Verlander back in Houston looking his age
HOUSTON — In case there needed to be any reminder about the pitcher Justin Verlander has been in the recent past, he received another Monday.
The Mets co-ace was presented with his 2022 World Series ring by manager Dusty Baker before the Mets beat the Astros 11-1 at Minute Maid Park.
A large throng of mostly local media surrounded Verlander hours before first pitch and hours before Verlander was given a piece of jewelry he purposely had not looked at previously.
“I look back so fondly at my time here. It was a wonderful chapter in my career, and I’m very thankful for it,” Verlander said of Houston, where he won a pair of World Series titles (2017 and ’22) and a pair of Cy Young Awards (2019 and ’22).
Verlander is set to face off with Astros star Framber Valdez on Tuesday. The last time Verlander was on the mound at Houston’s home park, he was the starting pitcher for Game 1 of the World Series, a loss to the Phillies. The last time Verlander pitched as a member of the Astros, he allowed one run in five innings of the World Series Game 5 victory.
The 40-year-old Verlander has been making the rounds. In his last outing, he dueled with former Astros teammate and friend Gerrit Cole. His season opened in early May in Detroit, where he spent the first 13 years of his career.
Verlander called Houston a “new chapter” in his career. His third chapter has begun with concern. Through his first eight starts as a Met, Verlander has looked more like an older Verlander than the Verlander of old.
He missed the first month of the season with a low-grade teres major strain and, since he has been either hit hard or barely hit at all.
It was the latter last week against Cole’s Yankees, when Verlander allowed one run in six innings. But that followed a blowup in Atlanta in which Verlander could not record an out in the fourth inning.
The 40-year-old will step on the mound Tuesday with a 4.40 ERA. After expressing appreciation for his former home, he said he has begun to feel more comfortable in his current one.
“My family loves it. It’s definitely a different pace,” Verlander said of New York. “Starting the season that first month on the IL — playing catch-up made that pace a lot faster.
“But I feel like this last few weeks … I’ve started to feel a lot more comfortable just in the routine and where we’re living and just being at peace and feeling comfortable — like you’re at home.”
The results have not yet followed the comfort level. Whenever Verlander — and Max Scherzer and many around the Mets clubhouse — has appeared to turn a corner, a poor effort has followed.
Verlander has been tagged for six earned runs twice this season. During Verlander’s Cy Young season last year, he allowed as many as six earned runs once.
Verlander caught up with former teammates including Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley on the field before the game. He called bypassing the home locker room and heading toward the visiting clubhouse “a little weird.”
He visited his past and was handed a reminder of his legacy with one ballclub as he works to build a legacy with the Mets.
“His wisdom. His been-there, done-that,” manager Buck Showalter said of what Verlander has brought to the Mets so far. “Pitchers really enjoy listening to him about pitching, and showing his hunger to continue to pitch at a high level.”