Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander was candid after his recent struggles continued in a 12-6 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday.

"I mean, f--k, the damage has been done, whatever," he told reporters after the game. "I'm good."

The three-time Cy Young Award winner allowed eight earned runs in three innings of work. A third-inning grand slam by Diamondbacks left fielder Pavin Smith, his second homer of the contest, accounted for half of Arizona's output.

Verlander said he "felt good physically" but that "the results were atrocious." He cited an inability to complement his fastball as a primary factor.

"I found myself behind a lot because I wasn't able to land them, and they did some damage on some fastballs because of that," he said. "I thought the fastball was better today overall. The off-speed was a bit inconsistent location-wise, which got me in a little bit of trouble."

Through his first eight starts of 2024, Verlander was his usual self for the most part. He allowed four or more earned runs just twice and struck out 44 batters across 47 innings.

From June on, however, his performance has fallen off badly. The 41-year-old has an 8.78 ERA over his last six appearances, and opposing hitters are slugging .555 off him with a .950 OPS.

Until a few months ago, Verlander would've been a lock for the Astros' playoff roster. He has thrown a total of 226 career postseason innings and averaged 9.7 strikeouts to 2.9 walks per nine innings. Only Andy Pettitte has logged more innings and nobody has more strikeouts (244).

Manager Joe Espada might have a dilemma on his hands, though, because relying on the current version of Verlander in a high-stakes playoff game would be a risky proposition.