Justin Verlander’s 7-year-old daughter removes him from final MLB start in tear-jerker moment

Justin Verlander’s final big league start became a family affair — and there were few dry eyes in Comerica Park.

The 43-year-old future Hall of Famer announced earlier this year that this season would be his last, and Saturday’s outing against the Pirates marked his final time on a big league field.

And, in the middle of all the fanfare to close out his career, Verlander was surrounded by his family — wife Kate Upton, 7-year-old daughter Genevieve and 1-year-old son Bellamy.

But it was a moment with Genevieve that made Verlander’s final time on the mound even more of a tear-jerker.

With one out in the sixth inning, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch left the dugout to signal the end of Verlander’s day and career, but instead of going toward the mound, he walked toward the stands and summoned Genevieve to come out to the field and share a moment with her dad.

Genevieve ran out to the mound ahead of Hinch, and she shared a long embrace with Verlander as the Detroit crowd stood and applauded. A clearly emotional Verlander shared hugs with his teammates on the mound before he walked slowly to the Detroit dugout with his daughter. He doffed his cap to the roaring crowd and then shared a hug with Upton, who came out onto the dirt near the dugout.

Verlander’s farewell season didn’t go as planned, as hip inflammation and a hamstring strain limited him to just one start — in which he allowed five runs in 3 ⅔ innings — before Saturday.

But against the Pirates, he brought some vintage Verlander, striking out six and yielding just two runs over 5 ⅓ frames. Verlander said before the game there was “no script” in how long he would pitch in his career sendoff.

“There’s no script,” Verlander told reporters. “I want to go as long as I can. I skipped about a month’s worth of rehab to be able to do this, but I also don’t want to just go out there and throw 20 pitches. I think everybody feels comfortable with 20 pitches, and then after that, we’re kind of in a who-knows zone.”

The three-time Cy Young Award winner and one-time American League MVP finished his career with 3,560 strikeouts, which rank eighth all time.