Subscribe
Follow Us
Justin Verlander had an impressive performance as he gets closer to MLB history after the San Francisco Giants' matchup against the Tampa Bay Rays on Sunday night.
Verlander started on the mound as he lasted seven innings, striking out eight batters while conceding two hits. Tampa Bay had trouble putting pressure on him as he made history on one of the MLB's all-time charts.
With 3,511 strikeouts and counting, Verlander now holds the ninth spot on the list for most strikeouts. He surpassed Walter Johnson, who had 3,510 strikeouts in his career.
How Justin Verlander, Giants played against Rays
Despite Justin Verlander's impressive feat in MLB history, it wasn't enough as the Giants lost 2-1 to the Rays in Game 2 of the three-game set.
It was a low-scoring affair as neither team scored until the sixth innings. San Francisco put the first run on the board after Christian Koss got an RBI single to left field, driving Willy Adames to home plate.
That ended up being the lone run the Giants scored as the Rays scored the last two. Both of their runs took place in the eighth inning, which saw Yandy Diaz and Brandon Lowe provide RBI singles to take the lead for good. Unfortunately, the hosts couldn't recover or find a run to tie things up in the final frame.
The Giants' bullpen put up a tough fight despite the loss, especially Verlander. They only conceded six hits after 33 at-bats, but two of his hits ended up being crucial to Tampa Bay taking the win. As for San Francisco, they landed seven hits after 34 at-bats, but didn't get the big plays they needed to score more runs.
San Francisco fell to a 59-64 record on the season, holding the fourth spot of the NL West Division standings. They are 0.5 games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and 10 games behind the San Diego Padres.
The Giants will hope to end their seven-game losing skid in their series finale against the Rays. The contest will take place on Aug. 17 at 4:05 p.m. ET.
