Verlander, the Astros’ ace
Much will depend on the performance in the opener against the surprising Philadelphia Philies of veteran starter Justin Verlander, the Astros’ ace of the rotation who will also have an unbeatable opportunity to earn his first Fall Classic victory.
Verlander, a champion with Houston in 2017, has a 0-6 record with 5.68 ERA in seven starts on baseball’s biggest stage on the planet, including an 0-2 mark with 5.73 earned runs allowed in the World Series that Houston lost in 2019.
“Yeah, I’m very excited and motivated,” Verlander said last Sunday after the Astros clinched the American League crown to punch their fourth World Series ticket in six years. “We’ve worked all year to get to this point.
“I’ve been working and feeling better with my mechanics after the terrible outing I had in the Divisional Series,” he added. “I’m motivated to come back and try to give my team a chance to win the championship.”
Verlander had his worst postseason outing in the second round of the playoffs against the Seattle Mariners. So did the first two innings against the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
But from the third inning on, Verlander was impassable. He looked like the pitcher who went 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA and was the favorite to win the American League Cy Young trophy.
The right-hander finished that day last week with 11 batters retired in a row and overall signed 11 of the 17 strikeouts Astros pitchers handed out to the Yankees.
Verlander was confirmed as the starter Friday to face Aaron Nola for Philadelphia. The 39-year-old will make his 12th Game 1 start in a postseason series. He has won six playoff series openers.
“It’s always good to start the series at home by winning and more so right now when we want to keep the good momentum going,” Verlander said. “It will be good to get back to pitching in rhythm after I’ve had a few days off. But in playoffs we all have to be at our best.”
The most recent occasion Verlander pitched was Game 1 against the Yankees last Oct. 19. It will be nine days before the start of the Fall Classic.
VERLANDER IN WORLD SERIES…
In seven World Series starts, the Astros ace has never won a game. He is 0-6, 5.78 ERA in 38 innings pitched, with 39 strikeouts, 14 walks, 1.29 WHIP and nine home runs allowed.
2006, Game 1 against the St. Louis Cardinals pitched six innings, six hits, three runs on 101 pitches.
