Astros Reportedly Blocked Detroit Free Press Reporter From Media Scrum at Justin Verlander's Request

As if a loss to the lowly Detroit Tigers wasn't enough of an embarrassment for the Astros and Justin Verlander. The defeat, which was the biggest upset on record over the last 15 years per gambling standards, likely won't have much of an impact on Houston's standing in the American League, which makes the postgame action of both the team and their ace even more suspect.

Verlander's connection to the Tigers is obvious, as he spent over a decade in the Motor City as their undisputed ace, finishing in the top-3 in Cy Young Award voting on four separate occasions. Yet, after losing a narrow contest 2-1 (in part because Verlander gave up a solo home run to John Hicks in the ninth inning), JV reportedly wanted no part of one specific reporter from the Detroit Free Press.

Astros block Free Press from Justin Verlander’s postgame media session https://t.co/3b96IhIjy8
— Detroit Free Press (@freep) August 22, 2019

Such a move is against the Baseball Writers Association of America protocol, and potentially violated the collective bargaining agreement as well. The Astros and Verlander will hear from the league office and BBWAA about this matter.

The reporter in question appears to be Anthony Fenech of the Free Press. As the media entered the locker room for the usual postgame media scrum, Fenech was reportedly barred from entering by the Astros PR staff, as Verlander supposedly threatened not to speak with the press should the writer gain access with the rest.

This is not a good look for JV, @astros or @MLB -- and a slippery slope. I mean next you're going to tell me the President is blocking individual reporters from White House access. Crazy. Hang tough @anthonyfenech and @freep https://t.co/sESob3CzCO
— Steve Dorsey (@dorsey) August 22, 2019

The entire series has been contentious between Verlander and the Free Press, and the former Cy Young Award winner reportedly wouldn't speak to the media on several occasions over the past few days with the reporter present. The Astros also previously made it clear that they preferred if the credentialed reporter weren't involved in the postgame session, only to take matters a step further on Wednesday night.

Verlander himself tweeted: "I reached out to the Freep multiple times before the game to notify them why and to give them an opportunity to have someone else there. “ Maybe he didn’t ask the team, but he says he asked the paper. https://t.co/3g4u45Aj9w
— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) August 22, 2019

Lindsey Adler reports that Verlander tweeted out himself that he'd reached out to the Detroit Free Press to explain why he didn't want Fenech there, and to "give them an opportunity to have someone else there."