Houston Astros: Justin Verlander could crush another record in last start
Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander will get his last start of the season and he’s on track to crush another milestone. What’s going on? Let’s look.
The Houston Astros look like they’re ready to do battle in the postseason and are very much ready to take back the crown that they earned back in 2017. The Boston Red Sox took it away from them last season and the team was dealing with a myriad of issues, particularly injuries and they still had an amazing shot to beat them.
Jose Altuve was struggling with a knee injury, he’s had surgery on it and since then he’s back to his old self but that was the difference in last season.
The only positional player that has injury concerns is Carlos Correa who still seems to not be quite right with the numerous amount of injuries that he has sustained this season. If it wasn’t his ribs, it’s his back, which has caused him to make multiple trips to the injured list just because.
Correa has been held out for the rest of the season so that his back can loosen up a bit and that he’d at least be ready to take his position out on the field at shortstop.
Abraham Toro might have to be ready to jump in — AJ Hinch will have a tough decision to add him on the postseason roster — as he’s performed wonderfully while playing in his stead since being called up a few weeks back.
Even Aledmys Diaz could fulfill that role — he has more experience — but the Houston Astros do need to find someone who can jump in and produce if Correa is not going to able to go.
Well, I’ll save this notion for another post but let’s talk about our top ace in Justin Verlander.
He will be partaking in his final start of the season and with most of our pitchers using their last start as a way to tune-up for the postseason, Verlander still has something to shoot for tonight.
Us baseball fans have been keeping a watchful eye on Verlander’s career strikeout count and it’s getting incredibly close to the 3,000-mark.
In fact, at 2,994 strikeouts, JV is just six away from hitting that mark. I have full faith and
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confidence that he will do so today and it’s likely going to be quite early in his start. He and his counterpart — Gerrit Cole — have been dealing and I think we’ll all be celebrating such a successful season he has had, one of the best in years, even at age 36.
Verlander is going to be the likely winner of the AL Cy Young Award and this milestone will be an excellent accentuation point to that.
It’s incredible to know that Verlander will be on the same bump at Angel Stadium of Anaheim where he recorded his 2,500th strikeout just LAST SEASON, occurring May 16, 2018. That’s amazing and it goes to show how truly blessed that we are to have him in our arsenal.
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So here’s to Verlander crushing this record — go Houston Astros!
Verlander has posted a 20-6 record, a 2.53 ERA while tossing 288 strikeouts to 61 earned runs along with an outstanding 3.27 FIP along with a record-breaking 0.81 WHIP through 217.0 innings pitched in 33 starts in 2019.