San Francisco Giants right-hander Justin Verlander will be placed on the 15-day injured list due to a right pectoral injury, manager Bob Melvin said after Wednesday’s 8-4 loss to the Kansas City Royals.
The decision was reached after Verlander threw on the side Wednesday. During the session, it became apparent to Verlander that he wouldn’t be able to make his scheduled start against the host Washington Nationals on Saturday and might not make his following turn.
“They’re saying, ‘give yourself a blow. Take the 15 days and let’s get this behind you and be ready to go,'” Verlander said of the Giants.
San Francisco is hopeful Verlander will only be sidelined for a short time.
“He’ll end up missing two starts and then I think everything will be good,” Melvin said. “He’s obviously not happy about it because he wants to make every start but it was the prudent thing to do.”
The tricky part of forecasting is that Verlander is experiencing nerve irritation in the pectoral muscle. The 42-year-old insisted it’s not related to the neck injury he sustained in June of last season with the Houston Astros that led to him missing more than two months.
Verlander is winless in 10 starts with the Giants and struggled in Sunday’s outing against the visiting Athletics.
Verlander had velocity and command issues in four innings against the Athletics and issued a season-worst five walks. He allowed two runs, three hits and struck out one.
“There are always things you’re pushing through,” Verlander said while referring to the Sunday outing. “It’s always difficult to be 100 percent in this game. It was one of those things where I thought I was going to be just fine. Then I go out there and start throwing, look up (at the scoreboard) after the first pitch and see 90-91, and I thought, ‘Oh, boy. Gonna be a tough day.'”
Verlander is 0-3 with a 4.33 ERA in his first campaign with San Francisco. He has struck out 41 and walked 21 in 52 innings.
The three-time American League Cy Young Award winner and 2011 AL MVP is in his 20th big league season. A nine-time All-Star, Verlander is 262-150 with a 3.31 ERA in 536 career starts.
Melvin said it was too soon to make a decision on who will start Saturday’s game.
