Giants Announce Unfortunate Justin Verlander News After Loss to Royals

The San Francisco Giants fell to the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday afternoon. Now 29-21 on the season, San Francisco is 1.5 games back of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West.

One of the more disappointing developments for the Giants this season has been Justin Verlander's performance. The three-time Cy Young Award winner signed a one-year, $15 million deal with San Francisco this offseason, but is 0-3 with a 4.33 ERA through his first 10 starts.

Now 42 years old, Verlander is MLB's active leader in strikeouts. On Wednesday, the Giants announced some unfortunate news on the 2011 AL MVP.

San Francisco Giants pitcher Justin Verlander (35)

© Bob Kupbens-Imagn Images

Going just four innings in his last outing, which came against the Athletics on Sunday, Verlander struggled with his command. The nine-time All-Star walked five batters in his four innings of work. 

It turns out Verlander was dealing with pec discomfort in his last outing. The Giants announced via manager Bob Melvin that he will be making a trip to the injured list.

"Justin Verlander will go on IL with the pec discomfort that bothered him in last start," Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area posted after Melvin spoke with reporters. "He felt okay playing catch, but wasn’t quite ready to start Saturday. Giants are confident he’ll be 100 percent after missing two starts. They’re TBD for that rotation spot."

While Verlander has struggled this season, a trip to the IL is still unfortunate news for a Giants team hoping to get him on track. In the middle of a competitive division race, San Francisco could certainly use a stretch from Verlander similar to what he produced in 2023.