The Houston Astros’ Justin Verlander is a true no-hitter.
The right-hander started the 2023 Major League Baseball game against the Boston Red Sox on April 23 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
Verlander threw 96 pitches through six innings, striking out nine. He allowed just one walk. He scattered five hits and no runs. Houston won 7-3. Verlander improved to 9-6 on the season. He lowered his season ERA from 3.36 to 3.19. He became the 13th player in major league history to reach the 3,300K plateau with 3,301 career strikeouts.
The 40-year-old struck out a career-high nine batters this season.
Of his 96 pitches, a whopping 63%, or 60 pitches, were four-seam fastballs. He topped out at 97 mph (156 km/h) and averaged 95.1 mph (153 km/h).
While Hyun-jin Ryu was recently lauded for his two-game winning streak after returning from Tommy John surgery at the age of 36, Verlander’s performance was far beyond that.
The resurgence of Verlander has been a boon for Houston. Houston acquired Verlander from the New York Mets at the trade deadline. In his first game back, Verlander pitched seven innings of two-run ball but took the loss. Since then, he’s pitched mediocre outings, including six innings of three-run ball against the Los Angeles Angels and five innings of five-run ball against the Miami Marlins.
But four games into his return to Houston, Verlander showed his true colors. After working around runners on first and second in the second inning, he retired three batters in the third. In the fourth, he gave up a leadoff single, but retired the next three batters.토스카지노
In the top of the fifth, he gave up a leadoff double to Connor Wong. After striking out Willier Abreu, Verlander got Hafael Devers to ground out to first to put out the fire.
After getting two outs in the sixth, Verlander faced his final challenge. After giving up back-to-back singles and a hit by pitch, a fielding error put runners on second and third. But he induced a grounder to Rui Urias to end the threat.
Verlander, who debuted in 2005, is in his 18th year in the big leagues. He has only had three seasons where he failed to reach 10 wins. If he reaches the 10-win plateau this year, it will be his 15th career 10-win season. In 502 career games, Verlander is 253-139 with a 3.24 ERA and 3,301 strikeouts.