CINCINNATI — Justin Verlander would be a first-ballot Hall of Famer if he retired tomorrow. He’s done just about all there is for a starting pitcher to do in this game. Rookie of the Year. MVP. Two World Series titles. Three Cy Young Awards. But there is one major box he’s yet to check: 300 wins.
While improbable, Verlander showed on Saturday afternoon at Great American Ball Park that his ambitions aren’t impossible as he tossed five innings of two-run ball with five strikeouts in his Giants debut. But after being saddled with the no-decision as San Francisco (1-1) lost to the Cincinnati Reds, 3-2, Verlander will have to wait until the team’s home opener to inch closer to history.
Verlander began his outing by retiring the side in the first inning with two strikeouts, ending the frame by freezing Elly De La Cruz with a payoff curveball. He encountered a bit of trouble in the second when the Reds (1-1) put runners on first and second with one out, but escaped unscathed.
San Francisco generated early offense for Verlander to work with. Wilmer Flores, fresh off hitting the go-ahead, three-run home run on Opening Day, hit his second homer in as many games, scraping a line drive over the left-field fence. Jung Hoo Lee, who drew two crucial walks in the season opener, collected his first hit and RBI of the year in the third, pulling a single into right field to drive in Heliot Ramos. Lee then stole his first base of the year, an interesting sign given he only stole two bases in 37 games last season.
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Verlander made his first true mistake of the evening in the third, hanging a curveball to Matt McClain that was sent into the left-field bleachers for a solo home run, slicing San Francisco’s lead to 2-1. One out away from completing the fifth inning, Verlander allowed back-to-back hits to McClain and Elly De La Cruz, the latter driving in the former to tie the game at two apiece.
The following inning, the Reds’ Christian Encarnacion-Strand, who attended College Park High School in Pleasant Hill, hit an opposite-field, solo home run off Spencer Bivens to give Cincinnati the 3-2 lead. Unlike Opening Day, Cincinnati wouldn’t let another lead slip away.
Verlander’s four-seam fastball noticeably played up compared to last season. Along with throwing his fastball 0.6 mph harder than last year, Verlander saw an uptick in his spin rate, too. After averaging 2395 RPMs (revolutions per minute) last year, Verlander averaged 2459 RPMs with the pitch against the Reds. With fastballs, higher spin rates create more backspin, which mean the pitch doesn’t drop as much as expected.
Worth noting
Lou Trivino retired the side in the eighth inning with a strikeout, his first outing since Oct. 5, 2022.
