Justin Verlander made his first appearance with the Houston Astros on Saturday since being acquired from the New York Mets at the trade deadline. Verlander’s re-debut came in a 3-1 loss against the New York Yankees (box score).
Verlander did a good job, as he held the Yankees to two runs on seven hits and two walks over seven innings. He also had four strikeouts and threw 97 pitches. Verlander gave up the first run in the second inning when Anthony Volpe hit a sacrifice fly. The Astros tied the game at 1-1 when Jose Altuve hit a solo home run, which was also his 200th career blast.
The Yankees scored their second run off of Verlander in the fifth inning when Jake Bauers hit a home run, putting New York ahead 2-1.
The Yankees scored one more run in the eighth inning with a solo shot from Gleyber Torres, but that was against reliever Kendall Graveman, who recently rejoined the Astros.
Verlander, who is 40 years old, had a 3.15 ERA (131 ERA+) and a 2.61 strikeout-to-walk ratio this season. He has been performing well lately, with a 1.69 ERA in six starts in July.
Verlander was previously a member of the Astros from August 2017 to the end of last year’s World Series. He then left the team to sign a two-year contract with the Mets. However, the Astros reacquired Verlander earlier this week, along with cash considerations, in exchange for outfield prospects Drew Gilbert and Ryan Clifford.
The series between the Astros and Yankees will conclude on Sunday, with José Urquidy making his first start since April. He will face Carlos Rodón, who has recently returned from an injury.
