When in Philly…
Justin Verlander got into the World Series spirit on Monday, giving a group of Phillies fans the middle finger as the Astros bus arrived to Citizens Bank Park for Game 3 of the World Series.
It seemed in good fun, as fans can be heard laughing after the ace gave the salute from the bus and then once again when he exited.
One user, @Darren04, posted the video on Twitter with the caption: “Oh hey, here’s (Justin Verlander) entering the Citizens Bank Park for Game 3 of the World Series and flipping the bird to Phillies fans not once but TWICE.”
The Cy Young favorite responded to give “context” to the situation.
“All the context Darren… Whole interaction was in jest as all the fans around you were just saying hello in their native tongue. So I responded in kind,” Verlander said with a laughing face emoji. “All in good fun. I enjoyed the banter. Also, nobody broke the window. Was just like that.”
Game 3 of the World Series was postponed on Monday night due to rain with the series pushed back a day. Verlander is expected to start Game 5 after he struggled in the opener, unable to hold a 5-0 lead the Astros handed him.
“I need to do better. No excuses,” Verlander said Friday night. “Just need to execute pitches better. I felt like I had some guys in good situations and just wasn’t able to quite make the pitches that I wanted to.”
The 39-year-old Verlander — in his first year back from Tommy John surgery — went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA this season.
“Maybe just I wasn’t executing pitches as well. They got some traffic on the bases and managed to have some really good at-bats and put the ball in play,” Verlander said. “They have a great lineup, they have been hot, and we knew that coming in. To cool them off I feel like you have to execute.”
The series is tied 1-1 with Game 3 now on Wednesday night.
— With AP
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