NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 20: Pitcher Justin Verlander of the New York Mets talks to reporters during his introductory press conference at Citi Field on December 20, 2022 in New York City. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
All you need to know about how did Justin Verlander play in his debut for the New York Mets go in the spring training game.
On Saturday, Justin Verlander pitched for the first time for the New York Mets and also turned 40 years old during the game. And he appeared to be in roughly the same physical condition as he did earlier in his career. In the exhibition game against the Marlins played at Roger Dean Stadium, Verlander pitched three innings, struck out three batters, and allowed one run while reaching 96 miles per hour on the radar gun.
The Mets are banking on the same Verlander, the one who is fresh off winning his third Cy Young Award, which he did with the Astros the season before last. Verlander recorded his first strikeout after throwing 35 pitches, one of the highlights of which was a slider that caused Bryan De La Cruz to swing out of his helmet in the top of the first inning, leading to Verlander’s first strikeout.
Verlander acknowledged the new pitch clock, but, in contrast to his fellow colleague Max Scherzer, he stated that he has no plans to exploit it to his advantage, at least not in the immediate future. Instead, the right-handed batter is looking forward to returning to a more standard approach to his preseason preparation for the next season.
After the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he had Tommy John surgery, which put him out of commission for 2021. Then, the following year, he was impacted by the MLB lockout, which reduced spring training. This kept him out of action for the entire year. Verlander’s response was to win his third Cy Young Award during the previous season, and then he went on to negotiate a two-year deal worth $86.7 million to lead the starting rotation for the Mets alongside Scherzer.
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