The Detroit Tigers may be out of playoff contention, but Saturday’s penultimate game of the season is expected to be a tough ticket to get in the Motor City.
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said Tuesday that Justin Verlander will make the final start of his career Saturday against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
“Barring any sort of major issue, and I don’t see one coming, he’s going to be all set for Saturday,” Hinch said.
Verlander confirmed the news to reporters Tuesday, saying, “It doesn’t need to be a perfect game for me to be able to stay out there. If I’m able to continue to be healthy and I feel good.”
“I don’t just want to go out there and do the one inning or come out and wave. I would like to toe the rubber one more time in a competitive way and try to win the Detroit Tigers a ballgame.”
The future Hall of Fame right-hander has made just one appearance this season, a March 30 start against the Diamondbacks in Arizona, where he went 3 2/3 innings, gave up five runs, and took the loss.
The 43-year-old has spent the rest of the season to this point sidelined with hip and hamstring injuries. He announced shortly before the All-Star break that this would be his last season, after he was named to the American League team as a “legend pick.”
The team announced earlier this month that they would host a celebration weekend for Verlander on Friday and Saturday.
Verlander is 266-159 with a 3.33 ERA in 556 career games (all starts) with the Tigers (2005-17, 2026), Houston Astros (2017-20, 2022-24), New York Mets (2023) and San Francisco Giants (2025). He leads all active pitchers in wins and ranks eighth all-time in strikeouts (3,554).
“He’s going to give his best shot to have as close to a normal game as he can. … he’s going to have to make pitches, and we’re going to have to play defense and things like that,” Hinch said.
Verlander said his immediate task is simply getting to Saturday healthy.
“I’m like, ‘All right, just don’t do anything stupid between now and Saturday, and we should be good,'” he said Tuesday. “There’s a lot of emotion, but also some angst to go pitch. And obviously I want go pitch well, so I’m trying to do everything I possibly can to allow that to happen.”
Saturday will mark Verlander’s first start at Comerica Park in a Tigers uniform since Aug. 20, 2017, 11 days before Detroit traded him to Houston.
–Field Level Media
