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.
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.
Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!
A week of sports news in your in-box.
We find the sports news you need to know, so you don't have to.
“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.
With their big three finally back in action Wednesday, the Philadelphia 76ers suffered another setback…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/tny--EWynOQ Nike paid tribute to Spanish tennis legend Rafael Nadal with a 10-meter-tall animated display…
https://youtu.be/dtJoJz9hC48 Tennis legend Rafael Nadal bid a heartfelt goodbye to his devoted Spanish fans as he brought…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/DQ9Rxhnuer4 U.S. Olympic fencer Eli Dershwitz shed light on the critical skills necessary in fencing…
Two offensive linemen for the Chicago Bears returned to practice, a massive step in the…
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/s2g9t_33Myw President-elect Donald Trump received a warm welcome from Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) fighter Jon…