SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Verlander needed just one pitch to provide affirmation.
Verlander began his afternoon against the Philadelphia Phillies with a four-seam fastball on the outside corner to Trea Turner. The pitch clocked in at 95.5 mph, well above his average fastball velocity of 93.9 mph. Between last Friday’s start against the A’s and Wednesday’s start against the Phillies, Verlander made a subtle mechanical tweak in the pursuit of improved stuff and more deception.
With that one fastball, Verlander knew something had clicked.
“The first pitch of the game was 96 (mph). I was like, ‘Oh my God, thank you,’” Verlander said with an ear-to-ear smile.
Verlander’s final start of the first half did not end with him winning his first game of the season. He’ll go into the All-Star Break with an 0-7 record and a 4.70 ERA after allowing four runs — two earned — over six innings as the Giants were blown out, 13-0, by the Phillies. His defense committed three errors; his offense was blanked. But on an otherwise forgettable afternoon, Verlander had reason to be excited for the second half.
“I’ve been searching a lot,” Verlander said. “It’s been difficult. I’ve been working my butt off. But I’m very optimistic that this mechanical fix is the one that propels me into a good second half.”
Verlander’s optimism is well-warranted. He struck out seven batters and walked none. He generated 16 whiffs, his second-most in a game this season. He averaged 95.1 mph on his fastball, his highest average velocity in a single game since April. He minimized soft contact, his one true mistake being the solo home run he allowed to Bryce Harper.
That success was due in large part to a mechanical tweak that he deployed against the Phillies, one he alluded to following his outing against the Athletics last Friday. Instead of keeping his right hand in his glove at the top of his leg kick, Verlander instead raised his glove to neck-level while keeping his right hand near his chest.
“One of the things that I’ve been harping on is I feel like hitters have been seeing the ball a little early on me. I think my arm’s a little late and dragging. So, kind of just thought a couple days ago to force the issue a little bit — just get it out and get it kind of down where it used to be,” Verlander said. “It felt good in catch play and carried into the game today. Immediately, the results were great. So, yeah, quite optimistic.”
Verlander added: “I try not to be results-oriented so much like wins or losses, or a certain stat that I’m looking to achieve. It’s more just focused around me being able to deceiving to the hitters and feel that I can consistently get them out and fool them. That’s our job. Today was really the first time that I felt consistently I was able to do that when I executed my pitches and get some easy outs.”
With the All-Star Break looming, Verlander will have to wait roughly a week-and-a-half before his next attempt at securing his first win of the season. Verlander, though, welcomes the mental respite.
For numerous reasons, it’s been an eventful first half for Verlander. The future Hall of Famer made no progress in his pursuit of 300 wins despite totaling six quality starts due to factors outside of his control, remaining stuck on 262 career victories. He missed a month due to a neck injury, then welcomed his second child in late June.
“As mentally grinding as this first half has been — kind of always trying to find it — I’m looking forward to a little bit of a break, especially feeling like I’ve got something that is a thing that I know clicked for me,” Verlander said.
The Giants hope that they, too, can start clicking on days Verlander takes the mound in the second half.
With this afternoon’s loss, San Francisco is now 4-11 on days that Verlander starts. Since Verlander returned from the injured list, the Giants are 0-5 on Verlander’s bump days. Verlander was the lone bright spot on an afternoon where the Phillies’ Jesús Luzardo threw seven shutout innings and the defense had three throwing errors — two by third baseman Matt Chapman.
Wednesday’s game went off the rails in the top of the eighth as the Phillies put up seven runs, six being charged to right-hander Tristan Beck. Trailing by 11 runs in the top of the ninth, manager Bob Melvin summoned outfielder Mike Yastrzemski to pitch an inning. Yastrzemski provided comedic relief on an otherwise drab afternoon as he allowed two runs the “highlight” of his outing being when he almost drilled Kyle Schwarber in the head with a knuckleball.
“I thought it was his best stuff of the year — maybe by a pretty good margin,” said manager Bob Melvin. “We just didn’t play well behind him and we didn’t score many runs. That’s kind of been a theme when he’s pitched, but I thought his breaking ball was really good. His heater was good. It’s too bad. Ends up (giving up) only two earned runs, but we just don’t do enough for him today on either side of the ball.”
Giants set rotation for Dodgers series
The Giants officially set their probables for their upcoming three-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers this weekend:
Friday: Dustin May vs. Logan Webb
Saturday: Shohei Ohtani vs. Landen Roupp
Sunday: Yoshinobu Yamamoto vs. Robbie Ray
Hayden Birdsong would’ve been in line to start against Los Angeles after pitching on Sunday against the Athletics, but the Giants will skip the 23-year-old’s turn and have him available to pitch out of the bullpen. Birdsong will return to the rotation following the All-Star Break.
Birdsong has struggled with his command as of late. In his last three starts, Birdsong has totaled 13 walks to 13 strikeouts over 13 innings (7.62 ERA).
Originally Published: July 9, 2025 at 3:34 PM PDT
