The Astros’ matchup against the Angels today is MLB.TV’s Free Game of the Day. First pitch from Angel Stadium is scheduled for 9:07 p.m. ET (8:07 p.m. CT).
Watch the future Hall of Famer’s return to the Astros team he led to the 2017 World Series title. Verlander last pitched in a Major League game on July 24, 2020, undergoing Tommy John surgery shortly after.
In his last full season in 2019, Verlander won his second career Cy Young Award, going 21-6 with a 2.58 ERA and 300 strikeouts. Verlander enters the 2022 season with 226 career wins, most among active pitchers, and 3,013 career strikeouts.
On Saturday, Verlander will be matched up against another star pitcher who’s recently recovered from Tommy John: hard-throwing right-hander Noah Syndergaard, who’ll be making his Angels debut.
Syndergaard was one of baseball’s top power pitchers for the Mets from 2015-19, but he missed almost all 2020 and ’21 due to his surgery, only returning for the very end of last season. He signed with the Angels as a free agent this offseason.
In Syndergaard’s last full season, also in 2019, he went 10-8 with a 4.28 ERA and 202 strikeouts for New York.