Astros’ Verlander likely to miss season opener
Houston ace Justin Verlander has a mild strain of a back muscle and said it would “probably take a miracle” for him to pitch in the Astros’ opener against the Los Angeles Angels on March 26.
In an effort to remain positive, Verlander quickly added, “but I don’t want to leave miracles off the table.”
The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner was hurt on his second-to-last pitch in Sunday’s exhibition game against the New York Mets. He had an MRI on Monday and was diagnosed with a strained latissimus dorsi muscle. There is no timetable for his return.
“Talking with doctors and looking at the scans, it’s definitely not worst-case scenario,” Verlander said, “Best-case scenario would be nothing. It’s just probably somewhere in the middle of that.”
The 37-year-old right-hander’s velocity was down from his previous start, and he was removed after
Justin Verlander, a two-time Cy Young Award winner, was 21-6 for the Houston Astros last season.
two scoreless innings of what had been scheduled as a four-inning outing.
“Hardly noticed it to be honest,” Verlander said of the injury-inducing pitch. “It didn’t quite feel right, just felt maybe I was a little off mechanically or something. Then in between innings it started to tighten up a bit.”
Zack Greinke likely will be the only one of Houston’s top three starters last season to open this year on the active roster. He allowed one run in four innings against Detroit on Monday.
No. 2 starter Gerrit Cole left as a free agent and signed with the New York Yankees. This year’s projected No. 3 starter, Lance McCullers Jr., is recovering from Tommy John surgery in November 2018.
Verlander was 21-6 with a 2.58 ERA last year in 223 innings. CALHOUN HAS SURGERY ON BROKEN JAW >> Texas Rangers outfielder Willie Calhoun had surgery to repair his broken jaw, a day after being hit in the face by a pitch from Los Angeles Dodgers left-hander Julio Urias during a game in Surprise, Ariz.
Surgeons were prepared to wire Calhoun’s jaw shut but instead installed a plate to steady the fracture, which should make for a quicker recovery.
The left-handed hitting Calhoun
was hit by a first-inning fastball from Urias — a former minor league teammate and friend of Calhoun’s. Drafted by the Dodgers in 2015, Calhoun was traded to Texas in July 2017 in a package for Yu Darvish.
• Monday highlights from the Cactus amd Grapefruit leagues: . BLUE JAYS (SS) 8, RAYS 3 >> Tampa Bay left-hander Blake Snell got just one out in his return to the mound after experiencing elbow soreness in his spring debut. He walked four and was charged with four runs, but he said afterward his arm felt great.
Danny Jansen hit a grand slam for Toronto, whose Hyun-Jin Ryu tossed 4 1/3 scoreless innings. ROYALS 4, DIAMONDBACKS 4 >> Madison Bumgarner threw 32/3 scoreless innings for the Diamondbacks, allowing three hits and a walk.
INDIANS (SS) 11, ANGELS 10 >> Franmil Reyes homered twice for Cleveland — a three-run drive and a solo shot.
Angels left-hander Andrew Heaney, tabbed as the club’s opening day starter, was charged with four runs and five hits in 2-2/3 innings. RED SOX 2, BRAVES 1 >> Atlanta’s Félix Hernández struck out six while working five innings of one-run ball. The 33-year-old right-hander allowed six hits and walked two. REDS 3, WHITE SOX 3 >> Cincinnati rightyhander Anthony DeSclafani pitched four innings of onerun ball, lowering his spring ERA to 1.50.
DODGERS 14, PADRES 2 >> Chris Taylor, Terrance Gore, Edwin Ríos and Anthony García each drove in three runs for Los Angeles.
Padres right-hander Garrett Richards allowed an unearned run in 3-1/3 innings.
BLUE JAYS (SS) 3, PIRATES 1 >> Toronto left-hander Anthony Kay struck out four in three scoreless innings. Kay was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the 2016 draft and traded to the Blue Jays in last year’s Marcus Stroman deal.