HOUSTON– Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander was scratched early Saturday against the Detroit Tigers because of neck discomfort.
“He’s been dealing with it the last two weeks, trying to get through it,” coach Joe Espada said. “And we thought it would be smart if we could pause here, skip the beginning and try to get to the bottom of it.”
The Astros hope the 41-year-old right-hander doesn’t need to go on the injured list. It is listed as day to day.
“Missing a start is not something you want to happen,” Verlander said. “But honestly, day to day is a good thing… and you have to trust the coaches, trust everyone you talk to and I think the prognosis is really good. So I can’t evaluate that, but I feel good about it.”
Verlander said he cut his bullpen session short on Wednesday because of the issue, but hoped to feel well enough to start on Saturday.
“It wasn’t worse, it just kind of pissed me off a little bit,” he said. “And after some of my games, it got a little tough and then I was able to work on it and pitch and get all the things I needed to do. But during the bullpen, it blew up on me a little bit and I kind of pulled the footage and tried not to be stupid about it and push it like I normally would.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner is 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 10 starts this season.
Spencer Arrighetti, who was scheduled to start on Sunday, will start on Saturday in place of Verlander. Espada said the Astros have not yet decided who will start the series finale in Arrighetti’s place.
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