Astros’ Verlander ‘on cloud nine’ after 1st bullpen session

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Watching Houston’s run through the 2021 playoffs, Justin Verlander considered lending a hand – an arm, actually – to the cause.

The two-time AL Cy Young Award winner had pitched in only one game since 2019, but his bullpen sessions while rehabbing from Tommy John surgery were going so well that he felt could get major league hitters out.

“My doctor put it very bluntly,” …