Justin Verlander did not have a feel-good 2026 debut with the Detroit Tigers.
Making his first start since reuniting with Detroit, the 43-year-old Verlander was pummeled by the Arizona Diamondbacks’ offense on Monday at Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.
The future Baseball Hall of Famer looked every bit his age on the mound, giving up 5 earned runs on 6 hits while issuing 2 walks and recording just a strikeout in 3 2/3 innings of work in a 9-6 Detroit loss.
It was simply not the type of performance Verlander envisioned in his much-anticipated first start since signing a 1-year, $13 million contract with the Tigers in February.
“Not the way I obviously wanted it to go, which is disappointing for myself more than anybody else in the world,” Verlander said after the game, via Jason Beck of MLB.com.
The nine-time All-Star isn’t discouraged by his rough start, however, as he looks to make the necessary adjustments ahead of his next outing.
“Just like I’ve done my whole career, I come in here and start trying to think about what was off and how I can fix it and why it was off and get ready for the next one,” added the three-time Cy Young Award winner.
Verlander is no longer the pitcher he once was, and at his age, poor starts like the one he had against Arizona are to be expected.
As a team, the Tigers dropped to 2-2. They will next get the ball to right-hander Casey Mize for Tuesday’s game against the Diamondbacks.
