Extra day of rest may not last much longer for Verlander
MINNEAPOLIS — Justin Verlander’s return to normalcy still has a final step, one he expects to take during the next turn of Houston’s rotation.
After falling five outs shy of a no-hitter during Tuesday’s 5-0 win over the Twins, Verlander revealed he will make his next start on four days of rest, putting the future of Houston’s six-man starting rotation in flux.
“To be able to kind of repeat five days of multiple starts in a row is where I want to get to,” Verlander said. “Obviously, we’re kind of doing baby steps to get to that point.”
The Astros have exercised immense caution with Verlander, the 39year-old ace pitching in his first season since having Tommy John surgery.
Verlander lowered his ERA to 1.55 on Tuesday. He boasts the lowest WHIP (0.639) and hits per nine innings (4.4) of any major league starter. He’s done it all with the luxury of extra rest.
Off days early in the season allowed him to have six days of rest before his second start. Starting pitchers normally operate on four days of rest and pitch every fifth day.
Verlander threw on five days’ rest during his last four outings, benefiting from Houston’s six-man rotation. If he makes his next start on normal rest — four days — Verlander would pitch Sunday against the Nationals in Washington.
Before Wednesday’s game against the Twins, manager Dusty Baker did not answer whether Verlander would make his next start on four days of rest. Baker said the team’s plans were not “definitive.”
Wednesday’s suspended game against the Twins was the second of 16 consecutive contests without an off day, a stretch during which the Astros could conceivably stick with the six-man setup. Doing so would stall Verlander’s desire to pitch every fifth day.
Center fielders learn to share
The Astros still seem committed to a centerfield timeshare with two players doing little to separate themselves after more than a month of action. The team is extracting 0.5 wins above replacement from center field, according to FanGraphs, good for 15th of 30 major league teams.
Jose Siri started in center field Wednesday for the 16th time this season, one more than Chas McCormick. Siri brought a 2-for-36 slump into the matchup against Twins righthander Chris Archer but did single in his first at-bat. McCormick is mired in an 0-for-11 funk himself.
Neither has harnessed enough consistency to warrant everyday playing time. Baker has favored McCormick of late — he started six of nine games before Wednesday’s. He responded with a 2-for-22 offensive showing.
McCormick still profiles as a better offensive option than Siri. He sat Wednesday with a 102 OPS+ — two points above league average — and has curtailed his strikeout rate from last season. Siri has a 61 OPS+ and .180 batting average, albeit in just 54 plate appearances.
McCormick is swinging and missing at a 29.6 percent clip — down more than 5 percent from last year — but has chased pitches outside the strike zone at an alarming rate. McCormick’s 37.6 percent chase rate is 10 points higher than the major league averagen.
Most of Siri’s problems are chase-rate related. He posted a 45.6 percent rate last season and has lowered it to 36.1 percent this year. Siri is still prone to swing-and-miss and strikeouts, but he does appear to be solving one of his more glaring problems.
Defensive metrics favor Siri slightly over McCormick, perhaps why Siri started Wednesday behind flyball pitcher José Urquidy. Siri is worth three outs above average in center field, according to Baseball Savant. McCormick is worth two. Jake Meyers ended last season worth four.
Meyers’ return from shoulder surgery is still about a month away. Until he reappears, Siri and McCormick seem primed to see equal playing time.
Space Cowboys’ pitchers hit hard
Albuquerque jumped on Sugar Land starter Shawn Dubin for four runs in the first inning Wednesday night en route to a 10-5 victory over the Space Cowboys at Albuquerque, N.M.
Staked to a 2-0 lead courtesy of J.J. Matijevic’s two-run homer in the top of the first, Dubin promptly gave it up and wound up surrendering five runs in two innings.
Pedro Leon got Sugar Land within 5-4 with a two-run homer in the third, but Peter Solomon gave up another five runs in three innings of relief. A solo homer by Corey Julks accounted for the Space Cowboys’ last run.