Houston Astros veteran starter Justin Verlander showed once again that he's still one of the top pitchers in the MLB after an impeccable performance against the Seattle Mariners on Monday.
The Astros took a 5-0 lead in the game thanks to some great batting and Verlander's eight-inning shut-out of the Mariners. MLB analyst Jon Morosi hailed the 40-year-old as Hall of Fame material after his latest showing.
Verlander has had an illustrious career in the MLB since making his debut for the Detroit Tigers in 2005. He went on to play for the Astros and New York Mets before returning to the Houston side in the middle of the season this year.
The veteran has won two World Series titles and three Cy Young awards along with several other individual accolades over his career.
As he faces the twilight of an amazing career, Verlander has proved once again that he can deliver when needed. The Astros are in a tight position with no room for error as they head into the final week of the regular season with very little hope of making the postseason.
In the high-pressure environment at the start of the game, very few pitchers can deliver what he did for his team, earning the awe of one MLB analyst in particular:
"A future Hall of Famer because of nights like this," wrote Morosi on Twitter.
Justin Verlander shines as Yordan Alvarez makes Astros history with 30th HR of the season
Justin Verlander pitched eight innings and gave up only two hits, shutting out the Seattle Mariners' offense to help his team to a win. The Houston Astros' bats took care of the rest, with three RBIs in the second innings before Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker both hit homers to increase the lead.
It marked Alvarez's 30th home run of the season, making him only the second player in franchise history to record 30-plus homers in three consecutive seasons.
While it is very late in the season, the Astros can mathematically still make the playoffs but it would take a miracle to do so. It will be interesting to see if they provide a late twist to the end of their largely disappointing MLB season.