Justin Verlander cleared his final between-starts bullpen test Tuesday at Comerica Park, setting up the 557th and last Major League start of his career against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday afternoon.
The 43-year-old worked from the Tigers’ bullpen beyond the left-field wall, a familiar patch of ground from a career that began in Detroit 21 years ago. This one carried a different weight. Verlander called the session the last box he needed to check before taking the Comerica mound again.
“It was a relief to get through that step without anything happening,” Verlander said. After a season in which his planned returns repeatedly came close before being delayed, he said the club has been deliberately careful. His message for the days ahead was simple: avoid any mistakes before Saturday and be ready to pitch.
The result
Saturday will mark Verlander’s first Comerica Park appearance as a Tiger since August 2017. When he returned to the organization in February, he pictured pitching in Detroit again, though not under these circumstances and not as a farewell outing.
His season was derailed by left hip inflammation that sidelined him from late March, followed more recently by a strained left hamstring. Verlander said the inability to get back on the field gradually made him realize this would be his final season.
He described that acceptance as difficult, but said the response from Tigers fans helped him get there. The support has followed him at the ballpark, around Detroit and on the road, even while he was unable to pitch.
That connection is a major reason Verlander continued to push for one more game. He said he could have retired a month or two earlier, but instead pressed through an abbreviated buildup, bypassing steps and accepting the possibility of further injury for the chance to take the ball for both himself and the fans.
How deep he can work remains uncertain. Verlander will enter without a minor league rehabilitation start and has had limited time to build his pitch count. Still, neither he nor the Tigers view Saturday as a ceremonial one-inning appearance.
Manager A.J. Hinch said Verlander has been clear that he wants as normal a start as possible. That means the right-hander must execute pitches, Detroit must make the plays behind him, and Pittsburgh will have a say in how long the afternoon lasts.
Verlander said he wants to compete rather than simply take the mound, acknowledge the crowd and depart. His goal is to give the Tigers a legitimate chance to win.
Early in his career, Verlander spoke often of matching Nolan Ryan’s longevity and pitching until age 45. He will finish short of that target, but he still carries the same edge that defined his prime. The ideal finish, he knows, would resemble the final outing of Billy Chapel, the fictional Tigers pitcher who threw a perfect game in the 1999 film For Love of the Game.
His family has already arrived in Detroit, and his daughter joined him on the field after Tuesday’s bullpen. Verlander said Saturday will not follow his usual locked-in routine of headphones and isolation. For the final game, he intends to speak with people, absorb the setting and still bring everything he has left to the mound.
The rotation next
Verlander is scheduled to start Saturday afternoon against the Pirates at Comerica Park, his final Major League assignment and his final start in a Tigers uniform.
