Houston’s Justin Verlander is set to come off the injured list and start the last game of a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox on Wednesday.
“It’s big getting JV on the mound. It’s getting one of the best back in there,” manager Joe Espada said. “We know what he means. We know he’s part of this winning culture and getting him back is a big boost for our team, especially down the stretch.”
The 41-year-old ace has not pitched since June 9 due to neck stiffness. He made two rehab starts in the minor leagues, with his most recent appearance being four innings for Double-A Corpus Christi on Thursday.
Espada was asked if the three-time Cy Young Award winner would be on a pitch count since he threw just 57 pitches in his last rehab outing.
“We’ll see how the outing goes and how efficient he is,” Espada said. “I don’t want to put a number because he can surprise us. But we’re going to keep a close eye on his workload for sure.”
Verlander is 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 10 starts this season. This is his second stint on the injured list this year, having also missed time earlier in the season due to inflammation in his right shoulder.
The Astros have just started a stretch of 18 games without a break and Espada mentioned they will use a six-man rotation at least until they get through this period.
Houston has turned things around and entered Monday’s games with a season-best 11 games above .500. The Astros are leading the AL West by four games over the second-place Mariners.
