YourNNY Your Source for News & Sports in Northern New York

MLB playoffs: Astros’ Justin Verlander in Hall of Fame form at right time

In case there was any confusion, Justin Verlander made quite the statement Saturday afternoon regarding his standing among the game’s top pitchers. Verlander, who will turn 41 in the spring, continues to turn back the clock in his 18th MLB season. The three-time Cy Young award winner turned in a pair of clutch starts to close the regular season—in which he allowed just one earned run across 13 innings — and in Saturday’s ALDS opener against the Minnesota Twins, Verlander shined again. He tossed six scoreless frames across 93 pitches, adding six strikeouts on the evening. Houston’s bullpen struggled after Verlander’s departure but held on in a 6-4 victory, giving Verlander his 17th career postseason win. It wasn’t smooth sailing for Verlander out of the gates against a potent Twins lineup. He needed 23 pitches to get out of the first inning, struggling to find his command as he allowed a walk and a single to start the frame. A double-play during the game’s third at-bat changed the course of Verlander’s outing.He escaped the first and found a serious groove as Game 1 hit the middle innings, with the top half of the third, fourth and fifth innings ending via strikeout. Verlander spent much of 2023 as more of a contact-oriented pitcher compared to his previous seasons. His high-whiff tendencies returned Saturday. “What feels really good is when you start off struggling and you make some adjustments and you find it,” Verlander said postgame. “The third, fourth and fifth, obviously, I was able to have some things click and make some better pitches and get some easier outs. That felt great.”A look behind the hood at Verlander’s outing in Game 1 should provide further encouragement for the postseason ahead. Verlander tallied 14 swinging strikes in Saturday’s 93 pitches, and his off-speed stuff was particularly sharp. Minnesota failed to generate a single hit on Verlander’s 25 sliders, and Verlander added a half-dozen called strikes with his curveball. The Twins’ bats were out of rhythm and ahead on off-speed offerings throughout Verlander’s start. What is known as one of baseball’s leading offenses was reduced to whiffs and weak contact throughout Verlander’s final five innings. Verlander is emerging as something of a finesse pitcher in his age-40 season, with the velocity on his fastball at least a couple of ticks down from his peak in both Detroit and Houston. But, in true Hall of Fame fashion, Verlander doesn’t exactly seem perturbed by a dampened radar gun. Instead, he is reinventing himself on the fly, relying on spin, smarts and a fountain of experience. The Twins couldn’t solve Verlander’s riddle on Saturday. Don’t expect that to be an isolated incident across the 2023 postseason. “I guess you just adapt and do whatever you can to be successful,” Verlander said. “In my career, I’ve changed drastically multiple times.”The Astros will look to seize a 2-0 ALDS lead against Minnesota on Sunday following Verlander’s brilliance to begin the weekend. Left-hander and 2022 World Series hero Framber Valdez will take the mound for Houston, with first pitch slated for 7:03 p.m. CT.

HOUSTON —

In case there was any confusion, Justin Verlander made quite the statement Saturday afternoon regarding his standing among the game’s top pitchers.

Verlander, who will turn 41 in the spring, continues to turn back the clock in his 18th MLB season. The three-time Cy Young award winner turned in a pair of clutch starts to close the regular season—in which he allowed just one earned run across 13 innings — and in Saturday’s ALDS opener against the Minnesota Twins, Verlander shined again. He tossed six scoreless frames across 93 pitches, adding six strikeouts on the evening. Houston’s bullpen struggled after Verlander’s departure but held on in a 6-4 victory, giving Verlander his 17th career postseason win.

It wasn’t smooth sailing for Verlander out of the gates against a potent Twins lineup. He needed 23 pitches to get out of the first inning, struggling to find his command as he allowed a walk and a single to start the frame. A double-play during the game’s third at-bat changed the course of Verlander’s outing.

He escaped the first and found a serious groove as Game 1 hit the middle innings, with the top half of the third, fourth and fifth innings ending via strikeout. Verlander spent much of 2023 as more of a contact-oriented pitcher compared to his previous seasons. His high-whiff tendencies returned Saturday.

“What feels really good is when you start off struggling and you make some adjustments and you find it,” Verlander said postgame. “The third, fourth and fifth, obviously, I was able to have some things click and make some better pitches and get some easier outs. That felt great.”

A look behind the hood at Verlander’s outing in Game 1 should provide further encouragement for the postseason ahead. Verlander tallied 14 swinging strikes in Saturday’s 93 pitches, and his off-speed stuff was particularly sharp. Minnesota failed to generate a single hit on Verlander’s 25 sliders, and Verlander added a half-dozen called strikes with his curveball. The Twins’ bats were out of rhythm and ahead on off-speed offerings throughout Verlander’s start. What is known as one of baseball’s leading offenses was reduced to whiffs and weak contact throughout Verlander’s final five innings.

Verlander is emerging as something of a finesse pitcher in his age-40 season, with the velocity on his fastball at least a couple of ticks down from his peak in both Detroit and Houston. But, in true Hall of Fame fashion, Verlander doesn’t exactly seem perturbed by a dampened radar gun. Instead, he is reinventing himself on the fly, relying on spin, smarts and a fountain of experience. The Twins couldn’t solve Verlander’s riddle on Saturday. Don’t expect that to be an isolated incident across the 2023 postseason.

“I guess you just adapt and do whatever you can to be successful,” Verlander said. “In my career, I’ve changed drastically multiple times.”

The Astros will look to seize a 2-0 ALDS lead against Minnesota on Sunday following Verlander’s brilliance to begin the weekend. Left-hander and 2022 World Series hero Framber Valdez will take the mound for Houston, with first pitch slated for 7:03 p.m. CT.