Vintage Verlander Tops of Cy Young Season in Houston Astros' Stomping of Philadelphia Phillies

In his final start of the season for the Houston Astros, Justin Verlander all but solidified his third Cy Young award.

Author:
Kenny Van Doren
Publish date:
Oct 5, 2022 10:00 AM EDT

In this story:

At 39, Justin Verlander has aged like a fine win. And you may have also read this before, but the Houston Astros ace was his vintage self Tuesday night, continuing his Cy Young run in his final regular-season outing of the year against the Philadelphia Phillies.

Through five innings of work, Verlander struck out 10 batters and walked one. He didn't yield a hit, but with the season coming to an end, the righty was given the rest of the night off after 77 pitches in a no-hit bid.

Verlander struck out eight consecutive batters Tuesday which set a career high and matched the Astros franchise record reached by both Don Wilson (Sept. 23, 1986) and Jim Deshaies (July 14, 1968).

His 10 punch outs propelled him to 12th all-time with 3,198, passing Max Scherzer again. But the records don't stop there. Post Tommy John surgery, Verlander ended his year with 175 innings pitched to a 1.75 ERA — the lowest in a 162-game season in the American League since Pedro Martinez's 1.74 in 2000.

Prior to the end of his start, Verlander's hand was bleeding due to a cut on the knuckle of his right-index finger. He didn't look to push through the gash and make it worse after five frames.

Following Verlander was his mimic, Hunter Brown. The rookie carried the combined no-hitter into the eighth inning before he was replaced by former Phillies reliever Héctor Neris.

Brown tossed 2.1 innings, striking out three batters to his one walk. The rookie finished his first Major League month of work with a 0.89 ERA. Neris closed the door on the eighth inning before handing the ball off to Will Smith.

Garrett Stubbs — who faced his former club for the first time in the regular season Tuesday — singled off the lefty to end the no-hit bid. Smith yielded three straight singles before striking out the side to complete the shutout.

Houston Astros Shortstop Jeremy Peña
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Verlander had all the offensive firepower behind him to secure his 18th win of the season. And Jeremy Peña was the one to give him just the run support he needed. Peña powered a first-inning, two-run home run — his 22nd of the season.

Peña's long ball tied Carlos Correa's Astros rookie record for a shortstop and for the second most in franchise history. With a game to play, the shortstop trails Yordan Álvarez for the franchise record of 27.

Kyle Tucker also added a home run in the opening frame to build a five-run lead before Verlander could touch the mound for a second time. The lefty's 30th home run of the season matched a season high, becoming the second Astros outfielder — Lance Berkman from 2001-2002 — with back-to-back seasons of 30 or more home runs.

Tucker is now just the second player in franchise to reach at least 30 home runs, 25 stolen bases and 100 RBI. The only other player to do so was Jeff Bagwell in 1997 and 1999.

Martín Maldonado added a solo home run in the second inning to build Houston's lead to six. The catcher's 15th shot of the season came against Ranger Suárez — who entered the night with a 0.7 HR/9.

As fifth-inning pinch hitters, Christian Vázquez and Mauricio Dubón slashed back-to-back singles to drive in a pair. Dubón replaced Altuve — who tallied a three-hit night to boost his average to a season-best .300.

Even in the eighth inning, Houston didn't hold up. Álvarez doubled for the third time, advancing David Hensley to third base. A pair of singles from Alex Bregman and Jake Meyers totaled the ninth and the 10th runs on the night.

Manager Dusty Baker continued his spring-training-like approach pulling regulars after four innings of thumping the Phillies. Vázquez, Hensley, Meyers and Trey Mancini replaced Maldonado, Peña, Tucker and Yuli Gurriel in the order, respectively.

Tuesday win marked the Astros' 1,000 at Minute Maid Park and the 105th of the season. For the final time of the regular season, the Astros return to action at 3:10 p.m. Wednesday at Minute Maid Park. Framber Valdez is expected to start against lefty Bailey Falter.