to give myself time wasn’t possible. I needed to figure out where I was at. It’s been hard. It’s been a tough lesson. But I don’t regret it. I want to show up for these guys. I want to be there.”
