Justin Verlander's pitch count started at 94 and climbed to 104 and 114 and still higher. It almost became uncomfortable to watch, like when Bruce Bochy strong-armed Tim Lincecum to a 148-pitch no-hitter.
The stakes weren't nearly as high Sunday afternoon. Verlander just wanted to qualify for a win, even if it meant throwing 121 pitches. It took a perfect storm to get there.
You had a 42-year-old pitcher who’s only still playing to win as many games as he can. You had a team that's out of the race*, up by seven, and led by a veteran manager who can stomach it. Playing in front of almost 40,000 at home probably didn't hurt, either.
So yeah, I don't think there was much debate. Verlander was going to finish the fifth inning. Never mind that a couple runners reached as 111 pitches wore on his arm. Verlander struck out the final two hitters to end the inning.
He let out a weary smile and a JFC as he walked off to a standing ovation.
That's what you get for 10 strikeouts, 121 pitches, and yes, five innings.
*The Giants are 68-69, five games out of the wild card with 25 to go. Interpret that as you wish.
Up next: September is here. The Giants are in Colorado for three, starting with an afternoon game for Labor Day. It’ll be Kai-Wei Teng (1-3, 8.78 ERA) and Chase Dollander (2-11, 6.55 ERA) at 1:05 pm.