Justin Verlander's Stats vs Yankees: How Does the Astros' Ace Stack Up Against the Bronx Bombers?

It seems Justin Verlander never heard the old adage - "Father Time is undefeated."

The 39-year-old Houston Astros superstar is coming off one of the best seasons of his illustrious career.

During the 2022 regular season, Verlander posted an 18-4 record with an astonishing 1.75 ERA, while recording 185 strikeouts.

According to Sports Betting Dime, Justin Verlander is the heavy favorite to win his third career Cy Young Award.

"Yankees are chugging beers and champagne in their clubhouse, celebrating. 24 hours from right now, they will face Cy Young favorite Justin Verlander in a stadium over 1,600 miles away." - Chris Gordy

What may be the most impressive detail about Verlander's season is the fact that he delivered this level of production while coming off of Tommy John Surgery. Ordinarily, pitchers will see a dip in their pitch velocity, but Justin Verlander picked up right where he left off prior to the injury.

"Justin Verlander is a baseball marvel: from Rookie of the Year in '06 to Cy Young in '11, to looking washed in '14, to finding his footing again, to re-inventing with the Astros, to Tommy John surgery at 38, to putting up one of his best seasons at 39. A generational star" - Joon Lee

Verlander, who is set to start Game 1 of the ALCS against the New York Yankees, is no stranger to the Bronx Bombers.

Over the course of Verlander's 17-year career, he has matched up with the Yankees on multiple occasions.

In 23 appearances against the Yankees, Verlander owns an ERA of 3.44, and has recorded 138 strikeouts in the process.

Justin Verlander's Postseason Domination

While Verlander has been a two-time (mostly like three-time) Cy Young Award winner due to his success in the regular season, his play in the MLB playoffs is equally as worthy of the Hall of Fame.

His 191.2 career innings pitched in the postseason are more than most pitchers will throw over the course of an entire season. Over the span of those innings, Verlander holds a postseason career ERA of 3.62, with 208 strikeouts. These were his numbers before his ALCS Game 1 start against the Yankees.

Verlander will be looking to add to his Hall of Fame resume by helping the Houston Astros secure their second World Series title with him as a member of the roster.