Verlander, Scherzer: First showdown to be ‘fun’
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Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Staff Writer
ARLINGTON, Texas — As arguably the two best right-handed pitchers of their generation, the relationship between the Texas Rangers‘ Max Scherzer and the Houston Astros‘ Justin Verlander has taken many forms.
It also has evolved from some early career friction as young teammates with the Detroit Tigers, mostly thanks to their brief time as teammates with the New York Mets.
“Looking at each other now through a different lens,” Verlander said, “it’s two guys who, we do go about things differently, but there’s more than one way to be successful. I can’t speak for Max, but for myself, this time around, I think we had good conversations about the way he sees things, the way I see things and how that can be beneficial.”
In Detroit, the two future Hall of Famers were in competition with each other as well as opponents. They’ve also been on teams that competed against each other for playoff spots and championships. In New York, they were teammates again, but older and wiser.
On Wednesday, the relationship will take a form it never has before: opposing pitchers on the mound.
Hard as it is to believe, Scherzer and Verlander will go head-to-head for the first time in their careers when the Rangers and Astros play at Globe Life Field on Wednesday in the finale of a key three-game series.
“That’ll be fun,” Scherzer said. “First time facing him. My whole career, I’ve got to face all the best guys in the world and I’ve got to play with all the best guys in the world. So I got to play with [Verlander] for a while. Now it’s going to be fun to actually go up against him.”
The matchup would be compelling in any context, but there are extra layers. When the Mets’ season fizzled, New York dealt both pitchers at the trade deadline, sending them to cross-state rivals in the midst of a heated divisional and wild-card playoff race.
While their time together in New York was short, Verlander said it allowed their relationship to grow.
“A lot has been talked about our past,” Verlander said. “I think it was a bit blown out of proportion. But you know, there was some tension there. And I think we both decided to make an effort coming in to just move past that.”
Scherzer went 9-4 with a 4.01 ERA for the Mets; Verlander was 6-5 with a 3.15 ERA for New York before going back to the Astros, with whom he won a World Series last season.
“It was good to get back with him,” Scherzer said. “He’s obviously one of the great competitors of our time, so it was good to be back with him and really get a download of how he is as a pitcher, and how he’s evolved.
“The game has changed over the seven or eight years we were apart. It was good to get back with him and get inside his pitching mind and how he attacks hitters.”
The Rangers and Astros are locked in a three-way battle with the Seattle Mariners for supremacy in the AL West, with those clubs also battling the Toronto Blue Jays in the wild-card chase.
Yet even the pitchers’ future Hall of Fame managers can’t help but marvel at what they might see Wednesday.
“I’ve said this many times,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “I’ve got a great seat to watch some really great players play. To see matchups like this, I enjoy it, to see guys who have had tremendous careers like they’ve had and how competitive they are.”
In addition to managing Verlander with the Astros, Houston’s Dusty Baker was Scherzer’s skipper with the Washington Nationals for two seasons.
“[It’s a challenge] to continue to manage and not become a spectator,” Baker said. “They’re different but they’re similar in their determination and their competitiveness.”
You can’t blame the managers for being a little excited. The two aces rank in the top three of all major career categories among active pitchers. In strikeouts, they are 1-2, with Scherzer topping the list with 3,361 and Verlander just 50 back at 3,311.
A meeting between two pitchers this accomplished is a rare thing, especially in this era of reduced starting pitcher workloads. According to Elias, Verlander and Scherzer’s 467 combined career wins will be the most by opposing starters over the past 15 seasons. It will be the first time since CC Sabathia and Mark Buehrle squared off in 2015 that there has been a meeting of two starters with at last 200 career wins.
Only 11 pitchers have won at least three Cy Young Awards; two of them will square off on Wednesday.
“I think it’s exciting,” Verlander said. “It’s not too often in baseball anymore you get matchups between two guys who have had the careers like him and I have had. I think it’s exciting for baseball.”
CHICAGO — The Chicago Cubs and free agent Colin Rea have agreed to a one-year, $5 million contract, reuniting the right-hander with manager Craig Counsell, a source told ESPN’s Jesse Rogers on Friday.
The 34-year-old Rea made one appearance with Milwaukee in 2021 and then pitched in Japan during the 2022 season before returning to the Brewers. He went 12-6 with a 4.29 ERA over 27 starts and five relief appearances for the NL Central champions last year.
Counsell managed Milwaukee for nine years before he was hired by Chicago in November 2023.
Rea gives Counsell and Chicago another versatile arm for their pitching staff. The Cubs have Justin Steele, Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon and Matthew Boyd for their rotation, but Rea could push Javier Assad for the fifth spot or work out of the bullpen.
Rea became a free agent when Milwaukee declined its $5.5 million club option on his contract in November. The Iowa native was paid a $1 million buyout.
Rea was selected by San Diego in the 12th round of the 2011 amateur draft out of Indiana State. He made his big league debut with the Padres in 2015.
He pitched for the Cubs during the 2020 season, going 1-1 with a 5.79 ERA in nine appearances, including two starts.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
NEW YORK — Major League Baseball has banned two fans who interfered with Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Mookie Betts during a World Series game at Yankee Stadium from attending games at big league ballparks.
The league sent a letter to Austin Capobianco and John P. Hansen this week informing them of the decision.
“On Oct. 29, 2024, during Game 4 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, you interfered with play by intentionally and forcefully grabbing a player. Your conduct posed a serious risk to the health and safety of the player and went far over the line of acceptable fan behavior,” said the letter, the contents of which were first reported by the New York Post and later obtained by The Associated Press.
“Based on your conduct, Major League Baseball is banning you indefinitely from all MLB stadiums, offices, and other facilities,” the letter said. “You are also hereby banned indefinitely from attending any events sponsored by or associated with MLB. Please be advised that if you are discovered at any MLB property or event, you will be removed from the premises and subject to arrest for trespass.”
MLB has previously issued leaguewide bans for fans who trespass on the field or threaten baseball personnel. A fan who approached Atlanta Braves star Ronald Acuna Jr. at Colorado’s Coors Field in 2023 received a similar ban.
Capobianco and Hansen were ejected from the game on Oct. 29 and banned from Game 5 the following night.
Betts leaped at the retaining wall in foul territory and caught Gleyber Torres‘ pop fly in the first inning, but a fan in the first row with a gray Yankees road jersey grabbed Betts’ glove with both hands and pulled the ball out. Another fan grabbed Betts’ bare hand.
The Yankees at the time called the behavior “egregious and unacceptable.”
The team said Friday the two fans MLB banned were not season-ticket holders. The Post reported Friday that the person who is the season ticket holder was not at the game and will be allowed to keep them.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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