MLB: Justin Verlander throws a 96mph pitch as he makes his Mets debut

Justin Verlander made his New York Mets debut after signing his two-year, $86.7 million contract last year.

He pitched as a National League player and on a shot clock for the first time in his career Saturday and threw a 96 mph pitch as he prepared for the new season.

Verlander’s first experience with the stopwatch was reasonably good, as was his overall pitch, as the 40-year-old newcomer made his debut in the spring.

Coming off his third Cy Young Award and a World Series championship with the Houston Astros, he threw just seven balls for 35 pitches and allowed one run in three innings, striking out three in a 15-4 win over the Miami Marlins. .

“The shot clock was something I wanted to get used to,” he said. There may be a couple of small adjustments you need to make there. There’s just maybe one or two things, but not important, so that’s good.

He pitched as a National League player and on a shot clock for the first time in his career.

‘The first part of the entry is something I want to speed up just a bit. Specifically, I walk around the back of the mound. I almost walked between the pitcher’s mound and second base. If I stay closer to the mound and clear my walking time, the two or three seconds, by the time I get on the mound and give the signal, I’ll be completely comfortable with the time I have. left,’ he said.

‘I never really want to throw a pitch without conviction behind him. I don’t want to release something just because we ran out of time.’

Barring a misplay in the Mets’ outfield in the first inning, Verlander would have gotten a scoreless out. He did not walk and allowed two hits.

“My control felt pretty good,” he said. I don’t want to be too picky this time of year. The first time you race, you have to let your body get used to moving fast again. For a first start, it checked all the boxes I would like.

‘The eyesight test was pretty good. The second thing is to look at some of the metrics of it. Being able to walk away and say, “Okay, first, I came out healthy and second, my stuff was pretty good, the location was pretty good and the speed was pretty good.” I think all of those were big positives,’ he said.

A major leaguer since 2006, Verlander is experimenting with a changeup for the first time.

“The first one felt great,” he said. ‘Loved the swing and the lady. The second (the batter) hit me back, so I didn’t like it. But he didn’t hit that hard.

A major leaguer since 2006, Verlander is experimenting with a changeup for the first time.

Verlander is 244-133 in his career with Detroit and Houston and has nearly $87 million more in his pocket after signing a two-year deal with the Mets. His $35 million team option becomes a 2025 player option if he works at least 140 innings next year when he turns 41.

The right-hander said former Tigers teammate Max Scherzer was the only Mets player he really knew when he signed, and that made things a little stressful. But new experiences, new challenges are what help you write new fun chapters in your book of life.’

Verlander said he wishes he could have gone to the next World Baseball Classic.

“I turned down for a lot of obvious reasons,” he said, “one of them was Tommy John surgery and last year was the first year I went back.” And the World Series (2022). I had no free time.

“Unfortunately, it just didn’t make a lot of sense,” he said.

Mets Lorenzo Cedrola (center) is greeted by Jaylin Davis after scoring on a two-run home run

Verlander paused after one of his three innings to greet Ron Kulpa, the home plate umpire. Kulpa called the first of Verlander’s three no-hitters in Detroit on June 12, 2007. It was the first of Kulpa’s two no-hitters.

The story about it is hanging in my office. I looked at it the other day,” said Kulpa, who now lives in nearby Boca Raton, Florida. ‘I can’t believe it was (Verlander)’.

The difference in Verlander now, Kulpa said, is that he’s a smarter pitcher.

“He’s not so much of a power pitcher,” Kulpa said. “He could shoot back then, but he’s just not shooting 99 or 100. Now it’s 96, 95.”

Mets manager Buck Showalter, referring to the pair of trades, said, “Guys like (Verlander) are always looking for another look, just something else, that in early meetings guys have to prepare to defend.”