Umpire may have inspired future Hall of Famer to first win

Chad Whitson ejected the 42-year-old pitcher, adding a dig at Verlander's rough season, during which he was winless in 16 starts.

"How about you worry about getting out of the third inning, huh?" Whitson yelled.

Perhaps eager to prove Whitson wrong, Verlander threw five shutout innings Wednesday as the Giants defeated the Atlanta Braves, 9-3. He recorded his 263rd career win and his first of the 2025 season. Verlander is the active leader in wins, but he went winless through his first 16 starts with San Francisco, which tied the all-time major league record.

Verlander almost didn't get out of the first inning, loading the bases and throwing 40 pitches before escaping without a run. He proceeded to give up only one hit in the next four innings, striking out his final batter with two on and two out in the fifth. And in the third, he only faced three hitters.

While the right-hander has been a disappointment after signing a one-year, $15M deal with the Giants, he also hasn't pitched so badly that he deserved to be winless until the last week of July. Verlander's ERA is 4.70, but the defense-neutral statistic of FIP has him at a more respectable 4.33. San Francisco's offense hasn't helped him, scoring just 3.58 runs in his starts before Wednesday.

Maybe Verlander needed to rely on his fastball, which still hit 96 MPH and accounted for seven of his 15 outs, or he needed an umpire like Whitson to put a chip on his shoulder. 

He'll have five days to fire himself up before searching for his second win.