Astros' Justin Verlander: Ready for Opening Day
Verlander allowed five singles and a walk while striking out three over seven scoreless innings in Monday's start against the Mets.
Verlander was regular-season mode Monday, in command of his pitches and throwing strikes on 64 of 88 pitches. He never allowed more than one baserunner in an inning, and only once did a runner get to second base. He'll get one more spring start before he takes the ball Opening Day, but it will be a shorter outing. We'll back off a little bit [in] the next outing," manager A.J. Hinch told Glenn Sattell of MLB.com reports.