He had pitched on short rest twice before, but both appearances came in unusual circumstances. against the Boston Red Sox, Verlander pitched two and two-thirds innings in relief to help the Astros clinch that series. Verlander threw only 25 pitches that night, so he started again in Game 3, on only two days of rest, and won with eight strong innings. He has never been asked to pitch on short rest in the regular season. Verlander said he did not know if the short rest had made the difference, but he struggled with control of his pitches, particularly the slider.

Source: New York Times October 09, 2019 03:44 UTC