Justin Verlander’s return to Detroit is only getting worse.
The three-time Cy Young winner was scratched from his second start with the team Sunday against the Cardinals and placed on the 15-day injured list with hip inflammation, the Tigers announced Saturday.
The 43-year-old was set to take the mound at Comerica Park as a Tiger for the first time since 2017.
Instead, righty Keider Montero was called up from Triple-A Toledo and is expected to start vs. St. Louis.
Verlander’s return was already off to a rocky start after allowing five earned runs on six hits and two walks in 3 ⅔ innings in his first outing in a 9-6 loss to the Diamondbacks on March 30.
The righty spent the first 14 years of his career with the Tigers, leading them to a 2006 World Series appearance and winning the Cy Young in 2012.
Verlander was traded to the Astros in 2017 and spent six-plus seasons in Houston with a 16-start cameo for the Mets in 2023, breaking things up before being traded back to the AL West team.
He won the 2017 and 2022 World Series with the Astros.
Verlander was coming off a solid 2025 with the Giants after a disastrous 2024.
He posted a 3.85 ERA and 1.36 WHIP over 152 innings despite a 4-11 record.
The hope was he could re-find some magic for a Tigers team looking to make a World Series run with ace Tarik Skubal’s set to hit free agency after the season
All of that is on hold for now.
The Tigers are off to a slugging 3-4 start entering Saturday’s contest, getting swept in Arizona before beating St. Louis, 4-0, on Friday to end a four-game losing skid.