Justin Verlander hopes his final impression on his new fans is better than his first when he looks to end what could be a one-year relationship with the San Francisco Giants on a positive note in a matchup with the visiting Colorado Rockies on Saturday afternoon.
The Giants have won nine of 11 against the Rockies this season, including four of five at home. San Francisco won the series opener 6-3 on Friday.
Verlander (3-11, 3.88 ERA) didn’t pitch in any of those wins against Colorado. In fact, the only time he went head-to-head with the Rockies this season, the Giants dropped a 4-3 decision at home in May.
The 42-year-old right-hander took a no-decision in that outing, but it added to a terrible start in which he dropped his first eight decisions and went winless in his first 16 starts after signing a one-year, $15 million deal with San Francisco (79-81).
Neither Verlander nor Giants management have given any indication that Verlander will be back in orange and black next season. That said, neither side has closed the door, either.
“Next year? I mean, I’d like to, yeah,” Verlander told reporters earlier this month about his plans on pitching next season. “I would hope that somebody would offer me a contract (so I can show) I can turn it around and still pitch at a high level.”
Verlander has, in fact, done exactly that of late with the Giants, going 3-3 with a 2.57 ERA in his past 12 starts after the 0-8, 4.99 start. In four September starts, his ERA is 1.85.
That version of the future Hall of Fame member intrigues Giants president of baseball operations Buster Posey, he noted on his weekly radio spot on the team’s flagship station, KNBR in San Francisco.
“He’s been a great teammate. He’s helped some of our younger guys learn how to prepare and then he just sets an example by going out and performing and continuing to show up,” Posey said. “So that’s definitely something we’ll be open to.”
Verlander has gone 3-1 with a 3.13 ERA in seven career games against the Rockies.
Colorado (43-117) is expected to counter with left-hander Kyle Freeland (5-16, 5.00), who will take the mound with the incentive of avoiding a major league-leading 17th loss.
The 32-year-old gave himself a chance to sidestep the distinction when he threw six effective innings and got the victory in a 3-1 home win over the Los Angeles Angels in his most recent start last Sunday. He enters the weekend deadlocked with the Washington Nationals’ Mitchell Parker (9-16) in losses, and they were tied by Freeland’s teammate German Marquez (3-16), the losing pitcher in the series opener.
Freeland pitched in the 4-3 win over Verlander in May and has faced the Giants two other times this season, getting a no-decision in a 10-7 home defeat in June before suffering the loss in a 7-4 home setback earlier this month.
He has gone 8-8 with a 4.34 ERA in 27 lifetime starts against the Giants.
“I’ve got one more start,” Freeland told reporters earlier this week. “We want to finish as strong as we can. But with that, it’ll be somewhat nice to exhale and be like, ‘That season is over. What can I learn from it?’ Then move forward.”
— Field Level Media
