On August 11 Justin Verlander was pulled after just one inning during his start against the Pittsburgh Pirates because of right shoulder pain. An MRI revealed some inflammation, but no structural damage, and it looks like the former Cy Young Award winner will return this weekend.
Verlander will seemingly avoid the disabled list after his throwing session on Tuesday at Tropicana field went well. The right-hander threw for about ten minutes from 60 feet, but didn't keep track of how many pitches he logged. Although nothing is definite, it looks as if Verlander may return on Saturday to face the Twins in Minnesota.
"Definitely felt a whole lot better," Verlander said of his shoulder, in this Detroit Free Press article. "There wasn't that can't-get-loose feeling. Arm felt loose and felt good. Felt like a normal kind of taking six days off or however many days off. There's going to be some little kinks in there, but as far as shoulder to join mobilityand how it felt getting loose, it felt much better."
Unlike Verlander, Rays outfielder Wil Myers and Pirates starter Gerrit Cole spent prolonged periods of time on the disabled list this year and both were activated by their teams on Wednesday. Myers has missed over two months of action ever since fracturing his wrist in an outfield collision back in June and Cole hadn't pitched since July 4 due to a right lat injury. They both played on Wednesday, but delivered different results.
In his first game back, Myers went 0-for-3 with a strikeout against the Detroit Tigers. It probably didn't help that he had to face pitcher Rick Porcello (14-8 with a 3.10 ERA) after six games in Triple-A Durham, but it's expected Myers will need a bit of time to get acclimated once again with major league play. The 23-year-old went 6-for-24 with three runs scored, two home runs, six RBIs, and seven walks during his rehab assignment. He's 0-for-2 with two strikeouts against the Tigers in today's afternoon game.
On the other hand, Gerrit Cole delivered a great performance in yesterday's win over the Atlanta Braves. Cole pitched seven innings giving up five hits, four walks, and two earned runs while striking out seven after missing a month and a half. The 23-year-old successfully utilized his four pitches - fastball, curveball, slider and changeup - which made manager Clint Hurdle very pleased. Cole will likely pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals next week, and the Pirates will need him as well as outfielder Andrew McCutchen, who was also activated from the DL this week, to continue their push for the postseason.
