Verlander (hammy) scratched from Sunday start

Montero punched out three batters on the evening while allowing only one base on balls. The only real threat against him came as the Astros put two runners in scoring position with two outs in the seventh, but Montero got Cam Smith to ground out to end the inning. The 25-year-old righty got 13 whiffs on 96 pitches on the evening, posting a strong CSW of 31 percent. He’ll look to replicate this fine effort as he carries a 3.39 ERA, 0.99 WHIP and a 56/18 K/BB ratio (87 2/3 innings) into a tough matchup against the Yankees in New York on Wednesday.

Montero tossed six scoreless innings against the White Sox on May 31, so it’s been a favorable matchup for him. Justin Verlander was originally going to return on Father’s Day, but he was scratched over the weekend due to a left hamstring injury. It remains to be seen if he’ll make it back this season. Montero will continue filling in as rotation depth in his next outing against the Astros.

Verlander will make his return to Detroit’s rotation after missing 11 weeks due to a hip issue. It’ll be Keider Montero moving to the bullpen to make room. The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer threw a 66-pitch simulated game at Daikin Park on Monday and shouldn’t have any workload restrictions in his return from the injured list. It’ll be his first start at Comerica Park in a Tigers uniform since 2017.

Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press speculates that Verlander is healthy but the Tigers don’t seem to think he’s ready to pitch in the majors from a performance standpoint, which is why he didn’t take the ball for Monday’s series opener against the Astros. There’s a chance the club decides he’s ready later this week, especially since Troy Melton is now dealing with a back issue that throws his availability into question.

Verlander continues to make strides toward a return to the Tigers’ rotation. If all goes well with Monday’s outing, there’s a chance that he could return for next weekend’s series against the White Sox. It’s unclear if the Tigers plan to go to a six-man rotation or if they’ll work out a piggyback situation with a pair of their starters upon Verlander’s return.

Flaherty has been diagnosed with a strain involving the tendons on the outside of the left lower leg and ankle. It’s unclear how much time he’s going to miss given the nature of the injury. The 30-year-old made an early exit from Friday’s start against the Guardians. No word yet regarding how the Tigers will fill his rotation spot, but it figures to involve Justin Verlander’s return from the injured list.

Montero built this outing on weak contact, as he struck out four and only got whiffs on 7-of-46 swings. However, he also allowed only five hard-hit balls, and with the Tigers taking a chokehold on this game in the middle innings, he had enough rope to pitch deep into the outing. Montero will draw the Astros in his next start and remains a streamer consideration, albeit one with low strikeout upside, in mixed leagues.

Verlander struck out three and issued a pair of walks. He gave up only five hits, but four of them wound up leaving the yard. The encouraging news here is that he averaged 92.9 mph on his fastball, topping out at 95.5 mph, and threw 53 of 86 pitches for strikes in his likely final rehab outing. The 43-year-old veteran has been out since early April due to a hip issue. He’ll likely rejoin Detroit’s rotation at some point early next week.

Verlander looked sharp in his first rehab outing, firing five shutout innings and sustaining his velocity over 64 pitches. If all goes well, this will be his final tune-up before making his triumphant return to the Tigers’ rotation. With Casey Mize and Tarik Skubal also expected to rejoin the Tigers’ rotation in the next week or so, the club will have some major decisions to make on how to structure their rotation. It’s possible that they move to a six-man rotation for a couple of turns and/or use a piggyback situation with a couple of their starters.

Montero gave up six hits, including a 451-foot moonshot to Dominic Canzone in the fourth inning. He finished with one strikeout and issued one walk. He’s allowed four earned runs in three of his last five outings since May 14. He’ll bring a respectable 3.95 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 44/16 K/BB ratio across 66 innings into a road outing against the Guardians on Friday.