SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants manager Bob Melvin said Justin Verlander was dealing with a pectoral muscle issue that affected his command and velocity in his start against the A’s on Sunday, though the club is optimistic that the 42-year-old right-hander will be ready to make his next outing at Washington on Saturday.
"He feels a little better today,” Melvin said Monday. “He just had a little pec thing going on. We’ll give it a day or two to calm down, and hopefully we’re good to go after. I think he’s going to take it easy the next couple of days, and then we’ll see how he’s feeling on Wednesday."
Verlander issued a season-high five walks over four innings on Sunday, with his fastball averaging 91.3 mph, nearly 3 mph down from his season average of 94.2. He said the Giants’ training staff was aware of the issue, though he declined to share details of his ailment immediately after his start.
"I didn’t feel like I was going to put myself at risk for injury, but clearly, it was kind of affecting my velocity and mechanics,” Verlander said. “Hopefully it’s just a blip on the radar.”
Verlander remains winless through his first 10 starts of the year for the Giants, though he’s pitched well enough to win several times, logging a 4.33 ERA with 41 strikeouts over 52 innings.
Thursday’s off-day will give Verlander some extra time to recover in between starts, though the Giants also have several young arms who could step in to make a spot start if needed, including Jordan Hicks and Kyle Harrison -- both of whom are currently pitching out of the bullpen -- and Carson Whisenhunt, who is ranked the Giants’ No. 2 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Whisenhunt isn’t on the Giants’ 40-man roster, but he’s opened some eyes after recording a 3.00 ERA over nine starts for Triple-A Sacramento this season. The 24-year-old left-hander was named the Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week on Monday after striking out 14 and giving up only one unearned run over 14 innings in his two outings for the River Cats last week.