Verlander Hurls Third Career No Hitter

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.