Justin Verlander will return to the mound Wednesday as the Houston Astros complete a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox.
Verlander, 41, has been out since June 9 with neck tightness. During a minor league rehab stint, he pitched a total of seven innings for the Triple-A Sugar Land Space Cowboys and Double-A Corpus Christi Hooks.
Astros manager Joe Espada said he didn’t know if Verlander would be on a pitch count in his first MLB start in more than two months.
“We’ll see how his outing goes and how effective he is,” Espada said. “I don’t want to put a number on it because he can surprise us. But we’ll be monitoring his workload closely, that’s for sure.”
Verlander’s return comes as the Astros lead the American League West by five games over the Seattle Mariners as they seek their fourth straight division crown.
It’s also a boost for a rotation that lost Cristian Javier, Jose Urquidy, JP France, Luis Garcia and Lance McCullers Jr. for the season but has been stable thanks to performances from Framber Valdez, Yusei Kikuchi, Hunter Brown and Spencer Arrighetti.
The Astros will likely opt for a six-man rotation with Verlander, allowing Ronel Blanco to get more rest between starts.
Verlander made 10 starts for the Astros this season and had 51 strikeouts in 57 innings pitched, along with a 1.21 WHIP and .242 batting average against opponents. This was his second stint on the disabled list after missing the start of the 2024 season with a shoulder issue.
“It’s important to have JV on the mound. He’s one of the best players coming back on the field,” Espada said. “We know what he means. We know he’s part of that winning culture and having him back is a big boost for our team, especially late in the season.”