Justin Verlander, the two-time Cy Young Award-winning 39-year-old right-handed pitcher for the Astros, showed the Texas Rangers he is still a top ace and ran his record to 6-1 on the year after tossing six scoreless innings Houston’s 2-1 win over the Rangers on May 21.
“I wasn’t locked in the whole game but found some pitches when I needed to,” Verlander told MLB.com after the win. “I thought [the Rangers] had a pretty good approach, so I had to make some big pitches and was able to when I needed.”
The win was number 232 for Verlander, who is a shoo-in for the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame (against 130-lifetime losses). The six scoreless innings dropped Verlander’s ERA on the year to 1.22 on the season and 3.29 lifetime. In his six innings of work against the Rangers, Verlander allowed six hits while walking none and striking out eight. The outing for Verlander is the third straight start where he has not allowed an earned run.
The Rangers managed to outhit the Astros in the loss (by a 10-6 tally) as Nick Lowe, Corey Seager, and Adolis García each went 2-for-4 at the plate in the loss with García picking up the lone RBI for Texas.
On the hill for the Rangers, opposing Verlander was Jon Gray, who lasted six innings, allowed two runs, walked two, and struck out five. Gray’s record fell to 1-2 on the season, and his ERA raised to 5.14. In the victory, the Astros scored in the bottom of the first and fifth innings.
The loss dropped the Rangers to 18-21, third place in the AL West, seven games back of first-place Houston Astros, which moved to 26-15 on the season.