Verlander, San Francisco Giants and Tampa Bay Rays
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Justin Verlander. San Francisco and the veteran righty agreed to a one-year, $15 million deal. It was a major risk with him set to be 42 years old once Opening Day rolled around, especially with him coming off the least productive season of his career in 2024.
The Giants' matchup Wednesday versus the Padres ended in an 11-1 loss. Jung Hoo Lee went 1 for 3 with a triple in the defeat, while Kai-Wei Teng threw 1 2/3 innings, giving up six earned runs on four hits en route to taking the loss.
The future Hall of Famer began his afternoon by striking out James Wood swinging with an elevated 95.3 mph four-seam fastball. He followed up by punching out CJ Abrams swinging with a down-and-in slider that dropped off the table, bringing him one strikeout away from history.
Justin Verlander tossed the 3,500th strikeout of his career in the San Francisco Giants' showdown with the Washington Nationals on Sunday, becoming the 10th pitcher in MLB history to hit the mark.