After latest tough start, Houston's Verlander says he believes he returned from neck injury too soon

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander missed almost two months this summer with a neck injury.

After his latest tough start on Friday night in Houston’s 9-7 win over the Angels, the 41-year-old right-hander said he should have taken more time to recover.

“I think I came back from the neck injury a little fast,” he said. “Obviously I know the schedule, I know the calendar and I want to be an asset for this team and to do that I need to be able to pitch and find out where I’m at. Obviously, the results have not been good, but there’s nothing you can do besides trying to pitch.”

Verlander gave up eight hits and six runs in 4 2/3 innings. It’s the third time in four starts where the three-time Cy Young Award winner has allowed eight hits and at least five runs.

His struggles have led some to speculate that he could be left off the playoff roster for the AL West leaders, whose magic number dropped to four with Friday’s win.

Manager Joe Espada deflected when asked after the game if he thought that Verlander could help the team in the postseason.

“I’ve talked to you guys every single day,” he said. “I’m not going to get into playoff implications. We’re trying to get to the playoffs, right? And we’re trying to put these guys in a position to succeed so we can get to the playoffs.”

Verlander went on the injured list on June 15 and returned Aug. 21. He’s won just one of six starts since his return and hasn’t pitched longer than five innings in any of those outings.

“I haven’t been good since I’ve been back, so it’s hard,” he said. “But I’ve had hard stretches in my career before (and) just got to find a way to work through it.”

Verlander received a nice ovation as he walked off the mound Friday night in his last home start of this regular season. He patted his chest and waved to the crowd just before he stepped into the dugout.

“These fans know the game, they pay attention,” he said. “They know I’m out there grinding and trying to give everything I can. I’ve worked as hard as humanly possible trying to bounce back as quick as I can from the injury and get back out there and for them to have that ovation after such a difficult day, yeah, they touched me.”

Verlander, who is in his 20th MLB season, said this has been one of the most difficult stretches of his illustrious career. He's 4-6 with a 5.55 ERA in 16 starts this year.

“Every time I pitched, I’ve felt like I’m kind of inching closer to where I want to be,” he said. “But it’s just not even close to consistent. You see that with the results. At this level the margin for error is so small. The first couple of innings today I felt were where I wanted to be, where I’ve been kind of searching for, and then it just obviously wasn’t great after that.”

When asked about the possibility of not being included on the playoff roster he said that’s “not his decision,” before adding that he probably rushed back in an attempt to help the team come October.

“I see the calendar, I know what time of year it is,” he said. “That’s why I had to come back and try to find myself ... sitting there, trying to give myself time wasn’t possible. I needed to figure out where I was at. It’s been hard. It’s been a tough lesson. But I don’t regret it. I want to show up for these guys. I want to be there.”

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Kristie Rieken, The Associated Press