Justin Verlander's brother vents as Giants star pitcher's frustrating season continues
Ben Verlander, a former Tigers minor leaguer, took to X on Thursday to vent about his brother's bad luck this season.
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He posted during the Giants' 13-0 defeat to the Phillies in which Justin allowed four runs (two earned) in six innings.
'Yes, it's my brother. Yes, I'm biased. But Justin's stats 100% do not tell the story of this season,' Ben, who is outspoken on social media and hosts the 'Flippin' Bats' podcast, posted at 5:28 p.m. ET.
'He's had many very good starts with truly some of the worst luck I've ever seen. It makes no sense to me. Really frustrating to watch. He's still throwing 97mph with nasty offspeed. That's the end of me venting. Thank you.'
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3 Justin Verlander is 0-7 this season with the Giants.
AP
The 42-year-old Verlander has faced criticism this season while going 0-7 with a 4.70 ERA, tallying 67 strikeouts in 76⅔ innings.
When a fan responded to the post with a video of Bryce Harper hitting a home run Thursday, Ben quickly fired back.
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'Yes. You showed the hardest hit ball today and 1 of the 2er given up,' Ben said. 'This makes no sense. Show all the bad luck.'
The Giants' defense also had three errors behind Verlander, which didn't help his cause. He struck out seven and didn't issue any walks in a quality start.
3 Ben Verlander interviews his brother Justin.
MLB Photos via Getty Images
While Ben had his brother's back, the peripheral statistics do not indicate that Justin has been particularly unlucky.
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His fastball has been crushed and is one of the worst pitches in baseball this season, with a -7 run value, according to Statcast.
Batters have an expected batting average (xBA) of .327 against the pitch and a crazy xSLG of .623.
His curveball hasn't been strong either, notching run value of -4, and opposing hitters are hitting .385 against it.
His 1.42 WHIP is the worst he's had since his rookie season in 2005.
One area where perhaps Verlander could use some better luck is in offensive support, with the veteran receiving just 3.8 runs per game, among the worst in baseball for those with at least 10 starts.
While a member of the Mets in 2023, Verlander pitched to a 3.15 ERA before being traded midseason back to the Astros.
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3 Justin Verlander has had a troubling season.
AP
Last season, he pitched to a 5.48 ERA in an injury-shortened season.
Verlander limps into the All-Star break, where he will hope to recharge for the stretch run as the Giants (51-43) are five games behind the division leading Dodgers.
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