CLEVELAND -- Where Astros pitcher Justin Verlander goes from here remains about as uncertain as the Ohio weather. He¡¯s not sure if he¡¯ll be on Houston¡¯s playoff roster -- a thought that seemed unfathomable at the start of the season -- and he¡¯s not sure which uniform he will put on next year at 42 years old.

There¡¯s an outside possibility Saturday¡¯s 4-3 win over the Guardians at Progressive Field was the final time he pitched in an Astros uniform, which would bring a close to a remarkable run in Houston. Verlander isn¡¯t about to get sentimental or look that far ahead, instead choosing to focus on his positive outing in Cleveland.

¡°It¡¯s probably the best I felt since coming back [from a neck injury] so far,¡± Verlander said. ¡°It¡¯s nice to end on a strong note.¡±

Verlander, making his 526th career start (130th with the Astros), gave up a two-run homer in the first inning to Cleveland slugger Jos¨¦ Ram¨ªrez, who added a sac fly in the third inning. He finished with six innings and three runs allowed, giving him a 5.48 ERA in 90 1/3 innings pitched this season.

¡°I thought he threw the ball really, really well,¡± Astros manager Joe Espada said. ¡°He got to 97 [mph] against Ram¨ªrez, digging deep there in one at-bat. He made some good pitches. I thought he got those guys off balance. A lot of their singles were kind of soft and he made some really good pitches.

¡°I thought today he went out there with a purpose. It¡¯s not like he hasn¡¯t been going with a purpose, but I thought there was some intention there to show he can really deliver, and he did.¡±

Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, who went 1-for-8 against Verlander in his 10-year playing career, thought he was at the top of his game. Verlander improved to 24-24 in his career against Cleveland.

¡°That's how he's always been his whole career,¡± Vogt said. ¡°He kind of settles in the first couple innings and then it just starts to ramp up. We got to him. Josey hit the homer. We were able to manufacture a run off of him. Just not much else outside of that."

The Astros have a strong quartet of starting pitchers to carry them into the postseason. Framber Valdez, Hunter Brown and Yusei Kikuchi will likely start, in some order, next week¡¯s best-of-three Wild Card Series against either the Tigers or the Royals. Then there¡¯s Ronel Blanco, who¡¯s second in the AL in ERA (2.80) and leads MLB in opponents¡¯ batting average (.190).

It¡¯s hard to imagine a scenario in which Verlander would get a postseason start over any of those four arms, and the Astros are unlikely to use him in relief in the postseason. Verlander said any talk about his October role will be had at a later date.

¡°Never know what¡¯s going to happen,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve got some work to do this offseason personally and that¡¯s going to happen after whatever happens in the playoffs. That¡¯s kind of where my focus is at, and if I end up back here, great. Love Houston, love the people, love my teammates. I¡¯ve had an incredible run. If not, tip your cap and say, ¡®Thank you for an incredible journey.'¡±

Verlander missed two and a half months with his neck injury and has struggled with his mechanics in seven starts since returning from the IL on Aug. 21, admitting last week he came back too quickly. He also had to push himself. The season was winding down and he felt he owed it to himself to find out where he was at.

Verlander posted an 8.10 ERA in 33 1/3 innings and didn¡¯t have a quality start in that stretch until Saturday¡¯s outing against the Guardians. He said it¡¯s the best he¡¯s felt and that he wishes it wasn¡¯t the end of the season. He has something to build on and take with him to whatever is next.

¡°I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen in the playoffs,¡± Verlander said. ¡°I¡¯m going to work as hard as I can to possibly figure [his mechanics] out. Usually there¡¯s something I can get to click and I¡¯m like, ¡®Alright, that¡¯s it,¡¯ but this injury has been a little different than that. It¡¯s been a little off and there¡¯s been nothing to make it click. It¡¯s been inching in the right direction. This is nice to build off of.¡±