Justin Verlander leaves final start in tears as daughter meets him on the mound

Justin Verlander’s 21-year major league career ended in tears on Saturday night as the Detroit Tigers right-hander was pulled from his final start with his seven-year-old daughter sprinting to the mound to meet him.

After Brandon Lowe hit a foul popup to start the sixth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Comerica Park, Tigers manager A.J. Hinch walked from the dugout, pointed toward the seats, and Genevieve Verlander — wearing a Tigers jersey with her father’s name and number — ran to embrace him. Verlander, 43, started shaking and sobbing as his teammates surrounded the mound and the crowd gave him a standing ovation.

He left the field for the final time holding his daughter’s hand. His wife, model Kate Upton, holding their one-year-old son Bellamy, joined them for a group hug on the warning track as Verlander high-fived teammates and doffed his cap to the crowd.

Verlander struck out six over 5⅓ innings of two-run ball on 91 pitches — his second start of a season derailed by hip and hamstring injuries. The 10-time All-Star and three-time Cy Young Award winner finishes with 266 career wins, a 3.33 ERA and 3,560 strikeouts, eighth on the all-time list, plus two World Series titles.

The evening began with actor and lifelong Tigers fan J.K. Simmons announcing Verlander as part of the starting line-up, and his teammates staying in the dugout so he could take the field alone for the first inning.