Justin Verlander’s final act took place where so much of his career began.
On Saturday afternoon at Comerica Park, the 43-year-old right-hander made the 595th and last major-league start of his career, closing the book in front of the Tigers, the team that drafted him in 2004. Verlander had been out since March 30 with hip and hamstring injuries, but he returned for one more turn in Detroit and got the kind of reception that matched the moment.
The ballpark greeted him everywhere he went. Fans cheered as he warmed up in the bullpen, again when he walked to the dugout across the field, and once more when he took the mound for the first inning.
His first pitch was a 92 mph fastball that Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Ryan O'Hearn fouled off. From there, Verlander worked a 13-pitch opening frame and retired O'Hearn, Brandon Lowe and Bryan Reynolds on routine popups and fly balls.
Before the game, Verlander made clear he didn’t want the day scripted around a set number of pitches.
"There's no script. I want to go as long as I can," Verlander said going into Saturday's game (via MLB.com).
"I skipped about a month's worth of rehab to be able to do this, but I also don't want to just go out there and throw 20 pitches. I think everybody feels comfortable with 20 pitches, and then after that, we're kind of in a 'who knows' zone."
He gave the crowd more than a cameo. Verlander struck out Oneil Cruz with a breaking ball below the zone to open the second inning, picking up career strikeout No.
3,555. It was the first of six strikeouts on the day.
His last came against Ronny Simon in the fifth, when Simon swung through a fastball after trying to bunt for a hit earlier in the at-bat. Verlander answered that bunt attempt with a high fastball.
There was another striking detail in the box score: Konnor Griffin, Pittsburgh’s shortstop and No. 5 hitter, had not been born when Verlander debuted in the majors on July 4, 2005. Griffin was born more than nine months later, on April 24, 2006. He singled to center in his first at-bat and later was thrown out trying to steal second by catcher Dillon Dingler.
Verlander’s line at the end of the day: 5 ⅓ innings, 91 pitches, and two runs allowed on solo home runs. After Brandon Lowe popped up behind the plate to start the sixth, Tigers manager A.J.
Hinch and Verlander’s daughter, Genevieve, came out to take him out of the game. The crowd stood and roared as he walked off for the last time.
Verlander had already announced in July that he would retire after this season, pointing to the injuries and saying he could no longer perform "at the level I expect of myself." That announcement came a few weeks after he hurt his hamstring during a bullpen session on June 17, when he had been expected to return to the Tigers that weekend.
"This season has challenged me in ways I haven't experienced before, both physically and mentally," Verlander said in July. "...
Over the last several months, I've realized that time has come. While I'm fully committed to giving my team everything I have for the rest of this season, I've decided this will be my last.
It's fitting that I get to finish where it all started -- with the Detroit Tigers."
His career is wrapped around Detroit, where he spent his first 13 seasons from 2005-17 and won Rookie of the Year in 2006, the Cy Young in 2011 and MVP in 2011. He was traded to the Houston Astros at the 2017 deadline, then went from Houston to the New York Mets in 2022, back to Houston later that year, to the San Francisco Giants in 2025 and then back to the Tigers in 2026.
Across 21 big-league seasons, Verlander finished 266-159 with 3,561 strikeouts and a 3.33 ERA. He ranks 37th all-time in wins, eighth in strikeouts and 29th in starts.
He made 557 regular-season appearances, all starts, and added 38 postseason appearances, 37 of them starts. He won two World Series titles with the Astros, in 2017 and 2022.
His résumé also includes three Cy Young Awards, an MVP, 10 All-Star selections, three second-place finishes in Cy Young voting and three more top-five finishes. He also threw three no-hitters.
The Tigers have spent the weekend honoring him with giveaways, on-field ceremonies and other ballpark activities, but Saturday’s start was the centerpiece: one last ride, one last roar, and one final reminder of how much of Detroit baseball has been tied to Justin Verlander.
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Out in the American League, the Astros and Rangers both fell to 79-81, a result that guarantees the AL West champion will finish at .500 or worse. There was also a notable farewell on the schedule, with Justin Verlander lined up to make his final career start for the Tigers, another reminder of how quickly the season is turning into a mix of playoff pressure and parting shots. [Read more 🡒]