Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander has surpassed several legends in his quest for 300 career wins.

“Justin Verlander's win last night was the 252nd of his career, moving him past Bob Gibson, CC Sabathia, and Al Spalding. His next win will tie him with Carl Hubbell. 300 is coming into clearer focus, and he would almost certainly be the last to reach that benchmark,” ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted on Wednesday.

Although Verlander (8-6) earned his 252nd career win in the Astros' 12-5 drubbing of the Miami Marlins, he gave up nine hits and two walks in five innings on the mound.

Fortunately, Verlander had plenty of support on offense. Alex Bregman, Kyle Tucker, and Chas McCormick all went yard in the first inning. Their home runs helped Houston build a lead it never relinquished.

The Astros' bullpen also helped keep the Marlins at bay in the game's final four innings. Miami couldn't get a hit off Kendall Graveman, Rafael Montero, Ryne Stanek, and Parker Mushinski as it dropped its fifth game in its last 10 outings.

Verlander acknowledged he had a bad day at the office in earning his 252nd career win.

“It felt nice to have a lead to work with. Obviously, quite a difficult day. You would like for things to be easy when the guys give you a lead early, but just wasn't in the cards today,” Verlander said.

Justin Verlander recently hinted at prolonging his 19-year MLB career after his “invigorating” return to the Astros this season. He also said he has “moved on” from his short eight-month tenure with the New York Mets.

With those in mind, the three-time AL Cy Young Award winner's quest for 300 wins and baseball immortality are still on the horizon.