Giants Skipper Provides Key Injury Update on Justin Verlander

During the finale of the three-game sweep for the San Francisco Giants over the Athletics, it was clear something was off to begin the contest.

Starting pitcher Justin Verlander lasted only four innings -- his lowest output of the season -- and gave up two earned runs and five walks to just one strikeout.

Only 41 of his 84 total pitches were called strikes, and it was clear from his first 90-mph fastball that the veteran righty was hurting. 

After Verlander shared that he was dealing with “something physically” following the game, Giants manager Bob Melvin provided some clarity on what that meant.

What Injury Caused the Rough Outing for Justin Verlander?

Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle reported that Melvin said Verlander was dealing with a pec issue, not elaborating much beyond that.

"We'll give it a day or two to calm down, and hopefully we're good to go," Melvin said. "I think these next couple of days will tell. He does get an extra day [of rest], so that's good as well. I think he's going to take it easy the next couple of days, and then we'll see how he's feeling on Wednesday."

That times out well with the Giants' schedule since they’re off Thursday. That will allow for Verlander to receive extra treatment, so he should be healthy enough to start against the Washington Nationals on Saturday. 

In the worst case, San Francisco can look to the bullpen for a replacement, with Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks having the ability to step in, even though the latter was demoted following his rocky showing.

All in all, this is encouraging news for Verlander who started last season with the Houston Astros on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation and was later sidelined for two and a half months with a neck injury.

His pec issue doesn’t appear to be remotely as serious, especially with Verlander sharing that the team was aware of his limitations and elected to keep him in.

"I don't think anybody was really happy when the first pitch of the game was 90, but I was in constant communication with the staff, and I think we were all confident that I wasn't going to risk a catastrophic injury while I was out there," Verlander said. "I wanted to go out and give us a chance."

He remains winless through 10 starts with the Giants, although he has performed well enough to achieve one with a 4.33 ERA and a 90 ERA+ over 52 innings pitched. 

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