Tigers Set Justin Verlander’s Season Debut Against the Indians

Photo © Stacy Revere/Getty Images.

After a lingering triceps problem resulted in him missing the first two months of the season, Justin Verlander is scheduled to make his season debut Saturday against the Cleveland Indians.

Justin Verlander’s Season Debut Against the Indians

Way back in April, Verlander missed his final start of spring training due to right triceps cramps. At the time, both the pitcher and Tigers downplayed the injury, considering it a day-to-day issue. The two parties also hoped that he would be ready for his scheduled April 8 season debut against the Twins, but consistent problems with the right triceps kept him out of the lineup.

After a series of setbacks, Verlander pitched two quality games for Detroit’s Triple-A farm club: in his Saturday start against Columbus, he gave up four hits, one run and zero walks in 5.2 innings.

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“I feel like today was the step I wanted to see,” he said via ESPN. “The biggest thing is getting my pitch count up and also getting some innings. Not just throwing three innings, but getting out there and getting up and down a few times.”

As of right now, the Tigers do no plan to implement a pitch count during Saturday’s start.

Verlander has been an interesting case over the last few years. He won the Cy Young and MVP in 2011 and followed it up with a fantastic 17-9 record in 2012. But he has struggled over the last two seasons with a combined record of 28-24. In 2014, he even posted his worst ERA, 4.54, and strikeout total, 159, since 2008.