DETROIT — Deep breath for the Mets: Justin Verlander was decent in his debut for the team on Thursday.
Max Scherzer wasn’t so lucky in his return from a 10-game suspension a night earlier, triggering a few alarm bells, and a Verlander flop would have reverberated from Motown to Queens.
But after allowing consecutive homers to Riley Greene and Javier Baez in the first inning, Verlander kept the Tigers from scoring.
He was removed after five innings in which he allowed two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts and one walk.
“Not the first inning I wanted, but happy I was able to start to find my groove a little bit,” Verlander said after the Mets’ 2-0 loss at Comerica Park that completed the Tigers’ three-game sweep.
Verlander threw 79 pitches — a number below where he would normally be for his first start in a season, but such was the compromise in joining the team following only one minor league rehab start.
The 40-year-old Mets co-ace opened the season on the injured list with a strained teres major, a muscle near his armpit.
In the nightcap of Wednesday’s doubleheader, Scherzer allowed six earned runs on eight hits, including two homers, over 3 ¹/₃ innings.
Scherzer was pitching for the first time in two weeks following his suspension for violating MLB’s foreign substance rules.
Unlike Scherzer — whose velocity lagged — Verlander had his normal heat, averaging 95 mph with his four-seam fastball.
Verlander topped out at 96.6 mph with the four-seamer.
“Everything felt good — no issues physically,” Verlander said. “I felt like as the game went along the velocity came a little bit too, so physically overall I had a good day.”
The Mets debut also served as a homecoming for the former Tigers ace, who received a standing ovation from the crowd as he walked to the mound for the first inning.
“I grew up here,” Verlander said. “I was here for 12-plus years and drafted here and spent a lot of fun years here, and I think any athlete in any situation when they gave that much to an organization and that much of their career somewhere, it’s nice to hear the ovation and the applause.”
Verlander’s ensuing turn will likely come in Cincinnati next week.
The Mets will then have to decide whether he should conclude a series in Washington or receive extra rest and open one against the Rays at Citi Field.
“Verlander won the Cy Young award last year, so we feel good about him,” Brandon Nimmo said. “Scherzer is going to get back to himself. We’re just glad that they are healthy and moving in the right direction. I think Justin pitched great today.”
