Verlander caps Cy-quality first half with 10 K's -- hits 99 mph!

HOUSTON -- All-Star pitcher Justin Verlander reminded everyone Saturday afternoon he still has plenty left in the tank when he reached back in the fifth inning and dotted a 99 mph fastball for a ball to Ramón Laureano of the A’s. It was the first time he’s touched 99 mph since July 21, 2018, and the first time since he had Tommy John surgery, which cost him the entire 2021 season.

Verlander’s return from elbow reconstruction surgery at 39 years old has been one of baseball’s best storylines from the first half of the season, and showing he can still hit 99 mph is a testament to his work ethic and reminds us of his generational talent.

“I thought it was in there,” said Verlander, who averaged 95.9 mph on his fastball (up from his season average of 94.9). “I’ve been kind of flirting with the upper-90s a few times this year when I felt good, and quite honestly, from the beginning of the game today, [and with] a little bit of a mechanical change, I felt I had a bit more in the tank.”

In his final start of the first half, Verlander threw 106 pitches across six scoreless innings while striking out 10 batters and allowing six hits and no walks to beat the A’s, 5-0, at Minute Maid Park. He is 7-0 in eight starts following an Astros loss this year.

“That’s classic Justin,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said. “Life on the fastball, and he threw a lot of breaking balls today and used the curveball … he had working to keep guys off his fastball. You watch those guys that are the best in the game, and they elevate themselves when you get runners in scoring position, and you saw that today. That’s why he’s still pitching at [39] and still having success. He’s pretty tough to beat.”

Verlander became baseball’s first 12-game winner of the 2022 season and will be rewarded with a trip to the All-Star Game, though he doesn’t plan to pitch.

“There’s a stark contrast between times I’ve gone and needed to pitch and times I’ve gone and didn’t need to pitch,” he said. “They both have their positives and negatives, obviously, but to go and sit back and enjoy it with some of my teammates that are going for the first time [Framber Valdez and Kyle Tucker] and talk to all the guys there, and also connect with some of the guys who have been teammates of mine -- Miguel [Cabrera], J.D. [Martinez] -- it’s a great experience to be in the locker room again with a bunch of guys you’re usually on the field to battle with. This is a different atmosphere, and it’s always nice.”

In his return to action, Verlander is having a Cy Young-quality season. He has a 1.89 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 109 1/3 innings with 13 quality starts in 17 outings.

“That guy, I feel like he’s 25 years old,” said catcher Martín Maldonado, who caught a shutout and belted a grand slam in the second inning.

The Astros will use the All-Star break to give Verlander some more rest as they try to be mindful of his workload with the second half of the season and, perhaps, another long playoff run still to come. He was pitching on eight days of rest on Saturday, and he said the added rest and a slight change he made in his arm action heading into the start paid off.

“There’s a lot of hard work that goes into trying to fight the good fight and rage against the dying of the light as long as possible, and I’ll continue to do that as long as I possibly can,” he said. “Nights like tonight, when I’m able to go out and feel good and have good stuff, it’s great. It makes it all worth it.”

The win was the 238th of Verlander’s career, passing Waite Hoyt and Clark Griffith (237) for sole possession of 61st on the all-time wins list. He also passed Curt Schilling and Hall of Famer Bob Gibson in all-time strikeouts for sole possession of 14th place and now sits at 3,121.

“That guy, he looks like he never left,” Maldonado said. “I feel like he’s getting better. He still has motivation in him. When you talk to him, he says, ‘I have to get this pitch better, have to get that pitch better.’ [I say], ‘Just keep going out there and doing what you’re doing.’ That’s a guy that’s always wanting to improve. That’s why those guys like that are going to be a future Hall of Famer. He’s never satisfied.”