ASTROS NEWS
Verlander throws 77 pitches over 4 innings for Astros' Double-A affiliate in 2nd rehab start
Apr 14, 2024, 11:25 am
Justin Verlander is making progress. Composite Getty Image.
Astros ace Justin Verlander pitched four innings Saturday night for Double-A Corpus Christi in what is expected to be his final minor league rehab outing before rejoining Houston's rotation.
The three-time Cy Young Award winner gave up six runs — five earned — and seven hits against the Frisco RoughRiders, a Texas Rangers affiliate. He struck out three, walked one and threw 51 of 77 pitches for strikes.
The 41-year-old Verlander opened the season on the injured list with inflammation in his right shoulder.
Verlander was charged with two wild pitches and two pitch-clock violations. He needed 42 pitches to get through the third as Frisco, aided by two Corpus Christi errors, scored six runs in the inning. But the right-hander retired his final five batters in a 10-3 loss before a crowd of 11,622 at Riders Field.
Verlander allowed six earned runs and struck out six while pitching into the fourth inning of his first rehabilitation start Sunday for Triple-A Sugar Land. He threw 65 pitches in that game.
“Looking for him to feel well the next day and hopefully get him back out pitching for us here pretty soon,” Houston manager Joe Espada said Friday.
Espada has said the Astros don't expect Verlander will need more than two minor league starts before making his season debut for Houston.
The Rockets added veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith on a four-year, $53 million deal shortly after free agency opened. ESPN first reported the deal, and a person with knowledge of the agreement confirmed the terms to AP.
Houston becomes Finney-Smith’s fourth team after stints with Dallas, Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers. He’ll be added to a Rockets club that earlier this summer landed Kevin Durant in a blockbuster trade with Phoenix, though that deal cannot receive formal approval from the NBA until next week.
Finney-Smith averaged 8.7 points and was a 41% shooter from 3-point range this past season.
ESPN also reported that the Rockets’ run on free agents continued with the addition of center Clint Capela, who spent the first six years of his career in Houston before playing for the last five seasons in Atlanta. Capela agreed to a three-year deal with the Rockets, ESPN said.