HOUSTON — At eight minutes after 7 p.m., Eminem echoed across a stadium Justin Verlander has forever altered. His career renaissance has changed a franchise, catalyzed two championship runs and contained one constant: taking the Minute Maid Park mound to “Till I Collapse.”
The song is a soundtrack of Verlander’s six Houston summers, an announcement that dominance is due during every fifth or sixth day of this dynastic run. The first notes can force still-filling crowds to almost stand at attention before an ace works his magic, appointment viewing across this golden era.
Few athletes in this city’s history have left a more indelible mark or helped elevate a franchise into its highest echelon. The Houston Astros still reside in the rarified air Verlander has helped them reach. They’ve played for a pennant in every season he’s worn their uniform, a stretch of 78 home starts in which Verlander sported a 2.90 ERA.
On Friday night, for perhaps the final time, Verlander’s anthem proclaimed his presence. What he produced paled in comparison to anything this city or club expects from a Cooperstown-bound right-hander. Whether the Astros can afford him a chance at atonement is becoming an easier answer.
“I want to be an asset for this team,” Verlander said. “To do that, I need to be able to pitch and find out where I’m at.”
This version of Verlander is not an asset for a club with World Series aspirations and five other well-performing starting pitchers. Following 4 2/3 innings of six-run ball against one of the sport’s worst teams, Verlander’s ERA rose to 5.55.
Big time Breggy!#Relentless pic.twitter.com/icIcADyXWZ
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 21, 2024
It is 8.89 in six starts since returning from the injured list, a stretch in which he’s appeared more vulnerable than at any point in his Astros career. After Friday’s start, Verlander acknowledged he returned from his neck injury “a little fast” in an effort to gauge whether he can contribute in the postseason.
“Obviously the results have not been good. But there’s nothing you can do besides trying to pitch,” Verlander said.
Three other pitchers have already replaced Verlander atop the Astros’ rotation, including one who idolized him as a boy. Houston never needed Verlander to reprise his role as a bona fide ace, but the luxury of putting a generational pitcher in the middle of a playoff rotation is one no other club can match.
Verlander’s spiral is making that impossible. Manager Joe Espada rebuffed a question about Verlander’s playoff viability following Friday’s 9-7 win, perhaps in an effort to protect a veteran player amid a pitiful stretch.
Verlander is not oblivious. Hunter Brown, Framber Valdez and Yusei Kikuchi are outperforming him, a fact he acknowledged in candid comments following Friday’s game. Ronel Blanco and Spencer Arrighetti are more conditioned to contribute out of the bullpen in October. Of Verlander’s 525 regular-season appearances, none have come as a reliever.
If Verlander is not a traditional starter, no place exists for him on any permutation of a playoff pitching staff. Houston could carry him as a courtesy, but wasting one of 26 roster spots for sentimentality seems, at best, misguided. Asked twice about his place on a potential playoff roster, Verlander said it is Espada’s decision.
“It’s not my decision,” Verlander said. “I was away for two months and all of these guys were pitching fantastic. We’ve seen a bunch of guys really come into their own. I see the calendar. I know what time of year it is. That’s why I had to come back and try to find myself.”
The search feels futile, even if hope flickered throughout Friday’s outing. Verlander secured a first-pitch out to begin both the first and second innings, frames he needed just 20 pitches to finish with two punchouts.
Verlander touched 95.5 mph with the 10th pitch he threw but maintained a 93.5 mph velocity with a four-seam fastball he rarely threw by this brutal lineup. Of the 19 swings Los Angeles took against it, only three were whiffs.
Verlander generated just eight swings-and-misses from an Angels team that started five hitters with an OPS lower than .625. A lineup with the third-fewest hits in the sport struck eight against Verlander. Only the Chicago White Sox and Seattle Mariners entered play Friday with a lower batting average than the Angels’ .228 mark. Only the White Sox sported a lower OPS.
“Ironically, every time I’ve pitched, I’ve felt like I’m kind of inching closer to where I want to be, but it’s just not even close to consistent,” Verlander said. “You see that with the results. At this level, the margin for error is so small. First couple innings today I felt were where I wanted to be, what I’ve been kind of searching for. Obviously it wasn’t great after that.”
Handed a five-run lead after three innings, Verlander allowed the go-ahead run to the plate in the fourth and could not complete the fifth. Espada emerged to pull him after Eric Wagaman — a man with 34 major-league plate appearances — whacked a run-scoring double that brought Los Angeles within four. The six earned runs Verlander surrendered are his second-most ever in a home start. The most came two weeks ago against the Arizona Diamondbacks.
“There’s only one way to be successful in this game as a pitcher and that’s to pitch against the best talent in the world. Sitting there trying to give myself time wasn’t possible.” Verlander said. “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 and be there.”
After Wagaman’s double, Verlander handed his manager the baseball and began a slow trudge from the mound. Whether he’ll ever make it again is a mystery. Verlander confirmed he will make his next start, which will be on Sept. 27 against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field.
Presuming he does pitch that day, Verlander wouldn’t be available for another start on regular rest until Game 2 of a Wild Card Series. Nothing Verlander has demonstrated during the past two months merits giving him the ball.
The 54 games he missed made it impossible for Verlander to throw 140 innings and trigger his $35 million player option for the 2025 season. Ruling out a reunion with the Astros is impossible, especially given Verlander’s close relationship with Jim Crane, the owner who orchestrated his return to Houston last July for a second tour of duty.
Twenty-four pitchers have thrown at least 800 innings in an Astros uniform. Verlander is the only one with a WHIP lower than 1.00. He collected his 3,000th strikeout, 200th win, threw his third no-hitter and won two of his three Cy Young Awards as an Astro.
“I love these guys. I love this team,” Verlander said. “I want to be part of their success.”
For six years, he succeeded. Friday prompted wonder whether he will ever be again. Finality won’t come until the season’s end, but the fan base reacted as if this was its final glimpse at a legend. All 39,666 in attendance offered a standing ovation as Verlander exited the field. Twice, he patted his chest to acknowledge it.
“That meant a lot. It really did,” Verlander said, his voice growing heavy.
“That was honestly pretty special to me. I know how these fans know the game. They pay attention. 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. For them to have that ovation after such a difficult day, it touched me.”
(Photo: Troy Taormina / Imagn Images)
