After rough start, Verlander admits he has some work to do
Justin Verlander struggled in his fourth Grapefruit League start, walking six in Monday’s 3-2 loss against the Washington Nationals. The two-time World Series champion allowed two hits, two earned runs and struck out three in 4.2 innings of work.
The right-hander, who has allowed only two runs in the previous 11.1 innings pitched, said he doesn’t want to “breeze through everything” during spring training but noted he needs to make adjustments after his most recent rough outing.
“Got some work to do. It was a tough one,” he said.
Manager Buck Showalter said postgame that the starter had a lot of “borderline pitches” and that “he’s where he needs to be physically.”
Lindor returns: Shortstop Francisco Lindor returned to the Mets after Mexico eliminated Puerto Rico, 5-4, in the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic last week.
The star will start the season without fellow Puerto Rican Edwin Diaz, who underwent a season-ending right knee surgery after tearing his patellar tendon celebrating an upset victory over Dominican Republic on May 15.
“I never knew I loved Edwin so much until I couldn’t stop crying. That’s when I realized I loved Edwin a lot… It broke my heart. It did not feel good,” Lindor said about his teammate.
Lindor said participation in the WBC “should still be there” despite criticism following Diaz’s and Jose Altuve’s injuries that occurred during the tournament. The Astros ruled Altuve out indefinitely getting hit by a pitch that broke his right thumb. The team will determine a prognosis after the eight-time All-star undergoes surgery.
“I can understand everyone’s emotions,” Lindor said. “Believe me, I have those emotions too… We all care for each other. No one wants to get hurt. But we all love our countries and want to represent our countries.”