Houston Astros Ace Justin Verlander Moves Up All-Time Quality Starts List

Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander outdueled his former New York Mets teammate Max Scherzer on Wednesday, and he made some history in the process.

Verlander allowed one earned run in 7.0 innings against the Texas Rangers, setting the stage for the Astros to cruise to a 12-3 victory. It marked Verlander's fourth quality start in his seven outings since getting traded back to Houston at the deadline, as well as his 12th overall in 2023.

According to TSN's StatsCentre, Verlander broke a tie with Hall of Famer Mike Mussina for the seventh-most quality starts in American League history following his latest outing. The 40-year-old right-hander now has 331 quality starts between his time with the Astros and Detroit Tigers.

Roger Clemens has the most career quality starts by an AL pitcher with 404.

Next up ahead of Verlander are Hall of Famers Walter Johnson and Jim Palmer, who had 337 apiece. In order to pass them and snag the No. 5 spot on the leaderboard, Verlander needs to record seven more quality starts before his two-year, $86.7 million contract expires at the end of next season.

Most career quality starts made by a pitcher in American League history (1901-):
404- Roger Clemens
362- Bert Blyleven
360- Early Wynn
348- Frank Tanana
337- Walter Johnson
337- Jim Palmer
331- @astros Justin Verlander (Via 7 IP with 1 ER Wednesday night vs TEX)
330- Mike Mussina pic.twitter.com/96lz5WCvJC
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) September 7, 2023

Verlander is 11-7 with a 3.23 ERA, 1.159 WHIP and 7.9 strikeouts per nine innings this year. For his career, Verlander is 255-140 with a 3.24 ERA, 1.119 WHIP and 9.0 strikeouts per nine innings.

In addition to leading all active pitchers in wins, Verlander also has the highest WAR of any active pitcher at 80.9. The veteran has nine All-Star appearances, three Cy Youngs, two World Series titles, an MVP and a Rookie of the Year under his belt.

Verlander will likely take the mound again early next week against the Oakland Athletics at home. He could have as many as four starts left in the regular season.

The Astros are right in the thick of a battle for the AL West crown, currently sitting in first place at 80-61. The Seattle Mariners are just 1.0 game back, though, while the Rangers are 3.0 games back.

To hold onto that playoff spot – and to make the most of it in the postseason if they get there – Houston will probably need a few more quality starts from Verlander down the stretch.

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