Verlander scratched from start vs. Tigers with neck discomfort

HOUSTON -- Astros right-hander Justin Verlander hopes he will miss only one start after he was scratched from his scheduled outing on Saturday against the Tigers with neck discomfort. Rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti, who was originally scheduled to start on Sunday, took Verlander’s turn in the rotation in Houston's eventual 13-5 loss to the Tigers.

Verlander said his neck began to get tight between starts a couple of weeks ago, but he was able to pitch through it. With the Astros having an off day on Thursday and with three more before the end of the month, Verlander talked with team trainers and decided it would be good timing to skip a start.

“Any time you miss a start, it’s not something you want to have happen,” Verlander said. “Honestly, day to day is a good thing. The fact it’s good enough that it’s, ‘OK, we don’t have to put you on the IL,’ you have to trust the trainers, trust everybody you're talking to and I think the prognosis is pretty good.”

Astros manager Joe Espada didn’t say who would start Sunday’s series finale, though Ronel Blanco would be available on full rest.

“We’re still working on that,” Espada said.

Verlander said he cut his most recent bullpen session short Wednesday because his neck was bothering him.

“It’s kind of following the same pattern where after I throw a little bit it gets a little flared up and you kind of have to work through it,” he said. “If this was playoff time, I’d like to think I’d be out there. That pattern where every day it’s getting a little bit better, I think with the off days and talking with everybody, we think it’s the best to let it fully resolve itself and hopefully it does.”

Verlander said he fought his mechanics after each of his past two starts, both of which he gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings. His last start came on Sunday in Anaheim. Verlander is 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 10 starts (57 innings pitched) this year.

“When I was out there, I felt like it wasn’t really bothering me, but when I go home and sit down and really think about it, it’s too much of a coincidence that my mechanics were thrown off at the same time I was dealing with this,” he said.

Missing one start would be a best-case scenario for an Astros rotation that’s already thin with injuries. They lost starters Cristian Javier and José Urquidy to Tommy John surgery earlier this month. In addition to Verlander and the other four starters currently in the rotation, the only other healthy starting pitcher on the 40-man roster is Blair Henley, who was forced to make an emergency start in April because of injuries.

“I’m feeling pretty good today and every morning I wake up I’m having more range of motion,” Verlander said. “It’s just feeling freer. Everybody is kind of hopeful that let this process knock it out completely and hopeful it’s something I don’t have to deal with.”

Verlander showed up at Spring Training dealing with shoulder inflammation that put him a couple of weeks behind. He made his first start of the season April 19.

The three-time Cy Young Award winner is entering the second season of a two-year deal he signed with the Mets during the 2022 offseason. The contract contains a $35 million vesting option for 2025 that is triggered if Verlander throws 140 innings this season. New York will pay half of the option if it vests.