Justin Verlander turned in a vintage performance, taking a shutout into the ninth inning as the Houston Astros defeated the host Seattle Mariners 5-1 on Monday night to extend their lead in the race for the American League’s third and final wild-card playoff berth. Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker homered for the Astros, who snapped a three-game losing streak and moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Mariners, who lost their fourth in a row. Houston remains 2 1/2 games behind the AL West-leading Texas Rangers.
The return of Verlander has made all the difference for a team that was at rock bottom after getting swept over the weekend by the Kansas City Royals. The three-time Cy Young Award winner has been perfect since returning to Minute Maid Park, allowing just one earned run over 29 dominant innings and striking out a whopping 27 batters.
He showed why he’s so valuable to this Astros team that has had a roster filled with holes all year long after the loss of starters Luis Gonzalez and Lance McCullers Jr. Verlander allowed just three hits and no walks in the first six innings, and even though a Mauricio Dubon double snapped a string of 16 straight batters retired, it was a big enough cushion to keep the Astros ahead.
Verlander had a chance to go even deeper into the game but needed 96 pitches to get through five innings, and he struck out eight without walking a batter. It was his 56th career start in which he has allowed no more than one earned run, and it tied him with Cliff Lee for the most such outings over the last 20 seasons.
After a three-hour rain delay, Verlander was greeted with a standing ovation when he came out to pitch in the seventh. His first pitch was a 92-mph slider for strikeout number 100, and he got a second one to J.D. Martinez for a 6-3 lead.
But the Astros didn’t let up, scoring four runs on four hits with two outs in the eighth inning. Jeremy Pena led off with a triple, Martin Maldonado followed with a single, and then Tucker hit his 26th homer of the season off Alex Faedo for a 13-3 lead.
It was a win that gave the Astros some much-needed confidence after being swept at home by the Royals. And it was a reminder that this team can do some damage in the postseason with its veteran-laden lineup and experienced rotation. Houston has now won 11 of its last 14 regular-season games. That’s the kind of streak that can turn things around quickly in the wild-card race. The Astros play the Blue Jays in Toronto on Saturday, and then they’re at home for a three-game series against the Yankees to close the season. The two teams are tied for the fourth-best record in the AL with 93 wins each, and they’ll meet again in the second game of their series in New York on Sunday.
