Mark DeRosa reveals how Astros' Justin Verlander altered approach to dominate Mariners
Dissecting the Astros Win
26 September 2023
Dissecting the Astros Win
The Houston Astros needed an epic performance from Justin Verlander on Monday night with the team's playoff push going down to the wire. And JV delivered in spades, throwing 8 innings and only allowing 1 earned run.
Verlander changed his approach when facing left-handed batters by throwing more off-speed pitches, and dialing back the fastball usage to 32%. Against righties, JV let the heaters fly throwing 55% fastballs, 5% more than usual.
Clearly, Justin had a plan for the Seattle lineup, and it worked out great for him and the Astros.
Be sure to watch the video above as Mark DeRosa dissects how JV and the Astros took down Seattle.
Eric Murray returned one of Justin Herbert's career-high four interceptions for a touchdown, C.J. Stroud threw a TD pass and the Houston Texans rolled past the Los Angeles Chargers 32-12 in a wild-card playoff game Saturday.
Be sure to watch the video below as the crew from Texans on Tap reacts live to the big win!
It’s the second straight year Stroud and the Texans (11-7) won in the first round after they beat Cleveland last season.
Herbert threw just three interceptions in the regular season and had never thrown more than two in a game before facing a Texans secondary led by AP All-Pro cornerback Derek Stingley, who had two INTs. Kamari Lassiter had the other pick.
The Chargers (11-7), who returned to the playoffs under first-year coach Jim Harbaugh, lost in the wild-card round for a second straight time after also losing in the 2022 season to remain without a postseason win since 2018.
Stroud threw for 282 yards with the touchdown pass to Nico Collins and an interception. Collins finished with seven catches for 122 yards. Joe Mixon ran for 106 yards and a score.
Herbert was 14 of 32 for 242 yards with a 40.9 passer rating.