Houston Astros Starting Pitching Justin Verlander made history in Houston’s 6-3 win on the road against the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. With a strikeout in the bottom of the second inning against Abraham Toro, Verlander passed Greg Maddux for 10th place on the all-time strikeouts list with 3,372 punchouts. Verlander dazzled last night in Oakland as he tossed six innings and surrendered one earned run while striking out a season-high nine batters.
Verlander has been pitching well since making his season debut on April 19. His 2024 regular season got started late due to shoulder soreness he experienced in Spring Training. He entered Friday’s start coming off a sub-par outing last week at home against the Milwaukee Brewers. He surrendered four earned runs while only pitching 4.2 innings.
Verlander is 3-2 this season with an ERA of 3.60. Will Verlander be able to carry his momentum from Friday night into his next start?
Justin Verlander Career Summary
Justin Verlander passes Greg Maddux for 10th place all time in strikeouts! pic.twitter.com/ONlnAB50m1
— MLB (@MLB) May 25, 2024
Verlander is one of the best pitchers in Major League Baseball history and continues to dominate the league even at the age of 41. His career achievements are countless. He won the American League MVP Award in 2011, is a nine-time MLB All-Star, and a three-time CY Young Award winner(2011, 2019, 2022), in addition to a whole host of other career accolades.
Verlander has a career record of 260-143 with an ERA of 3.24.
Houston Astros Career Summary
The Houston Astros(23-28) are playing much better as of late after getting off to a very slow start during the 2024 regular season. They have won 12 of their last 15 games and now sit in third place in the American League West and 4.5 games back of the third and final AL Wild Card spot.
This slow start to the season was not due to the Houston Astros offense. They are leading the league in batting average and home runs, and are fifth in OBP, and fourth in Slugging Percentage. Houston’s pitching staff is what has held them back thus far this season, and was the main factor to them being 12 games below .5oo earlier this season.
The Houston Astros pitching staff is 26th in ERA, has surrendered the seventh-most home runs, and is 22nd in opposing batting average.
When Will Justin Verlander Take The Mound Next?
The next scheduled start for Verlander is on Thursday, May 30, on the road against the AL-West leading Seattle Mariners. This will be the first time this season Verlander will face the Mariners.
The Houston Astros look to continue their winning ways with two more games against the Athletics before heading up to Seattle for a four-game set against the Mariners that begins on Monday.
About The Author
Justin has always loved sports. He has previously written for Sports Illustrated and 247Sports. He is always willing to talk football (NFL or college) and basketball, whether it’s on the women’s or men’s side, college or pro! Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy
