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 Rodr¨ªguez 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.¡±