Justin Verlander just keeps on adding to his already Hall-of-Fame-worthy career. In his latest show of defiance against Father Time, Verlander took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning of the Houston Astros' 4-2 victory over the Minnesota Twins at home Tuesday night. Verlander, however, was pulled after 91 pitches, thus losing on a chance to complete a no-bid feat.
While Astros fans might not have loved the way Justin Verlander ended, the 39-year-old ace appears to have zero problems at all with Houston's decision to replace him in the sixth inning on the mound with Ryne Stanek.
Via Brian McTaggart of MLB.com: “It was a pretty easy conversation,” Verlander said of coming out after 91 pitches/6 no-hit innings.”
Justin Verlander has simply been lights out for the Astros this season. He has not shown any significant signs of slowing down this year, entering the Twins game with a 15-3 record and a 1.95 ERA that leads all qualified pitchers in Major League Baseball this season. That's not to mention his 0.88 WHIP prior to taking care of business against Minnesota.
Perhaps also helping Verlander accept Houston's decision is the fact that he already has three no-hitters in his career.
Article Continues BelowFortunately for Verlander and the Astros, the team's bullpen did not allow the ace's masterpiece to go to waste. Hector Neris allowed two earned runs on three hits later on, but Bryan Abreu was able to close it all out with a save.
Via Stats & STATS:
“Today is the 4th time in MLB this year a starter (Justin Verlander) was pulled after 6.0+ no-hit IP and the first reliever then gave up a hit to the first batter he faced (also SD on April 7 & 8, CWS on August 12). That had happened 4 times over the previous 33 seasons combined.”