42-year-old ace has found vintage form … and wants to pitch in 2026

Justin Verlander has had a strong finish to the season, helping the Giants stay in the NL playoff race.
Verlander is now yielding a 2.17 ERA in his last 11 starts after seven shutout innings Wednesday.
The 42-year-old said he wants to play in 2026.

PHOENIX – Justin Verlander slowly put on his crisp white shirt, his cream-colored suit, his stylish brown shoes, turned around and faced the cameras, microphones and notebooks awaiting him, and then let everyone know what has become rather apparent since last month.

Verlander may be turning 43 years old in February and endured a 3½-month stretch that had him questioning whether his career was nearly over, but after the latest chapter of his brilliant renaissance these past two months, he made it official.

He’s coming back in 2026.

Sure, he may not achieve his lofty goal of 300 victories, and still may not pitch until he’s 45, but after seven brilliant innings in the Giants’ 5-1, 11-inning victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks, he’s not about to leave the game he loves now.

Cooperstown can wait.

Verlander plans to keep pitching.

“I would hope,’’ Verlander said, “somebody would offer me a contract now.’’

There won’t only be a team offering a contract to Verlander, but there could be a downright bidding war for his services after the finishing kick to this season.

Verlander joined seven-time Cy Young and 354-game winner Roger Clemens as the only pitchers 42 or older to yield one or no runs in four consecutive starts.

Verlander is now yielding a 2.17 ERA in his last 11 starts after seven shutout innings Wednesday, and if you throw out two clunkers in August, he has a 0.68 ERA in the other nine starts.

“I get to talk about about (Verlander) and a milestone and him passing somebody – Gaylord Perry, Walter Johnson – almost every start now,” Giants manager Bob Melvin said. “That kind of signifies who he is as a pitcher and how he continues to pitch at such a high level.

“To be pitching this well late in the season, with this much under his belt at this point, it’s pretty remarkable.’’

Verlander, 3-10 with a 3.75 ERA, could easily have at least 10 victories this season considering he left the game seven other times with a lead, only to have the bullpen blow it. The Giants’ bullpen is yielding a 4.27 ERA and has blown nine games in Verlander’s starts.

If the bullpen isn’t blowing games, the offense has gone AWOL on the days he pitches. The Giants have scored three or fewer runs in 21 of his 27 starts this season.

The Giants not only failed to score for him Wednesday, but managed only one hit over their last 16⅓ innings before finally breaking out in the 11th inning, four innings after Verlander left.

Does Verlander ever stop to wonder how realistic his goal of reaching 300 victories would be if he caught a few breaks, instead of still needing 35 more wins with Father Time knocking on the clubhouse door?

“I mean, I’m human,’’ Verlander said. “I think we all know. Like everybody in this locker room, all of you guys (reporters), and most of baseball kind of understand where I’m at. So, it would have been nice if possible, but again it’s that point of the year where we’re not playing for induvial (numbers). We’re at that course of the season where I don’t care if I win or lose, I want to give us the best chance to win this, the best chance to sneak into the playoffs.

“So this is the time of year, and in the playoffs, where you know personal things don’t matter. You just want to try to win.’’

The Giants (76-76) still are chasing the New York Mets for the final NL wild card berth, tied with the Cincinnati Reds (76-76) and one-half game behind the Diamondbacks (77-76). But without Verlander, they would have been planning an early winter vacation months ago.

Of course, the way Verlander was pitching the first half of the season, he could have easily been planning his retirement, too.

He didn’t win his first game until July 23, and was 1-10 with a 4.55 ERA on Aug. 21, pitching five or fewer innings in 12 starts. For a former MVP, three-time Cy Young winner, nine-time All-Star and two-time World Series champion, this was unacceptable.

Verlander has always taken great pride in being one of the game’s ultimate workhorses, pitching at least 200 innings in 12 seasons, and leading the league four times. Yet, for the first time in his career, he felt like he was a detriment to the staff.

Verlander, realizing that no season ever goes perfectly, went back to his relentless approach, discovered a different attack angle in a bullpen session with more deception, refusing to give up.

Here he is, finally being rewarded.

“Every day you come to the field for four months, and it’s like, what’s the way out of this?’’ Verlander said. “How do I make the adjustment? What do I need to do? What’s wrong? Because clearly something’s wrong. I just have to try to find it. I had a new thought in the bullpen, I took that into the game, and the game results have been what you see.

“So, I’m glad I didn’t give up.’’

And, oh, so are the Giants, who don’t control their own destiny, but they have life with 10 games remaining, with the next four games at Dodger Stadium.

“His delivery is more sound,’’ Melvin said. “He knows where everything’s going. He uses all of his pitches. He’s got three breaking balls now. A changeup. He pitches with a lot of confidence, knowing that we need him.

“He’s been huge for us. He’s all-in on the team. He’s all-in on helping whoever he can. What he does out there on the mound shows everybody what can be accomplished, his determination and competitiveness, more than anything else.’’

Verlander, one victory shy of tying Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey for 34th-place on the all-time list, certainly has his teammates in awe. He never gave up. He never showed a lack of confidence. He never criticized his teammates for costing him victories on his road to 300.

No matter what his individual record may bear this season, he’s the ultimate winner.

“What he’s been doing, it’s kind of been inhuman,’’ said rookie center fielder Drew Gilbert, who made a spectacular running catch in the fifth inning to save a run and received a high-five from Verlander, who was waiting for him in front of the dugout. “So, if we’re not playing our hardest behind him, I don’t know what we’re doing. …

“It’s kind of our duty to make plays for him. He’s 42 years old, giving everything he’s got, all you can ask is for guys to care like he does, and be a great teammate like he is.’’

Besides, Gilbert has a unique kinship with Verlander. A former first-round draft pick, Gilbert was traded for Verlander in 2023 when the Houston Astros re-acquired Verlander from the Mets. Now, here they are, actual teammates, meeting for the first time last month.

“I’ve obviously grown up watching him my whole life,’’ Gilbert told USA TODAY Sports, “and now to be in the same locker room as one of the greatest pitchers of all-time, is pretty cool. I think we can all say that.’’

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