Justin Verlander's brutal losing streak continues with ‘embarrassing' Giants loss
The latest loss, he said Friday, was 'frankly embarrassing.'
The 42-year-old isn't the same version of the pitcher who made his MLB debut 20 years ago, and the results haven't matched his standard from all those seasons, either.
After allowing six earned runs across three innings during the Giants' loss to the A's, Verlander's ERA rose to 4.84 through 14 starts, and he still hasn't picked up a win this season — with the $15 million pitcher's record sitting at 0-6.
Justin Verlander throws a pitch during his July 4 start for the Giants.
Getty Images
'I know that I can still be successful with the given stuff that I have at this level,' Verlander told reporters, according to the San Francisco Standard. 'I'm just not deceptive enough right now, and I need to figure out how to blend stuff better. Mechanically I'm not delivering the pitch the way that I'm capable of to deceive the hitter.'
The Giants have picked up just four wins during Verlander's starts this year, and he won't make an All-Star Game for a third consecutive season after earning appearances in nine of his first 17 years in the majors.
Verlander has recorded an out in the seventh inning just once this season, during a May 1 outing against the woeful Rockies.
'Guys are able to execute their game plan against me too easily,' Verlander told reporters, according to the Standard. 'I can't quite get fastballs by guys when I should be able to. I can't quite get them to chase the good off-speed pitch. When I do throw a bad one, they're on it.'
So he'll keep working on mechanics, he said.
He remembered encountering stretches like this before, where he needed to 'reinvent the wheel,' to 'throw s–t against the wall and see what works.'
Justin Verlander, pictured walking toward the dugout after getting pulled June 18, has struggled for the Giants this season.
Imagn Images
But this isn't the Verlander who won World Series titles with the Astros in 2017 and 2022 — and who was a major part of their dynasty.
This isn't the Verlander whom the Mets snagged in free agency ahead of the 2023 season to pair with Max Scherzer at the top of their rotation.
Verlander has become just another aging pitcher, mixing some decent starts with some ugly ones and not collecting the that — sometimes — help mask some of the underlying concerns.
He knows it's something that needs to get fixed 'quickly,' too.
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