ASTROS DEFEAT NATIONALS
Justin Verlander allows 2 runs over 6 innings in season debut for Astros
Apr 20, 2024, 11:34 am
Astros beat the Nationals, 5-3. Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images.
Justin Verlander allowed two runs and four hits over six innings to win his season debut for the Houston Astros, 5-3 over the Washington Nationals on Friday night.
The 41-year-old right-hander, who began the season on the injured list because of right shoulder inflammation, struck out four and walked none, throwing 50 of 78 pitches for strikes in his 258th win.
“He looked really good," Astros manager Joe Espada said. "Efficient, threw a ton of strikes.”
Verlander (1-0) averaged 94.3 mph with 35 four-seam fastballs and induced five groundouts. The nine-time All-Star retired the side in order four times and improved to 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA in five regular-season starts against the Nationals.
Ildemaro Vargas hit an RBI single in the third and Riley Adams homered in the fourth, cutting Washington’s deficit to 4-2.
Verlander had made a pair of minor league injury rehabilitation starts.
He retired his first eight batters before Adams doubled off the base of the wall in right-center field.
“Yeah, pleasantly surprised, honestly," Verlander said. “I kind of tried to cram spring training into three starts and control wasn’t quite what I would have liked. The rehab starts and then just look at mechanics and try to find something to make it click. I think what I worked on between last start and this start, just being a little more directional.”
Verlander was 13-8 with a 3.22 ERA last year for the New York Mets and Houston, who acquired him ahead of the trade deadline. Espada was hopeful Verlander could key an early season turnaround.
“It’s very important," Espada said. "Despite how we started, it’s a long journey. we need him to lead us through this season. We have been in this before. We just got to be patient, continue to fight and once this rotation gets healthy and we start hitting our stride it’s going to be fun.”
Josh Hader allowed Jesse Winker's sacrifice fly in the ninth and got his second save, striking out his final two batters.
Houston (7-14) stole five bases and stopped a three-game losing streak. Jeremy Peña and Mauricio Dubón had three hits each, Yainer Diaz doubled twice, and Kyle Tucker doubled, singled, walked twice and stole two bases.
Washington manager Dave Martinez was ejected by plate umpire Cory Blaser for arguing a caught stealing call against Vargas that ended the eighth. The Nationals are celebrating the fifth anniversary of their 2019 World Series win over Houston in seven games.
MacKenzie Gore (2-1) allowed three runs and seven hits in four innings.
“Frustrating," Gore said. "But it was kind of one of those things where it wasn’t bad. We had a chance. I thought the bullpen was really good again. I just wasn’t good enough. It wasn’t terrible. I just need to be a little better.”
TRAINER’S ROOM
Espada says LHP Framber Valdez played catch Friday and felt well. Espada expects Valdez to throw a bullpen session of 30-40 pitches this weekend.
UP NEXT
RHP Ronel Blanco (2-0, 0.86) starts Saturday for Houston against RHP Trevor Williams (2-0, 3.45).
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Coming off a 10-win regular season and an appearance in the divisional round of the playoffs, expectations are high for the Houston Texans in 2024.
However, coach DeMeco Ryans is only concerned with what is happening inside the team.
“We have a lot of room for improvement, and my expectations and what I expect to see from everyone is just get a little better each day,” Ryans said. “If we get a little bit better each day, we'll be exactly where we want to be.”
The day before starting his second training camp as Texans head coach, Ryans told his players they should expect more from themselves than anyone else.
“Nobody on the outside is going to have a bigger expectation than on the inside of the building,” defensive end Will Anderson Jr. said. “Right now, our expectation is just building that building, building a tall building."
After combining for just 11 wins from 2020-2022, Houston surprised many to win the AFC South before beating the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round. The Texans likely won’t catch anyone by surprise this season.
“It’s gonna be harder,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “We have a target on our back this year, and that’s how you should want it.”
The emergence of Stroud is a big reason why so much is expected of the Texans in 2024. The second overall pick of the 2023 draft threw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns on his way to being the AP Offensive Rookie of the Year.
“C.J. has done a really good job this offseason, as a leader when it comes to working with other guys,” Ryans said. “Knowing that he’s not just working by himself, but finding the avenues to get a group together and work together. That’s very important, especially when it comes to timing in the passing game.”
The Texans added talent around Stroud over the offseason, acquiring Pro Bowl receiver Stefon Diggs from Buffalo and Pro Bowl running back Joe Mixon from Cincinnati before the draft.
Mixon will help a Texans rushing offense that averaged just 3.7 yards per carry, fifth worst in the NFL last season, while Diggs, who has finished with more than 100 catches the past four seasons, joins a passing attack that returns its five leading pass catchers.
“I’ve been watching Diggs for a while,” wide receiver Nico Collins said. “I was in middle school, and he was in Minnesota making plays, so it’s just crazy that he’s part of the squad.”
On the other side of the ball, the Texans signed four-time Pro Bowl defensive end Danielle Hunter to a two-year, $49 million contract after a 16 1/2 sack season with the Minnesota Vikings to pair with Anderson, the 2023 AP Defensive Rookie of the Year, on the defensive line.
Expectations are lofty for a team that has not advanced to a conference championship game in its 22-year history, but Stroud and his teammates aren’t shying away from those expectations.
“That’s how it should be,” Stroud said. “The person that always doubts himself probably will never make it to that point, so you gotta have confidence and have a goal and a plan and execute that plan.”