Justin Verlander recovered from another rocky first inning in Game 2 of the World Series on Wednesday, pitching five scoreless innings to keep the Astros locked in a 2-2 tie midway through the game. In the fourth, Verlander was forced to show off his defensive range, and his attempt to field a chopper a few feet to his left led to an unfortunate blooper.
USA TODAY Sports photographer Troy Taormina captured the above photo of Verlander sprawled on the ground after his missed throw, and it absolutely needs to be framed inside the Astros clubhouse.
Cubs pitcher Yu Darvish trolled Verlander on Twitter over the mishap – and there’s a bit of history behind Darvish’s tweet.
Back in April of 2018, Verlander jokingly called out Darvish for slipping on the basepath after a hit and failing to leg out a triple.
After Verlander threw the ball off his own leg, Darvish had the perfect opportunity to turn the tables.
Well played, Yu.
UPDATE: Verlander could only laugh at himself. And at Darvish’s response.
