9.7.19
Justin Verlander recently joined the elite company of pitchers such as Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, and Cy Young, by becoming just the sixth pitcher to have thrown 3 no-hitters in his career. On September 1st, Verlander no-hit the Toronto Blue Jays, only allowing one walk in the 4th inning to Cavan Biggio, while striking out a total of 14 batters. It is also note worthy that it was his second time no-hitting the Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
Verlander’s career has had somewhat of a resurgence ever since he joined the Houston Astros following a trade from the Detroit Tigers in 2017, the only other MLB team he had been with. In the latter years in Detroit, he had seen his once 100+ mph fastball velocity diminish, and his command fade. However, in his time with the Astros, he is back throwing in the upper 90s, along with a very sharp curve.
In Verlander’s final year in Detroit (2016), his K/9 10.04 was while his BB/9 was 2.25. In his first full year with the Astros (2018), both categories improved as his K/9 rose to 12.20 and his BB/9 was 1.56. He is a token example of another one of the Houston Astros refurbishing products, helping him return to his very elite form.
Verlander is going to be a crucial component to the Astros World Series push, headlining one of the best pitching staffs that the sport has seen in a very long time.
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