Houston Astros Justin Verlander Does Not Mince Words About Struggles

Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander was very candid about his struggles.

Sep 8, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) walks on the field before the game against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Minute Maid Park. / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

Sunday was another tough game for Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander, as his struggles continued. It has been a tough season for the veteran right-hander, and his struggles of late have to be concerning for the Astros. 

Despite Verlander not pitching well, Houston is still in control of the American League West with a nice lead on the Seattle Mariners. The Astros having a good pitching staff overall, but one of their biggest names has been struggling a lot this season. 

Verlander has just simply not been the pitcher he is usually this season, as he has totaled a 3-6 record, 5.30 ERA, and has 63 strikeouts in 74.2 innings pitched. Injuries have slowed down his season, but since coming back in August, things haven’t looked good. 

In his most recent start, Verlander was roughed up by the Arizona Diamondbacks. In the loss, he allowed eight earned runs in three innings. It was his worst outing of the season, and the third straight game in which he had allowed four or more runs. 

After the poor start, Verlander had some comments about the performance. 

"I mean...the damage has been done, whatever," he told Chandler Rome of the New York Times . "I'm good."

"I found myself behind a lot because I wasn't able to land them, and they did some damage on some fastballs because of that," he said to Rome. "I thought the fastball was better today overall. The off-speed was a bit inconsistent location-wise, which got me in a little bit of trouble."

The struggles of Verlander have opened up the possibility of Houston making a change in their rotation. Fortunately for the Astros, they have other very good options on their starting staff, and they could make the decision to move Verlander to the bullpen for the postseason. 

With a little over three weeks left in the season, it will be interesting to see how many more starts Verlander gets. Houston would likely want to see at least two good starts from him before throwing him into a playoff series. 

Verlander has been a big part of the Astros’ franchise in recent years despite a cup of tea with the New York Mets. Seemingly, Houston will give him the opportunity to figure it out, but Verlander seems open to doing whatever the team needs from him at this stage of his career. 

At 41 years old, the struggles of Verlander might just be credited to the window closing on a great career.