Houston Astros’ Justin Verlander joins exclusive company to earn victory over Detroit Tigers

Justin Verlander led the Houston Astros to a decisive victory over his former team, the Detroit Tigers, on Sunday, making history in the process.

The 41-year-old right-hander pitched 7.0 scoreless innings in what turned out to be a 9-3 road victory for the Astros, allowing just two hits and two walks to the 25 batters he faced. he faced. It was a true bounce-back performance for Verlander, who allowed seven earned runs in 5.0 innings against the New York Yankees on May 7.

Beyond that, however, it was Verlander’s 50th career start with 7.0+ innings pitched and no runs allowed.

According to Jayhay from Underdogs FantasyVerlander is the eighth pitcher to join this club since the Wild Card era began in 1994. Clayton Kershaw leads the way with 64 of those starts, while Randy Johnson has thrown 57 and Tim Hudson has had 56.

Pedro Martinez, Greg Maddux and Adam Wainwright are next in the standings. Verlander’s former Astros teammate, Zack Greinke, had 51 in his career.

It’s not shocking to see Verlander join this list, considering he’s been one of the best pitchers in baseball since he made his MLB debut in 2005. The former No. 2 overall pick was a superstar during his 13 seasons with the Tigers. and he hardly lost a step with the Astros.

Verlander is 259-142 with a 3.24 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 3,365 strikeouts and an 81.1 WAR in his career. He’s been so consistently excellent over the years that his latest gem on Sunday shaved less than .007 off his lifetime ERA.

Five starts into his age-41 season, Verlander is 2-1 with a 3.38 ERA and 1.19 WHIP.

With nine All-Star appearances, three Cy Youngs, two World Series rings and an MVP under his belt, there isn’t much Verlander hasn’t accomplished. Now Verlander has yet another point that could go on his Hall of Fame plaque in Cooperstown.

Verlander also won his 101st match at Comerica Park on Sunday, extending his lead for the most all-time. Hall of Famer Jack Morris won 100 games at Tiger Stadium.

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