Justin Verlander Put His Nuts On The Table Last Night And May Have Saved The Astros Season With a Vintage Performance

He’s the man. He’s still the fucking man. The Houston Astros had been sliding. They finished the season with a below .500 record at home and just got swept by the Kansas City Royals at Minute Maid Park. They came into last night 2.5 games back of the Texas Rangers in the AL west and only 0.5 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners For the last Wild Card spot. Things were dire, and then the first ballot Hall of Famer came to the rescue. 

Last night was about as Justin Verlander a start as you’re going to find. He absolutely shoved, tossing 8 scoreless frames before giving up a leadoff double in the 9th that came around to score. The fastball command was fantastic. He got into some trouble in the third inning, and in typical Justin Verlander fashion, he found a way to pitch out of it. No pitcher in the history of the world has ever been better at pitching out of jams than Justin Verlander. I’m convinced he gets into trouble on purpose so that he can pitch out of it. The man is a sick fuck who loves to play with his food. God bless him for it. 

The Astros are by no means out of the woods yet. How they played down the stretch here really murdered their chances of winning the American League West, but they are a different team away from Minute Maid Park. As ugly as they’ve looked, the roster is so talented that I could still see them turning it on in October. 

Maybe it’s just my undying love for Justin Verlander, but I’m always inclined to believe that he still has one magic round of baseball left in him. Verlander was pretty shaky in October last season. He might have something to prove this year. If that’s the case, the rest of the baseball world should take notice. He’s still the fucking king.