Astros' Justin Verlander makes rehab start, manager Espada says 'everything was positive'

BOSTON — Justin Verlander took his first step to returning to the Houston Astros, tossing three innings for Triple-A Sugar Land on Saturday night.

Working back from neck stiffness that’s sidelined him for two months, the 41-year-old, three-time Cy Young Award winner threw 52 pitches and 36 strikes, allowing one run with three strikeouts and two walks.

Astros manager Joe Espada said they were waiting to hear how he felt Sunday, and then he’ll probably get another rehab start before he could get back to the majors.

“Everything was positive, so hopefully we can get one more and then we can get him on the major-league level,” Espada said Sunday morning, standing outside the dugout at Fenway Park before the Astros faced the Red Sox in the series finale. “It’s all about JV, depending how he feels for what he needs to get him back here to stay.”

Verlander hasn’t pitched since June 9. He also missed the beginning of the season with right shoulder inflammation before going 3-2 with a 3.95 ERA in 10 starts. He made his season debut April 19.

“Physically, I felt good,” Verlander told reporters after his start Saturday. “Checked all the boxes I needed to today. I was able to throw everything, but execution wasn’t as good as I would like. I try not to be too nitpicky. Health is first and foremost, the hard thing with coming back on rehab starts is you don’t have as many starts to fine tune all your mechanics like we do in spring training. You have to be a bit critical in execution and try to get better next time out.”

Espada said his fastball reached 95 a few times.

“He reported everything went really well, waiting to hear from him this morning,” Espada said.

A two-time World Series champion with the Astros, Verlander left for the New York Mets in free agency before the 2023 season. He was traded back to Houston in August last year.