The Astros front office may have a new plan for Verlander in 2020
POINT BLANK PRESENTED BY FITZ ROOFING
15 November 2019
POINT BLANK PRESENTED BY FITZ ROOFING
Justin Verlander will be 37 years old when the 2020 season starts for the Astros, and he seemed to be a little tired when the playoffs came around this past year.
The Astros might be better off limiting some of Verlander's innings during the regular season, so that he can go deeper in playoff games in 2020.
ESPN 97.5's Joel Blank weighs in on how the Astros should manage Verlander this season, and much more. Point Blank is presented by Fitz Roofing.
Hunter Brown struck out a season-high nine in seven innings, and the Houston Astros beat the Toronto Blue Jays 7-0 on Monday night.
Hunter Brown has lowered his ERA to 1.16 thanks to a 24-inning scoreless streak. 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/rKRN2R0N91
— MLB (@MLB) April 22, 2025
Brown (3-1) allowed two hits and walked one while extending his scoreless streak to 24 consecutive innings. Forrest Whitley finished the two-hitter.
It was Houston's second shutout of the season. Toronto was blanked for the second time this year.
Tuve keeps it going!#TheNextFrontier pic.twitter.com/N4s7g5N2Ml
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 22, 2025
Jose Altuve hit a two-run double, helping the Astros win for the third time in four games.
Y'all thought we were done?#TheNextFrontier pic.twitter.com/547G7w0p6A
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 22, 2025
Brendan Rodgers had two hits and two RBIs, and Zach Dezenzo had two hits and scored twice.
Z breaks through! pic.twitter.com/eSbv7lbecV
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 22, 2025
Toronto right-hander Kevin Gausman (2-2) allowed four runs and six hits in six innings.
Houston grabbed control with four runs in the fifth. Dezenzo doubled in Cam Smith and scored on Altuve's double off the scoreboard in left. Isaac Paredes added a run-scoring single.
The Blue Jays have been held scoreless in three of their last four games in Houston, including losses of 10-0 and 8-0 last April.
Rodgers closed out the scoring with a two-run double in the eighth.
Brown is 2-0 in his last three starts, striking out 16 in 19 innings while walking just three.
Toronto right-hander Chris Bassitt (2-0, 0.77 ERA) is slated to make his fifth start of the season on Tuesday against Houston right-hander Ronel Blanco (1-2, 6.48 ERA).