Justin Verlander

2022 - 10 - 19

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The New York Times"

ALCS: Justin Verlander Dominates for Astros in Win Over Yankees (The New York Times)

Justin Verlander struck out 11 batters and Houston beat up on the Yankees' bullpen in a convincing Game 1 victory.

But Taillon and the Yankees couldn’t outlast Verlander and the Astros. The Yankees injected drama in the eighth inning when Rizzo homered off the right-handed reliever Rafael Montero. That was all the Yankees could muster off Verlander, whose command improved to the point that he was hitting the edges of the strike zone with ease in the later innings. But third baseman Josh Donaldson and designated hitter Matt Carpenter each struck out — Carpenter looking at a called strike he disagreed with — to end the threat. So after the challenge of Verlander in Game 1, the Yankees get the left-handed Valdez, who went 17-6 with a 2.82 E.R.A. After first baseman Anthony Rizzo walked and left fielder Giancarlo Stanton doubled in the third inning, the Yankees had a fruitful chance with one out. In the Yankees’ 4-2 loss in extra innings in Game 2 against Cleveland, he pitched the 10th inning in relief and coughed up two runs on three hits. His only appearance in the previous round — his first ever postseason outing and also his first career relief appearance — was disastrous. In their first crack at Verlander, the Yankees held their own but couldn’t quite topple him. In the bottom half of the sixth inning, though, Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel and center fielder Chas McCormick each slammed solo home runs off the Yankees right-handed reliever Clarke Schmidt. HOUSTON — The path to the World Series for the Yankees goes not only through the Houston Astros but specifically their ace, Justin Verlander. By tabbing the right-hander Verlander for Game 1 of the best-of-seven A.L.

Astros' Justin Verlander finds groove, handles Yankees in ALCS ... (The Washington Post)

Houston's ace, the AL Cy Young favorite, found his form after a slow start and kept the Yankees at bay in an ALCS-opening 4-2 win.

Schmidt was on the mound when Cleveland charged back to beat the Yankees in Game 3 of the division series, too. The Yankees believe the Astros stole signs illegally on their way to a seven-game victory over them in the 2017 ALCS and that Aaron Judge, not José Altuve, was the rightful MVP that year because of it. The Yankees didn’t score again that inning, but by the time it was over, Verlander — missing with his fastballs up and losing sliders in the strike zone — had thrown 45 pitches. “I was able to, particularly the slider, make some adjustments and kind of get that pitch where I wanted it to be,” he said. When he tried to throw a third breaking ball, he hung a slider up and in that Gurriel flicked over the left field wall to give Houston a 2-1 lead. The Yankees turned to rookie Clarke Schmidt to keep the Astros down. Righty Harrison Bader hit his fourth home run in six postseason games to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead in the second. Yankees starter Jameson Taillon was out of the game by the fifth. He knew not trying to do too much did not mean not trying to do anything at all. And because he had allowed just one run on three hits through six, homers from Yuli Gurriel and Chas McCormick in the bottom of that inning were all Houston needed to grab the early advantage in their sixth straight trip to the ALCS. His 11 strikeouts on the night marked the eighth double-digit postseason performance of his career, the most ever. “When he’s down and out and it looks like you got him in trouble, this guy, he can dial it up.”

Who has the most postseason strikeouts in MLB history? Justin ... (Sporting News)

Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw have been jockeying to stay on top of the leaderboard, but only one of them is still pitching in the 2022 playoffs.

Justin Verlander has 219 career playoff strikeouts in 197 2/3 innings pitched. He struck out six straight Yankees on Wednesday to tie the record. The 39-year-old ace enjoyed a Fountain of Youth-type season in 2022 (1.75 ERA, 185 strikeouts to 29 walks in 175 innings) after missing almost all of the past two seasons to an elbow injury that required Tommy John surgery. Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw have been jockeying to stay on top of the leaderboard, but only one of them is still pitching in the 2022 playoffs. 197 2/3 He looked dominant against the Yankees' lineup.

JV offers master class in adjustments, crafts gem (MLB.com)

HOUSTON -- Justin Verlander twirled his right hand near his waist in a circular motion as he stared down Martín Maldonado with a full count against what ...

So I was really able to lean on it later in the game and obviously have some success with it.” “When he got the strikeout to Donaldson, boy, that was huge. Box 4100","city":"Seattle","state":"Washington","stateAbbrev":"WA","postalCode":"98104","defaultCoordinates":{"latitude":47.591333,"longitude":-122.33251},"country":"USA","phone":"(206) 346-4000"},"timeZone":{"id":"America/Los_Angeles","offset":-7,"tz":"PDT"},"active":true},"springVenue":{"id":2530,"link":"/api/v1/venues/2530"},"teamCode":"sea","fileCode":"sea","abbreviation":"SEA","teamName":"Mariners","locationName":"Seattle","firstYearOfPlay":"1977","league":{"id":103,"name":"American League","link":"/api/v1/league/103"},"division":{"id":200,"name":"American League West","link":"/api/v1/divisions/200"},"sport":{"id":1,"link":"/api/v1/sports/1","name":"Major League Baseball"},"shortName":"Seattle","franchiseName":"Seattle","clubName":"Mariners","active":true},{"springLeague":{"id":114,"name":"Cactus League","link":"/api/v1/league/114","abbreviation":"CL"},"allStarStatus":"N","id":137,"name":"San Francisco Giants","link":"/api/v1/teams/137","season":2022,"venue":{"id":2395,"name":"Oracle Park","link":"/api/v1/venues/2395","location":{"address1":"24 Willie Mays Plaza","city":"San Francisco","state":"California","stateAbbrev":"CA","postalCode":"94107","defaultCoordinates":{"latitude":37.778383,"longitude":-122.389448},"country":"USA","phone":"(415) 972-2000"},"timeZone":{"id":"America/Los_Angeles","offset":-7,"tz":"PDT"},"active":true},"springVenue":{"id":2532,"link":"/api/v1/venues/2532"},"teamCode":"sfn","fileCode":"sf","abbreviation":"SF","teamName":"Giants","locationName":"San Francisco","firstYearOfPlay":"1883","league":{"id":104,"name":"National League","link":"/api/v1/league/104"},"division":{"id":203,"name":"National League West","link":"/api/v1/divisions/203"},"sport":{"id":1,"link":"/api/v1/sports/1","name":"Major League Baseball"},"shortName":"San Francisco","franchiseName":"San Francisco","clubName":"Giants","active":true},{"springLeague":{"id":115,"name":"Grapefruit League","link":"/api/v1/league/115","abbreviation":"GL"},"allStarStatus":"N","id":138,"name":"St. And then the strikeout to Carpenter, he dialed it up. Yet, all of a sudden, something clicked and Verlander struck out Josh Donaldson and Carpenter to escape the jam. Yet the way Verlander finished the outing was a drastic contrast to how he began it. “So I really just try to keep an even flow and just keep executing pitches the way I have been because I'm in a rhythm.” Louis","clubName":"Cardinals","active":true},{"springLeague":{"id":115,"name":"Grapefruit League","link":"/api/v1/league/115","abbreviation":"GL"},"allStarStatus":"N","id":139,"name":"Tampa Bay Rays","link":"/api/v1/teams/139","season":2022,"venue":{"id":12,"name":"Tropicana Field","link":"/api/v1/venues/12","location":{"address1":"One Tropicana Drive","city":"St. Petersburg","state":"Florida","stateAbbrev":"FL","postalCode":"33705","defaultCoordinates":{"latitude":27.767778,"longitude":-82.6525},"country":"USA","phone":"(727) 825-3137"},"timeZone":{"id":"America/New_York","offset":-4,"tz":"EDT"},"active":true},"springVenue":{"id":2534,"link":"/api/v1/venues/2534"},"teamCode":"tba","fileCode":"tb","abbreviation":"TB","teamName":"Rays","locationName":"St. Louis","firstYearOfPlay":"1892","league":{"id":104,"name":"National League","link":"/api/v1/league/104"},"division":{"id":205,"name":"National League Central","link":"/api/v1/divisions/205"},"sport":{"id":1,"link":"/api/v1/sports/1","name":"Major League Baseball"},"shortName":"St. Louis","state":"Missouri","stateAbbrev":"MO","postalCode":"63102","defaultCoordinates":{"latitude":38.62256667,"longitude":-90.19286667},"country":"USA","phone":"(314) 345-9600"},"timeZone":{"id":"America/Chicago","offset":-5,"tz":"CDT"},"active":true},"springVenue":{"id":2520,"link":"/api/v1/venues/2520"},"teamCode":"sln","fileCode":"stl","abbreviation":"STL","teamName":"Cardinals","locationName":"St. And after a brief mound visit to state his case, Verlander emphatically closed the book.

Justin Verlander fans 11 to lead Astros over Yankees in ALCS (Los Angeles Times)

Justin Verlander struck out 11 in six strong innings to power the Houston Astros to a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees in their ALCS opener.

Stanton played left field with Aaron Hicks out for the rest of the postseason with a sprained knee he sustained in an outfield collision Tuesday. There were no baserunners after the third inning as Verlander retired 11 batters in a row with nine strikeouts. Those were the first of six consecutive strikeouts for Verlander, which matched a postseason record. The Astros had a few days off after eliminating Seattle on Saturday. 16 because of a shoulder injury that kept him off the Division Series roster. Peña, whose 18th-inning home run completed a sweep of the Mariners in the ALDS, belted a homer off Frankie Montas to start the seventh and extend the lead to 4-1.

Verlander Ks 11 to lead Astros over Yankees in ALCS (TSN)

HOUSTON (AP) — Justin Verlander struck out 11 in six strong innings and Yuli Gurriel, Chas McCormick and Jeremy Peña all homered to power the Houston Astros to a 4-2 win over the New York Yankees in their AL Championship Series opener Wednesday night.

Stanton played left field with Aaron Hicks sidelined for the rest of the postseason with a sprained knee he sustained in an outfield collision Tuesday. “Every time I get out there, he looks further and further (away),” the 60-year-old Clemens said. “Then from there, that kind of mentality, just keep making your pitches and a couple adjustments that I was able to make fairly quickly on the off-speed stuff really paid off.” Those were the first of six consecutive strikeouts for Verlander, which matched a postseason record. Verlander didn’t allow a baserunner after the third inning, retiring his last 11 batters with nine strikeouts. The Astros had a few days off after eliminating Seattle on Saturday. Peña, whose 18th-inning home run completed a sweep of the Mariners in the ALDS, belted a homer off Frankie Montas to start the seventh and extend the lead to 4-1. 16 because of a shoulder injury that kept him off the Division Series roster. Yuli Gurriel launched a tiebreaking homer for Houston in the sixth. So we’ve got to find a way to break through against them.” “As the game’s going along, you just gain more confidence as you start making better pitches,” Verlander said. “Outstanding starting pitching, but can shorten the game with the best of ’em.

Astros ace Justin Verlander sets MLB records in Game 1 of ALCS (Chron)

Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander began to find his groove in the middle innings against the New York Yankees.

Verlander surpassed Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw for the top spot on the all-time postseason strikeout list in the top of the fourth, as he struck out the side to bring his career total to 215. [Houston Astros](https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/) ace [Justin Verlander](https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/Astros-Justin-Verlander-39-age-pitches-per-out-17284994.php) at least momentarily broke out of a slump against the [New York Yankees](https://www.chron.com/sports/astros/article/live-astros-yankees-game-1-17520477.php) in Game 1 of the ALCS on Wednesday, breaking an MLB record in the process.

Astros' Justin Verlander: Stellar performance in Game 1 (CBSSports.com)

Verlander earned the win during Game 1 of the ALCS in six innings of work, allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out 11 in the 4-2 win ...

Astros Ace Justin Verlander Plans On Pitching 'Until They Rip The ... (Sports Illustrated)

Justin Verlander is a Cy Young favorite at age 39. The Astros' Game 1 starter in the ALCS plans on pitching into his 40s.

“We have such a short window as athletes to play the game that really has defined my life up to this point, up until I got married and had my daughter,” Verlander said. “I would never want to look back with regret that I didn't find out how far I could take this. But as good as he was in the regular season, Verlander struggled in his first postseason start against the Mariners on Oct. I don't care how great you are or what your track record says, that's why you play the game. “I love the game. With 250 wins on the horizon and 3,000 strikeouts already surpassed, the right-hander said past greats motivate him to continue his career.

MLB playoffs: Astros slug three homers off Yankees bullpen, take ... (Yahoo Canada Sports)

The Astros have felled the Yankees in their last two ALCS appearances, and they took the first step toward winning a third in Game 1.

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Justin Verlander

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