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For the first time in 624 days, Justin Verlander clinched a big league mound for the Houston Astros Saturday night (GameTracker). Verlander made his first start since injuring his elbow on Opening Day of 2020. That was the shortened, 60-game season that began in July. Verlander underwent surgery on Tommy John in October 2020 and missed the 2021 season while in rehab.
While it couldn’t be said to have been easy, Verlander’s return was very successful. He held the Los Angeles Angels in five innings on one run, a solo home run by Jared Walsh. He beat Shohei Ohtani three times and pinned two runners in the fourth and again in the fifth. That includes emptying the tank to pull back Ohtani and Mike Trout with runners in second and third place in the fifth inning.
Verlander’s speed was there. His fastball averaged 94.6 mph on Saturday, identical to his 94.6 mph fastball average in 2019, his last full season. He reached a top speed of 96.1 mph. Verlander also had nine misses on 36 swings, a solid 25 percent. He threw several elevated fastballs from Angels hitters, a pitch that has long been Verlander’s calling card. A successful return, through and through.
Opposite Verlander was Noah Syndergaard on Saturday. Syndergaard had Tommy John surgery in March 2020 and returned to make two one-inning starts with the New York Mets at the end of last season. They amounted to showcases that passed into free hands. Saturday was Syndergaard’s first real start since September 29, 2019. That was 923 days ago.
Living with his Fastball Saturday in the mid-90s, Syndergaard was frankly more impressive than Verlander. He limited hard contact (only three of the 20 batters he faced hit the ball from the infield) and his offspeed stuff was sharp, too. This is of course an encouraging sign for the Angels. It’s hard to see them as a post-season club without an effective Syndergaard.
Because of the truncated spring training season, almost every starting pitcher in baseball came into the regular season with a pitch limit and not fully stretched out. Verlander threw 80 pitches on Saturday and will likely increase it to 90-95 pitches next time. Syndergaard pitched 76 and is on track for 85-90 pitches in his next start.
Verlander, 39, returned to the Astros on a one-year deal worth $25 million last offseason. The deal includes a $25 million player option for 2023. Syndergaard, 29, has a one-year, $21 million deal with the Halos.