Verlander becomes sixth hurler with 3 no-hitters
'It's elation,' Astros ace says after pitching second no-no in Toronto
TORONTO -- Justin Verlander had felt this feeling before -- in the very same building, in fact. When the final out was made, capping his third-career no-hitter in Houston's 2-0 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday, he raised his arms skyward, let a smile spread across his face and awaited a mob scene with his teammates.
In 2011, Verlander stood on the same Rogers Centre turf celebrating the same thing. With Sunday¡¯s no-no, he became the third pitcher to throw multiple no-hitters against the same team -- and the first to throw two in the same ballpark as a visitor. As a Tiger, Verlander¡¯s first no-hitter came in 2007 at Comerica Park against the Brewers.
With his third no-hitter, Verlander joined Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Bob Feller, Larry Corcoran and Cy Young as the sixth pitcher ever to throw three or more in their careers. It¡¯s a feat that was not lost on the 36-year-old ace.
¡°I¡¯d be lying if I said I didn¡¯t know that,¡± said Verlander, who has twice lost a no-hitter in the ninth inning. ¡°Definitely a big hurdle to get over, and a special moment for me.¡±
This special moment is one of many threads woven into the tapestry of Verlander¡¯s illustrious career, in which he has evolved and adapted to remain one of the game¡¯s best. When he thinks about what has happened since the 2011 season -- an MVP, injury woes, a World Series ring -- Verlander realizes how much has changed.
¡°The last one, 2011, was kind of the height of my pitching as a young man,¡± he said. ¡°You know, ¡¯11 and ¡¯12 went well, then ¡¯13 and ¡¯14 I had some injuries plague me a bit. The process of coming back is not easy. ¡ [My family] knows how hard I work behind the scenes, and I think that¡¯s one of the things that they¡¯re most proud of.¡±
Astros catcher Robinson Chirinos gets an up-close look at Verlander¡¯s work ethic, and he noted after the game that Verlander is still ¡°getting better and better.¡±
Chirinos knew Sunday could be special for Verlander in the pregame bullpen, when Verlander¡¯s fastball had extra life on it.
¡°I remember walking back to the dugout to tell JV, ¡®Man, your fastball is unbelievable today,¡¯¡± said Chirinos, who caught his first no-hitter since the Venezuelan Winter League in 2011.
Sure enough, the fastball zipped by Blue Jays hitters all day. Verlander collected a whopping 15 swinging strikes on his four-seamer (among 23 total), which ranged from 93 to 97 mph. His 14 K's gave him a Majors-high 257 this season and made him the fifth pitcher to top 250 five times in his career.
But the lively heaters got him in a bit of trouble in the first inning, resulting in a five-pitch walk to Cavan Biggio, the second batter of the game. That was the only blemish in Verlander¡¯s line, which included only one batted ball exceeding 100 mph in exit velocity.
As the game wore on, one problem persisted: The Astros weren¡¯t providing any run support for Verlander. Through eight innings, Houston had managed just five baserunners, and the game remained in a scoreless tie.
Verlander polished off the eighth at 106 pitches. At that point, he talked to manager AJ Hinch -- the first and only time they spoke during the game -- about pitch count and strategy. Verlander knew the ninth was almost certainly his last inning, which meant the Astros needed to score in the top half to give him a chance at history.
So that¡¯s what they did.
With two outs, Abraham Toro hammered a 1-1 fastball over the left-field wall. It was all the offense Verlander needed, and the timing couldn¡¯t have been better.
All that remained was a clean ninth for Verlander. He started by coaxing Brandon Drury into a groundout. Up next was Reese McGuire, who swung through a slider for a strikeout. Finally, Toronto¡¯s hot-hitting Bo Bichette stepped in.
Bichette, who was 7 when Verlander debuted in 2005, was one of six Blue Jays hitters who¡¯d never faced Verlander. He¡¯d struck out twice and grounded out once, but he saved his best at-bat for last.
He worked the count full, fouling off two pitches and leaving a slider well out of the zone that Verlander hoped he might chase.
¡°I wanted to get him,¡± Bichette said. ¡°I thought I was seeing the ball really, really well in the last at-bat. I made some good adjustments. I honestly thought I was going to get him.¡±
Instead, Bichette grounded a ball hard to Toro at third, who flipped it over to first in time for the final out. Then the celebration began.
¡°It¡¯s elation,¡± Verlander said. ¡°It¡¯s so cool to be able to have everybody jumping up and down and have everybody else that excited.¡±
Houston has two of the four no-hitters thrown this season. On Aug. 3, Aaron Sanchez (six innings), Will Harris (one), Joe Biagini (one) and Chris Devenski (one) capped off the second combined no-no in franchise history.