Astros fans fear the worst after Justin Verlander leaves Orioles game after 3 innings

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The Houston Astros, who still maintain the best record in the American League, haven’t had it easy with the Baltimore Orioles this weekend after dropping the first two games of a three-game series.

So, when Sunday’s starting pitcher Justin Verlander was pulled out from the series-closer at Minute Maid Park, fans were equally puzzled and fearful of the Cy Young Award-contending ace.

After all, the 39-year-old is two years removed from Tommy John surgery, an elbow procedure that commands a season-long recovery.

Verlander threw 60 pitches through three innings, including a first inning that saw him give up two of the three hits during his outing.

Just before he would leave a game that the Astros won at the end, Verlander showed no signs of an injury during the game broadcast. One of the last acts before he left was pointing out a baserunning gaffe that ended the third inning.

Eventually, the club said right calf discomfort – a less serious injury – prompted the departure, but for a couple of innings after seeing Seth Martinez relieve Verlander in the fourth inning, fans started fearing the worst.

John McClain, the retired Houston football columnist for the Chronicle, offered a brief summary of how ‘Stros fans felt in that moment.

“Verlander out after 3 scoreless innings and 60 pitches. That’s not good,” McClain tweeted.

One out-of-town Astros fan used all caps for his reaction.

“WAIT WHAT IS WRONG WITH JUSTIN VERLANDER,” Matthew Cardenas tweeted.

Another fan had a far worse assessment even without any evidence.

“Verlander’s arm finally fell off this is the worst day of my life,” user HunterBrownFan tweeted.

An Orioles fan offered some well wishes but also invoked Rocky IV villain Ivan Drago to clarify how he truly felt.

“Part of me hopes Justin Verlander is ok… The other part of me: ‘If he dies, he dies,'” BJ Dinan tweeted.

The tweet that might have the best response after the Verlander injury announcement comes from “Space Lawyer” @rrossjd, who used the prayer circle candle emoji meme to offer healing strength to JV.

Verlander had been posting superhuman-like statistics this year, especially after surgery and a layoff. He’s 16-7 through 23 starts, averaging about nearly six and two-thirds innings pitched per start. His shortest outing before Sunday was three and two-thirds innings pitched in a loss against the White Sox on June 18.

Dusty Baker will need a healthy starting rotation in the postseason, especially with the Astros reverting back to five pitchers. During his postgame news conference, the Astros manager explained that Verlander’s issue happened when he covered first base in the third inning.

“It was his calf. That’s the best of bad news. We were glad it wasn’t anything to do with his elbow, or arm, or anything like that,” Baker said, adding that JV will undergo imaging on Monday to evaluate the injury.

In some good news, David Hensley, who made his MLB debut on Saturday, recorded his first two hits in the majors on Sunday: a double to deep right and a single.