2019 Verlander is as good if not better than 2011 and 2018
Justin Verlander is getting better with age
Sep 2, 2019, 6:55 am
Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
In 2011, Justin Verlander had a year that most pitchers dream of having. He went 24-5 in 34 starts while racking up 250 strikeouts and finishing with a 0.92 WHIP (Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched), leading the league in wins, strikeouts, and WHIP. That made him a shoo-in for the Cy Young award, which he won in the American League.
He was in the "prime" of his career at 28 years old, and many pitchers begin a slow (or fast) regression as fatigue starts to plague their game. Justin Verlander is no ordinary pitcher. Fast forward eight years from the fantastic 2011 season and the 36-year-old is again dominating the league en route to what should be, though teammate Gerrit Cole might give him a run for his money, a second Cy Young award.
Getting his first no-hitter since 2011
On Sunday, Verlander accomplished a feat that had only happened 302 times before in baseball history by holding an opposing team without a single hit in a game. Not only did it put him on a short list of pitchers who had good enough starts to do so, but it also wasn't even his first entry on that list.
Not only did he also throw one in his incredible 2011 campaign, but his first came in his second full year in the league back in 2007. That means with Sunday's historic game against the Blue Jays in Toronto he now has three such games on his eventual Hall of Fame resume.
Thirty-five pitchers have thrown multiple no-hitters, but that list shrinks to six that have three or more. Verlander joins the upper-echelon of pitchers including Larry Corcoran (3), Bob Feller (3), Sandy Koufax (4), along with Cy Young himself (3), with all of them looking up at Nolan Ryan who had seven over his illustrious career.
For @JustinVerlander, good things come in threes.
(MLB x @YouTubeTV) pic.twitter.com/ngmqI3scXQ
— MLB (@MLB) September 1, 2019
Striking out batters left and right
While 250 strikeouts in 2011 were enough to lead the entire MLB, times have changed. In today's game where hitters are trying to go all-or-nothing with home runs, it gives pitchers the chance to take advantage and put together historic strikeout numbers. While Nolan Ryan may never have his 383 strikeouts from his 1973 season beaten, that doesn't mean that what Verlander is doing in an Astros uniform is any less impressive.
Verlander had a career-best 290 Ks in 2018, and he's on pace for even more this year. As the calendar turns to September, he currently sits with 257 on the season after 28 starts, coming out to an average of about 8.7 strikeouts in each. He has, however, reached double-digits in strikeouts in eight of his last night starts. With at least four starts likely in the regular season, and considering the teams he will be facing, it's entirely probable that he bests last season and hits another career-high in a season.
WHIP it real good
Another reason that Verlander could have won his second Cy Young last season, instead of being bested by Blake Snell, was his WHIP. Before 2018, Verlander had finished with a WHIP under 1.00 just one other time, and that was back in 2011 when he had a 0.920. Last season, he did one better by leading the entire majors with a 0.902.
So far in 2019, he's blowing that out of the water, with Sunday's no-hitter moving him down to a 0.77 on the season, a number which if continued could put him towards the top of all-time best seasons by WHIP, led by Pedro Martinez who finished with a 0.7373 in 2000.
A historic regular season is great, but Verlander will want more
So, while there is still a month of regular-season baseball left in 2019, all signs are pointing towards this being one of, if not the, best seasons of Justin Verlander's already storied career. What will cap that off, and what Verlander himself is undoubtedly more motivated and setting his attention towards, is leading this Astros rotation in what should be a fun, and hopefully successful, playoff appearance.
Beyond that, don't expect him even to consider slowing down any time soon. With two years left on his current contract with the Astros, during which he will most assuredly earn another long-term deal, it's clear that he is around to stay for many more years to come. With that, as we've seen in 2018 and 2019, he could continue to get better, and not worse, with age.
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Though they have plenty of work to do, the Houston Texans are feeling good about their 2-0 start after dropping their first two games last season.
The Texans scored just three points after halftime Sunday night, but a smothering defensive performance allowed them to hold on for a 19-13 win over the Bears. The victory has them in early control in the AFC South after the Colts, Titans and Jaguars have all opened the season 0-2.
It’s the first time since 2016 that Houston has won its first two games.
“I definitely know that Texans football was not what we put on the field (Sunday), at least in the second half,” quarterback C.J. Stroud said. “We’ll definitely be better, for sure."
Stroud threw for 260 yards and a touchdown, but the Texans punted on five of their seven possessions in the second half and fumbled on another drive. Their only points after halftime came on a field goal early in the fourth quarter.
“Second half we were just flat,” Stroud said. “Just needed a big play or just needed (to) stack plays really. We just couldn’t find our rhythm.”
One thing that slowed the Texans on Sunday was their inability to run the ball effectively. Houston managed just 75 yards rushing against the Bears after leading the NFL with 213 yards in Week 1.
“They had a lot of penetration,” coach DeMeco Ryans said. “We weren’t able to have the lanes that we had the previous weeks. Something we have to clean up on the offensive side and make sure we just continue to get a head on the hat no matter what they show us.”
The running game was slowed because of an ankle injury to Joe Mixon, who had 159 yards rushing in the opener. He was injured early in the third quarter and returned near the end of the period, but had just two carries for 5 yards the rest of the game as he dealt with the injury. He finished with nine carries for 25 yards.
Ryans said that Mixon got “rolled up” and that it’s too early to know if he’ll play next week.
What’s working
The Texans were relentless in their pressure on rookie quarterback Caleb Williams Sunday night. Houston pressured Williams, the top overall pick in the draft, on 36 of his 37 pass attempts, according to NextGenStats.
Defensive ends Will Anderson Jr. and Danielle Hunter combined for 17 pressures and the Texans piled up seven sacks, which is tied for the second most in franchise history.
Houston had six different players with a sack Sunday night and the team’s nine sacks through two games ranks second in the NFL behind Minnesota’s 11 entering Monday.
What needs help
The Texans must get their running game back on track next week, which will be a tough task if Mixon can’t play. They could be without their top two running backs Sunday with Dameon Pierce dealing with a hamstring injury that kept him out of the game against Chicago.
Stock up
K Ka′imi Fairbairn has been great this season, with Ryans crediting him for Sunday night’s win. He was 4-for-4 against the Bears, making kicks of 59, 56, 53 and 47 yards. He also made three field goals of 50-plus yards in Week 1 to become the first kicker in NFL history to make five or more field goals of 50 yards or longer in a two-game span.
His 59-yard field goal on Sunday night was the second-longest in franchise history behind a 61-yard kick he made in 2021.
“He’s been consistent,” Ryans said. “He’s on it. He’s the reason why we’re standing here. We talk a lot about offense and defense (but) the kicking game is the reason why we won this game.”
Stock down
RB Cam Akers. Pushed into action because of injuries, Akers fumbled on the Chicago 4 with about 6½ minutes left Sunday. The Bears recovered the ball and it led to a field goal that got them within a score with less than three minutes left.
Injuries
Mixon and Pierce are the main injuries the team is dealing with this week.
Key number
252 — Entering Monday, wide receiver Nico Collins leads the NFL with 252 yards receiving, which is the second most in franchise history in the first two games of a season. Collins, who had a career-high 1,297 yards receiving last season, had 135 yards receiving and a touchdown Sunday night for the seventh 100-yard game of his career.
Next steps
Stroud and Houston’s offense will look to clean up their play and move the ball more effectively when they face an early test in a visit to the Minnesota Vikings, who are also 2-0, on Sunday.