This story was originally published by Dead Spin
The Houston Astros haven’t punched their ticket to the playoffs just yet.
But for Justin Verlander, the postseason may as well begin Saturday night.
Verlander will look to snap an extended slump and audition for a spot in the Astros’ playoff rotation when he takes the mound in the middle contest of a three-game series against the Los Angeles Angels in Anaheim, Calif.
The right-handed Verlander (3-6, 5.30 ERA) is slated to oppose Angels left-hander Tyler Anderson (10-12, 3.50).
Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez each homered on Friday and Yusei Kikuchi tossed seven solid innings in the Astros’ 5-3 victory over the Angels.
With the win, the Astros (79-68) maintained their 4 1/2-game lead over the Seattle Mariners in the American League West. The Mariners mounted a late-inning comeback in a 5-4 victory over the Texas Rangers.
The Astros have advanced to the AL Championship Series or beyond in each of the past seven seasons, a span in which Verlander has gone 10-7 with a 3.74 ERA in 22 playoff games (21 starts).
But Verlander’s spot in a potential playoff rotation next month is anything but secure. The 41-year-old, who leads active pitchers with 260 regular season wins and 3,405 strikeouts, is 3-6 with a 5.30 ERA in 14 starts this year. He surrendered eight runs on eight hits in three innings of a 12-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.
Verlander is 0-4 with a 9.68 ERA in four starts since returning from a neck injury that sidelined him for more than two months.
“I would not bet against someone with that pedigree and how good this guy’s been for a very long time,” Astros manager Joe Espada said following Sunday’s game. “I just know that he’s going to go back and work and try to figure some stuff out.”
The Angels (60-87) have been in evaluation mode for most of another disappointing season. Los Angeles, which will miss the playoffs for the 10th straight season, needs to go at least 7-8 the rest of the way to avoid tying the franchise record for losses, set in 1968 by the then-California Angels and matched in 1980.
Angels manager Ron Washington was frustrated on Friday with shortstop Zach Neto and right fielder Jordyn Adams, who lost track of the number of outs in the sixth and eighth inning, respectively.
“It was addressed to everybody,” Washington said. “Knowing the outs in the game, you can’t lose your focus.”
Verlander is 16-11 with a 3.33 ERA in 32 career regular season starts against the Angels. He didn’t factor into the decision June 9, when he made his final start before suffering the neck injury. He gave up four runs over five innings in the Astros’ 9-7 loss in that contest.
Anderson didn’t factor into the decision in his most recent start Sept. 7 after allowing two runs (one earned) over five innings in the Angels’ 6-4 loss to the Rangers. He is 1-3 with a 6.14 ERA in nine starts against the Astros, including 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA in two starts this season.
–Field Level Media
