Verlander Says Higher Velocity In First Start 'Good Sign Of Things To Come'
By Ashley Dunkak
@AshleyDunkak
DETROIT - In his first start for the Detroit Tigers this season, Justin Verlander pitched five innings and limited the Cleveland Indians to two earned runs on three hits and two walks. Verlander threw 87 pitches, 55 of which were strikes.
Having been on the disabled list with a triceps strain since the beginning of the season, Verlander was glad to be back on the mound, and Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was glad to have him there.
"He brings another energy, he lifts up the team, he lifts up the crowd, so it's good to have him back," Ausmus said. "I think was a good first outing, a good first step, and I'm sure as we move deeper in the season he's going to pitch longer, he'll probably be sharper, maybe have an off day here or there, but I think in fairly short order he'll be back up to his 110, 120 pitches."
Verlander got into some trouble in the fifth inning, when he loaded the bases by giving up a hit and a pair of walks.
"When I tried to step on the gas a little bit, fell out of rhythm a little bit and walked a couple guys, and that's kind of more effort than I've had to put in yet, so it kind of makes sense why the rhythm wasn't quite there," Verlander said.
"You have a tendency to get a little ahead of yourself and try to do too much," Verlander continued, "whereas after a few starts or I don't know how many starts, when you try to hit that next gear, you're used to it, your body's used to it, and you're able to control it much better."
Verlander kept enough control that even the bases-loaded situation produced only one run. The run scored on a sacrifice fly, and then a line out ended the inning. When Verlander left the game, the Tigers had a 3-2 lead.
"You could see he dialed it up a notch," Ausmus said, "as he's done in the past when he sees a threat."
Verlander hit 96 and 97 miles per hour on the radar gun in the fifth inning, and he regularly hit 93 and 94 throughout the game.
"It felt good," Verlander said. "The first few innings, it was pretty easy, coming out good, arm felt good, and it was nice to see it coming out pretty good there, especially when I haven't really, haven't had a lot of opportunity to build up arm strength and really hit my stride, so I think that's a good sign of things to come."
Ausmus and Verlander discussed sending the pitcher back out for the sixth but ultimately decided against it.
"I would like to have gone deeper in the game and given us a little bit better chance to win, but also, coming out of the game, I guess through this whole process maybe I learned a little bit of patience from all the doctors and the trainers and everybody telling me that you have to be cautious in this situation and not push yourself too much, which kind of goes against everything that I've always done," Verlander said.
"All those conversations I've had with our staff, our coaches, doctors, I just don't think it was the right move yet [to stay in the game]," Verlander added. "I think moving forward – especially the way the fifth panned out, giving more effort than I have at any point so far – I think moving forward, a couple starts down the road, it's a no-brainer. But right now I think it was a smart move."
Overall, Verlander was pleased with how his start unfolded.
"I think today was a very key step," Verlander said, "and it was a good sign."