Astros' nightmare continues with 1 of Justin Verlander's worst starts

Even future Hall of Famer Justin Verlander isn't immune to the struggles that have become a trademark of the Houston Astros' 2024 season.

Verlander, who held a 2.08 ERA through his first three starts of the year, got rocked by the New York Yankees on Tuesday in one of the worst starts of his Astros career. The 41-year-old gave up a three-run homer to Alex Verdugo in the bottom of the first, and the Yankees went on to tag him for eight hits and seven earned runs in five innings as they rolled to a 10-3 victory. This marked the most runs given up by Verlander as a member of the Astros, with the three-time Cy Young first joining the team at the 2017 waiver deadline.

Tuesday was the 20th time in 513 MLB starts in which Verlander gave up seven or more earned runs in a single game, with the previous 19 occurrences taking place during his tenure with the Detroit Tigers from 2005-17. The most recent instance happened on July 2, 2017, when he gave up seven earned runs to the Cleveland Indians. His career-high for earned runs allowed in a game is nine, which also occurred against Cleveland during the 2017 season.

The Yankees smacked three home runs off Verlander on Tuesday, with Anthony Volpe and Giancarlo Stanton going deep in addition to Verdugo. This tied for the sixth-most homers allowed by Verlander in a game. He's given up four home runs on five occasions, including three times with the Astros and one against the Yankees, who tagged him for six earned runs in a game last September.

Houston is still seeking its first win against the Yankees, who swept them in four games to start the season. First pitch for Wednesday's game at Yankee Stadium is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. CT.