BINGHAMTON, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – One of the greatest major league pitchers of our generation took the mound at Mirabito Stadium today.

The 3x Cy Young award winner and 9x MLB All-Star Justin Verlander pitched a rehab start for the Rumble Ponies this afternoon.

Verlander signed with the New York Mets over the off season, but is yet to make his Mets debut due to a muscle strain.

Today’s game was originally scheduled to be under the lights, but got pushed up to 1p.m. to avoid the possibility of weather.

The General Manager of the Rumble Ponies, JB Bayne said that they didn’t find out that Verlander would be pitching until about 4 p.m. yesterday, and since then, its been all hands on deck.

“He’s a big name, and its not just us, its my staff, its the players on the team, everybody’s excited to see him come out and throw a couple of innings. We’re expecting him to throw four or five innings today and you know, his next start will probably be in the major leagues, so we’re just that stepping stone to get there.”

Despite the last minute time change and being a Friday afternoon game, fans filled up the seats behind home plate and were dazzled by Verlander’s 6 strikeouts in just 4.2 innings.

Following the game, Verlander said he felt good and that whenever the Mets call on him, he’ll be ready.