Justin Verlander hopes first win with Mets will 'jump-start' rotation in right direction
After Justin Verlander lost his first start with the Mets against the Detroit Tigers on May 4, many fans online feared the team overpaid for a 40-year-old starter who is just two years removed from having Tommy John surgery.
Verlander silenced the critics after his performance Wednesday night in Cincinnati, allowing just one run on two hits over seven strong innings in the Mets' 2-1 win. The outing marked the 33rd start in his career in which he went at least 7.0 IP while allowing two or fewer hits, tying legends Roger Clemens and Randy Johnson for the second most starts and trailing only Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan (62 starts), per ESPN Stats & Info.
Following the win, Verlander said that he "felt more normal" on the mound against the Reds compared to his start against the Tigers. The right-hander settled in after allowing a first-inning run, and finished by retiring 18 of the last 19 batters he faced, adding that he "felt right" in the third and kept it going from there.
"Yeah, felt more normal for sure," Verlander said. "I'm still kind of making some mechanical adjustments, trying to find my timing and everything. Kind of made a few little minor tweaks during game, especially during the third inning that all of a sudden I felt right and just kind of went from there and kept that feeling."
The Mets starting pitchers had been struggling as of late, as only one starter (Kodai Senga on May 5 against the Colorado Rockies) lasted at least six innings dating back to April 22. Verlander understands how important the role of a starter can be for a team's success and hopes that his outing can "jump-start" the rotation.
"I mean, it felt great," Verlander said. "I know that there hasn't been a lot of length recently and hopefully that comes. But, your job as a starting pitcher when it's your day and you know the bullpen's been a little taxed is to go out there and eat some innings, and hopefully quality innings. To be able to do that, it felt great and hopefully it can kind of jump-start our rotation and just win some games."
First baseman Pete Alonso agreed that Verlander's outing was what the Mets needed to snap their three-game losing streak, noting how a strong performance like that helps everyone on the team.
"I mean it's awesome when he's lights out and when any of our pitchers are lights out because we need that, not just as an offense, but I'm sure the bullpen loves it too," Alonso said. "I mean I know our bullpen has thrown a lot of innings so far, and having him throw seven strong for us is huge."
With the win over the Reds, Verlander became the 21st player in major league history to defeat all 30 teams. He had previously been 0-1 over two starts against Cincy in his 18-year career, and now joins Gerrit Cole, Zack Greinke and teammate Max Scherzer as the only active pitchers to have beaten all 30 teams.
"I mean yeah anytime you do something that not many people have done in this game, it's pretty cool," Verlander said. "The reason I like it more than anything is because my compadre David Robertson didn't give it a shoutout in the postgame when he gave me the pitcher of the game, and so I got to give him a hard time about that which I really enjoyed."
Verlander said he sort of knew about the unique fact heading into the matchup against the Reds, but it wasn't fresh in his mind Wednesday. Although, he received a handful of texts after the win pointing it out and congratulating him on it.
The future Hall of Famer was then asked if he's going to get the game ball from his first win with the Mets, and quickly realized that he needed to get it as a keepsake.
"S--t, good question. Nothing. I do need to get a ball or something. You're right. I'll go work on that... I'm going to get one, I'm going to get something, I'm gonna work on that. I'm gonna get a ball, for sure," Verlander joked with reporters.
