Houston Astros Ace Turning Back Clock During Playoff Push

Ahead of the 2023 MLB Trade Deadline, it was clear what the Houston Astros were missing as they geared up for their World Series defense. General manager Dana Brown told everyone who was listening that they were targeting pitching.

Framber Valdez was leading the rotation full of young pitchers with many of their veteran starters on the injured list. The front office knew they had to bring someone in to bolster the top of their rotation.

Brown didn't have to go deep into his contact list to find who he was looking for. The New York Mets were struggling and were looking to offload assets. It was the perfect way to reunite with their ace Justin Verlander, who departed in the offseason.

The 40-year-old struggled to start the year, posting a 4.80 ERA in five starts during May. He used a strong month of July with an ERA of 1.69 to become one of the hottest names in the rumor mill ahead of the deadline.

That was all it took for the Astros to bring him back as they geared up for the home stretch.

In four starts with Houston, Verlander has flashed his high level form that won him two Cy Young awards while playing for the Astros. He's posted a 3-1 record with a 3.38 ERA. The only thing missing from his game were the strikeouts.

That changed Tuesday night against the Boston Red Sox when he struck out a season high nine batters.

"I think I found something early in my mechanics with my load that answered a lot of questions and lined up down the mechanics path of what I was looking for,” Verlander told Brian McTaggart of MLB.com after the game. “I didn’t know how it was going to turn out, but I think the results were really good. The velo jumped up a little bit, I was behind the ball better, timing was better. All very positive things.

In his last 11 starts, he’s 7-2 with a 2.17 ERA. If he's able to continue turning back the clock with high strikeout numbers, this starting rotation will become scary.