PHILADELPHIA -- Justin Verlander took the mound in the sixth inning with a one-run lead and a chance to finally get his first win as a Giant. Instead, he saw both slip away.
A defensive miscue by left fielder Heliot Ramos brought home the tying run before Verlander surrendered a go-ahead single to Alec Bohm, saddling the Giants with a 6-4 loss that evened this four-game series against the Phillies on a blustery Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Verlander departed after giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks over 5 2/3 innings, dropping him to 0-1 with a 6.75 ERA through his first four starts for San Francisco.
“I talked about it [after] the last start,” Verlander said. “You feel like things aren’t quite going your way, and then you find yourself in a situation where the team kind of gives you a chance to win. Then, you give up a couple of singles that aren’t really well-struck, and the wheels kind of fall off a little bit. It’s tough. It’s tough.”
Verlander was at 84 pitches when he came out to try to protect a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth. He got Bryce Harper to fly out to Ramos to start the inning, but he fell into trouble after giving up back-to-back singles to Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos. The Giants had Randy Rodríguez warming in the bullpen at that point, but manager Bob Melvin decided to stick with Verlander, who then coaxed another fly ball to left from J.T. Realmuto.
Realmuto’s popup had an expected batting average of only .010, but Ramos was playing in the left-center-field gap and had trouble chasing down the ball amid the windy conditions. He went into a slide to try to make the grab, but the ball ended up hitting off his glove and falling for a game-tying single.
“The first play that I made, the wind kind of took the ball, but I was already there, so it was easier for me to track it,” Ramos said. “But that one, I was playing way over in the gap. For me to get there, I was trying to hustle -- I don’t want my teammates to give up runs because of me.
“I was like, ‘My bad.’ Honestly, I tried my best. I always take accountability. Whatever happens, it’s on me. It’s on nobody else.”
Verlander came close to limiting the damage after he forced a lineout from Max Kepler, but the Giants couldn’t get out of the inning after Castellanos managed to get back to second base and avoid being doubled off. Bohm followed with another gut-punch, lining a first-pitch fastball from Verlander to left to score Castellanos and put the Phillies ahead, 4-3.
“I thought he’d get him out,” Melvin said when asked about the decision to let Verlander face Bohm. “I know Kepler hit the ball hard. He’d had good numbers off of Kepler up until today’s game. I wanted to give him a chance to get that last out.”
The fateful inning was particularly painful for Verlander, who has made no secret of the fact that he’s chasing 300 career wins. The three-time Cy Young winner remains stuck at 262 through his first three weeks as a Giant, though some of the underlying metrics suggest there’s been an element of bad luck involved, as he’s recorded a .356 BABIP in 2025 -- a notable jump from his career mark of .279.
“It happens,” Verlander said. “I’m just being tested here. I’m not sure why I’m being tested so hard, but I’ll keep working hard and try to make my pitches and do everything that I can do. Just try to make pitches, try to get guys not to hit the ball hard and let the results happen. [Ramos] said something to me, and it’s all good, man. We’re all trying the best we can here. It’s tough.”
Melvin said Verlander’s ongoing quest wasn’t at the top of his mind on Tuesday, though he felt the 42-year-old veteran’s long track record ultimately warranted the longer leash in the sixth.
“Every game has its own personality to it,” Melvin said. “He’s had a lot of success. That may have played into it some, but I wanted to give him a chance to get that last out.”