Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros‘ bullpen lost their bid at a combined no-hitter in the ninth inning, but dominated the Philadelphia Phillies in a 10-0 win Tuesday night.
HOUSTON — Justin Verlander capped his magnificent comeback season by striking out 10 without allowing a hit in five innings, and Houston’s bullpen kept the Philadelphia Phillies hitless until the ninth inning in a 10-0 win Tuesday night.
Verlander, who has pitched three no-hitters in his career, walked one before being pulled after 77 pitches. The AL West champion Astros led the NL wild-card Phillies 8-0 at the point.
Rookie Hunter Brown pitched 2 1/3 hitless innings and Hector Neris got the last two outs of the eighth inning. Will Smith came on for the ninth Garrett Stubbs singled to center field to break up the no-hitter bid, causing a smattering of boos from the crowd.
Jeremy Pena, Kyle Tucker and Martin Maldonado homered as the Astros jumped on Ranger Suarez (10-7) for six runs in two innings to build a huge lead early in their 1,000th win at Minute Maid Park, which opened in 2000.
Verlander (18-4) collected his American League-leading 18th win, and his MLB-leading 1.75 ERA is the lowest for a qualified pitcher in the AL, excluding the pandemic-shortened season, since Pedro Martinez posted a 1.
