VINTAGE VERLANDER
Justin Verlander dominates former team as Astros rout Tigers
May 13, 2024, 7:43 am
Astros win the series! Photo by Nic Antaya/Getty Images.
Justin Verlander dominated his former team and Kyle Tucker homered as the Houston Astros beat the Detroit Tigers 9-3 on Sunday at Comerica Park.
Verlander (2-1) pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing two hits while striking out eight. He now has 3,365 career strikeouts, two behind former teammate and friendly rival Max Scherzer for 11th on the all-time list and six behind Greg Maddux for 10th.
“Max isn't done — he's supposed to be back soon and it was fun battling back and forth with him last year — but that's pretty cool,” Verlander said. “This game has been around so long, and any time you can get into the top 10 ... jeez. That would be one of those things where I really try to take a beat and appreciate it.”
Mauricio Dubón had four hits for Houston and Jake Meyers went 3 for 3 with three RBIs despite not entering the game until the seventh inning.
“It is nice to be able to give (Jose) Altuve a day off and see Dubón come in and do that,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “When he stays in the zone and swings at the pitches he can handle, he's a pretty good hitter.”
Jack Flaherty (0-3) took the loss, allowing three runs on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. Detroit relievers allowed six runs on 11 hits in the final 2 1/3 innings.
“Jack did a good job of holding them down,” Tigers manager A.J. Hinch said. “They put a lot of pressure on him with baserunners and he kept making pitches. He was just unfortunate the offense ran into Verlander and couldn't help him.”
Verlander retired the first 14 Tigers before Colt Keith beat out a slow dribbler to short, and he was promptly thrown out trying to steal second.
“He's on his way to Cooperstown for a reason,” said Spencer Torkelson, who went 0 for 3 against Verlander with two strikeouts. “I thought we had a good plan — capitalize on mistakes — and we realized early there weren't going to be many mistakes to capitalize on.”
Houston had baserunners in the first four innings, but Detroit turned three double plays. After Dubón singled in the sixth off Flaherty, though, Tucker hit his 13th homer to make it 2-0.
With two out in the bottom of the inning, Verlander walked Carson Kelly and Riley Greene before hitting Mark Canha. Matt Vierling lined out to left on the next pitch.
Joey Wentz replaced Flaherty with two outs in the seventh and a runner on first. After Joey Loperfido singled, Meyers and Dubón made it 4-0 with RBI singles. Wentz walked Tucker to load the bases, but Alex Lange got Jeremy Peña to fly out.
Lange allowed four runs while only getting one out in the eighth.
Verlander finished with a perfect seventh. He is now 4-3 with a 2.35 ERA in seven starts against Detroit, having struck out 62 batters in 46 innings.
“He demonstrated all the arts of pitching,” Hinch said.
The Tigers broke the shutout in the ninth when Akil Baddoo tripled and scored on a balk before Spencer Torkelson hit his first home run of the season.
UP NEXT
Astros: Head home to start a four-game series with the Oakland Athletics. RHP Spencer Arrighetti (0-4, 8.44) is scheduled to start Monday against Oakland RHP Ross Stripling (1-6, 5.14).
Tigers: Remain home for three games with the Miami Marlins. RHP Matt Manning (0-1, 4.24) is expected to be called up from Triple-A Toledo to start Monday for Detroit.
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Houston’s early playoff exit means Alex Bregman and Justin Verlander might have played their last games for the Astros.
The AL West champions were swept by the Detroit Tigers in their Wild Card series, losing 5-2 in Game 2 on Wednesday. Houston had made seven consecutive appearances in the AL Championship Series, winning two titles along the way.
Bregman and Verlander have been key performers for the Astros, but their future is uncertain after the team's brief stay in October.
The 30-year-old Bregman is eligible for free agency after spending the last nine seasons as Houston’s third baseman. He was selected by the Astros with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 amateur draft.
The 41-year-old Verlander also appears to be going to free agency after failing to pitch the 140 innings he needed to trigger a $35 million player option on his contract.
An emotional Bregman said after the game that he hadn’t had a chance to process the loss, much less think about his future.
“I was planning on being here tomorrow,” he said. “So, I’ll just let Scott (agent Scott Boras) and them handle that this offseason. I haven’t even really thought about it.”
Bregman is a two-time All-Star, and he won a Silver Slugger Award in 2019. He hit .260 with 26 homers and 75 RBIs this season.
While trying his best not to look ahead Wednesday, he did take a moment to look back on his career with the Astros.
“I came here when I was 21 years old,” he said. “I made my debut against the Yankees and have been to the ALCS every year except for this one. It’s been a fun time and I cherish every second of it. And it’s been an honor to be here and I definitely don’t take it for granted.”
When pressed about his future, he said he hopes to return. Teammate Jose Altuve was much more aggressive about his desire for Bregman to remain with the team.
“I’m pretty confident that he’s going to be our third baseman next year,” Altuve said. “We have to have him. We’re not going to be the same organization without him. In my mind, there’s not a chance that this is the last game.”
Altuve said he would talk to team owner Jim Crane about re-signing Bregman. In the last few years, Altuve has watched longtime teammates George Springer and Carlos Correa leave when they hit free agency.
Altuve said he would be “heartbroken” if Bregman departed.
As for Verlander, the pitcher is unlikely to return to a team that is well-stocked with young starters. The three-time Cy Young Award winner struggled with injuries this season, going 5-6 with a 5.48 ERA in 17 starts.
He missed two months this summer with a neck injury and said he never felt quite right after his return. He had a 9.26 ERA in five starts in September and was left off the postseason roster.
“Kind of a weird injury in the neck and tried as best I could to get out there and be an asset to help this team in October,” he said. “But wasn’t able to do it, obviously wasn’t pitching well enough to be part of this series.”
But the right-hander believes he “has a lot more to give” next season and beyond.
“I definitely feel like I want to continue to pitch and compete and I’m not ready to step away yet,” he said.
Verlander reflected on his time with the Astros, which included helping the team to World Series titles in 2017 and 2022. This was his second stint with Houston after returning in a trade with the New York Mets last July.
“There’s a lot of moments that stick out, there’s some great ones in there as well,” he said. “But just more, I think the vibe is something that sticks out to me here. Just in the locker room and outside of it.”