Justin Verlander’s comments after bounce-back game should further concern Astros fans

When Justin Verlander took the mound for the Houston Astros on Saturday agains the Angels, he had a lot at stake. There has already been a lot of noise regarding his inclusion on the playoff roster and many Astros fans have already written him off. With very limited opportunities left this season to change Houston's mind, Verlander absolutely needed a strong start.

For the most part, Verlander accomplished just that as he went five innings and gave up a perfectly reasonable two runs along the way. Considering how he had looked before that outing, Verlander's start was definitely a step in the right direction.

However, a deeper look reveals more cause for concern. Not only was Verlander's outing not quite as a good as his top line numbers would suggest, but he said that he is still struggled to get outs even against one of the worst teams in baseball.

Justin Verlander's struggles, playoff roster questions remain despite promising outing

For some, they may see Verlander's comments about outs being "tough" as a guy not wanting to rest on his laurels and being a bit of a "perfectionist," which is what manager Joe Espada alluded to after the game. However, a closer look at Verlander's start suggests the pitcher has a point.

Giving up two runs and four hits looks great on paper, but Verlander also only managed two strikeouts against an Angels team that more closely resembles a decent Triple-A roster than a big league squad right now. His inability to generate swing and miss caused multiple high laborious innings, and it was honestly lucky that he was able to get through five without getting himself in trouble.

As for what the Astros and their fans should take from his start, that is hard to say. The Angels are truly terrible and thinking that, at minimum, Verlander could at least be that good in the playoffs seems extremely optimistic given what he's looked like in other starts recently. If the Astros truly want to put the best team on the field for the postseason, they need to evaluate other options for their playoff roster while keeping a close eye on Verlander's actual progress and not just the surface level numbers.

More from Climbing Tal's Hill