Houston Astros pitcher Justin Verlander knows that there was always a chance his team wouldn't be returning to the World Series this year. But now that it's a reality, it doesn't mean it's easier for him to take.

The Astros didn't win a single home game against the Texas Rangers in the ALCS, and their season is now over. For Verlander, the truth hurts.

“Obviously we would have liked to get it done here, and there’s no simple answer as to why we didn’t play great at home,” Verlander said, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic. “It just stinks. Obviously, we would have liked to have it go different.”

Astros' dynasty ends?

Houston has had a phenomenal run in the last decade. The Astros not only won the 2022 World Series, but they took home the championship in 2017 as well. The Astros have made the American League playoffs every year since 2016 and the ALCS in seven straight seasons.

Verlander has had a huge hand in the Astros' success. He helped the Astros win the World Series both times in the last six years and was traded back to Houston at the trade deadline this year from the New York Mets. The veteran hurler posted his sixth scoreless start of his postseason career in a game against Minnesota in the ALDS earlier in the playoffs. That's tied with Tom Glavine and Madison Bumgarner for the most in MLB history, per si.com.

Verlander's thrown more than 200 innings of October playoff baseball, which is a truly staggering statistic. In the end, it wasn't enough to get Houston back to where they want to be: the World Series.

The veteran Verlander is 40 years old. He knows that his window is closing to get another World Series championship. In fact, it may have just passed him by. But if this is the end, Verlander's certainly made his lasting mark on Major League Baseball.