
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Michael Wyke/AP/Shutterstock (13428395b) Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander throws to an Arizona Diamondbacks batter during the first inning of a baseball game, in Houston Diamondbacks Astros Baseball, Houston, United States – 28 Sep 2022
Fred Faour: My 5 favorite Verlander moments with the Astros
Justin Verlander is leaving the Astros for the New York Mets. He is getting a reported two-year, $86 million dollar deal. The Mets, presumably losing Jacob deGrom, needed to make a splash, and none was bigger than Verlander.
It’s a shame to see him go, but the Astros pitching staff is still loaded. It was always nice, however, to have that hammer at the top. You know the Cy Young numbers from last season: 18-4, 1.75 ERA. But Brian McTaggart tweeted his overall Astros stats:
Record of 61-19, 2.26 ERA, 0.83 WHIP in 102 starts, two Cy Young Awards, two Cy Young runner-ups, a 300-strikeout season, an ALCS MVP, third no-hitter, 3,000th strikeout, two World Series titles.
It was an amazing run. Astros fans should wish him luck.
Here are some of my favorite Verlander accomplishments with the Astros. There are so many, and you probably have different ones, but these stand out to me:
- The 2017 ALCS. Verlander won the series MVP against the Yankees with 16 innings of one-run ball.
- The third career no-hitter at Rogers Centre against the Blue Jays with the Astros. Who can forget Abraham Toro’s home run in the 1-0 victory?
- Verlander’s 3000th strikeout against the Angels in 2019. He would go on to strike out 12 Angels in the game.
- Friday, Sept. 16, 2022. Verlander returns from the injured list to toss five no-hit innings in a game where Yordan Alvarez hit three home runs. It showed Verlander would be healthy down the stretch when the Astros needed him most, and was an exciting, memorable late-season regular season game.
- Game 5 at Philadelphia of the 2022 World Series. Verlander clearly did not have his best stuff, but he worked around several hitters and left having pitched five innings with four hits, four walks but only one run. It would be his last appearance in Astros uniform, as it turns out. It is sad to see him go, but Jim Crane and the Astros will be just fine. Best of luck in New York, JV. You will be missed.
1 Comment
Congrats to Justin Verlander and thank you for contributing to this winning era of Astros baseball.