Justin Verlander has been one of baseball’s best pitchers for the last 15 years. Verlander has been selected to the All-Star Game eight times in his career, and he just added another highlight to his incredible resume on Sunday afternoon. The Houston Astros’ ace tossed the third no-hitter of the year, blanking the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0.
A storybook ending for the history books! #TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/T9WlQ3QcCH
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 1, 2019
Verlander is now tied with legendary pitchers Bob Feller, Larry Corcoran, and Cy Young as the pitchers with the third-most no hitters in MLB history, only trailing Nolan Ryan (7) and Sandy Koufax (4).
.@JustinVerlander is the first pitcher ever to throw TWO no-hitters in the same road stadium (Rogers Centre). pic.twitter.com/9Iqw2hSOzx
— MLB Stats (@MLBStats) September 1, 2019
In an interesting twist, it was also Verlander’s second no-hitter against Toronto. Verlander tossed a no-no against Toronto while a member of the Detroit Tigers back in 2011, and a little more than eight years later he blanked the Blue Jays again.
The hard-throwing righty had electric stuff on Sunday. He struck out 14 batters and walked just one on the afternoon. Verlander sent Cavan Biggio to first base on just five pitches in the first inning but proceeded to retire the next 26 batters he faced to secure the no-no.
Verlander has been baseball’s best pitcher this season, and he is well on his way to winning his second Cy Young Award. He has been an innings eater, leading the American League with 184 innings pitched, but the workload has not led to diminishing returns. His microscopic 0.804 WHIP is the best in baseball by a mile, and it’s an eye-popping number considering the power surge we are seeing in baseball.
The win puts the Astros 9.5 games ahead of the Oakland A’s in the AL West race. Houston is a virtual lock to clinch the division with such a massive lead with less than a month to play, but the Astros are looking at another World Series title with the two best pitchers in the AL. Verlander and Gerrit Cole will make Houston a tough team to beat in the playoffs.
H/T MLB
