It was a rough weekend for the Houston Astros, who managed just four runs while dropping two of three at home to the Tampa Bay Rays. The Astros have now lost five of their last seven games, losing control of first place in the AL West to the Seattle Mariners.
On the plus side, Houston got some positive news regarding Justin Verlander on Sunday. The three-time Cy Young winner is currently on the injured list with a neck injury and has been on the shelf for nearly two months. His last appearance was on June 9 against the Los Angeles Angels.
However, Verlander is finally getting close to returning after considerable rest and rehab based on his latest status update.
Justin Verlander threw 37 pitches in two simulated innings, hitting 94 mph, and said he will need two Minor League starts before returning to Astros. pic.twitter.com/mIwZFSI2GO
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 4, 2024
The 41-year-old righty threw 37 pitches in two simulated innings on Sunday morning, topping out at 94 mph on the radar gun. He also said that he’ll likely need two minor-league rehab starts to build up his pitch count before returning to the Astros. Given that he’s throwing every five or six days, that likely puts him on track to return to the big leagues in late August.
When asked how he felt after Sunday’s session, Verlander replied, “Great. Don’t think I could have asked for much better. Felt really, really great physically.”
In addition to feeling good about his velocity, Verlander also felt good about his offspeed pitches. “I got some great reactions on all the pitches, really,” he said. “That’s kind of what I would have liked to have seen. If I was in the game, I would have felt really comfortable with all the pitches today.”
That’s good news for Houston, which is counting on Verlander to give its injury-riddled rotation a boost down the stretch. He’s only made 10 starts this season due to injuries but was still effective when healthy, going 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 57 innings.
With the Astros locked in a tight division race, the sooner he comes back, the better.
