Verlander leaves final start of 21-year career as 7-year-old daughter sprints to the mound for hug

DETROIT (AP) — Justin Verlander got an unexpected hook in his major league finale, when the 7-year-old daughter of the pitcher and model Kate Upton came to the mound with Detroit Tigers manager A.J. Hinch in the sixth inning of Saturday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

After Brandon Lowe hit a foul popup starting the sixth, Hinch walked from the dugout toward the plate and pointed toward the seats. Genevieve Verlander, wearing a Tigers jersey with her dad's name and number, sprinted to the mound and hugged her father, who reached down to embrace her and started shaking and sobbing.

Hinch joined them about 25 seconds later for another hug, and then Verlander was surrounded by Tigers teammates who came to the mound. The 43-year-old right-hander, a 10-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner over 21 major league seasons, left the field for the final time, holding his daughter's hand, as the Comerica Park crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Upton, holding 1-year-old son Bellamy, joined Justin and Genevieve for a group hug on the warning track in front of the Tigers dugout, and Justin high-fived teammates and doffed his cap to the crowd before descending the dugout steps with his family.

In all, there was a 5 1/2-minute wait until reliever Tyler Kinley threw his first pitch.

Verlander allowed two runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings with one walk and six strikeouts in his 91-pitch outing. He was making his second start of the year and first since March 30 in a season derailed by a sore hip and hamstring injury.

He entered 266-159 in his career and finished with a 3.33 ERA and 3,560 strikeouts, eighth on the career list.

Pittsburgh's fifth batter, 20-year-old shortstop Konnor Griffin, had not been born when Verlander made his debut for the Tigers on July 4, 2005.

Verlander received a standing ovation when he headed to the bullpen to warm up, and a longer one when he returned to the dugout before the first pitch. Academy Award winning J.K. Simmons, a longtime Tigers fan, announced him as part of Detroit’s starting lineup.

Verlander took the field for the first inning to another ovation — this one alone on the field as his teammates stayed in the dugout to give him the spotlight.

Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead against Verlander on solo homers by Lowe in the fourth and Nick Gonzales in the fifth, the first on a 89.7 mph fastball and the second on a curve.

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