“It’s nice to hear that”. Virgil Trucks threw a pair in 1952 and Justin Verlander nabbed his double no-no in 2007 and 2011. The heat was there.
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According to Elias Sports Bureau, Verlander and teammate Anibal Sanchez are the only two active pitchers to have lost two no-hit bids in the ninth. Not like that. Some doubted that he could return to his dominant form. With 34 games left on the schedule, the Astros already have achieved their best season since 2010. Not many balls made it to the outfield.
That means the Tigers could really use this version of Verlander, or something close to it. He won’t flirt with a no-hitter every night, but the past month or so has given Detroit a reason for optimism – during a season when there’s been precious little of that.
Cabrera, along with J.D.
ROCKIES 6, BRAVES 3: Brandon Barnes had three hits, including a two-run homer, and visiting Colorado extended Atlanta right-hander Shelby Miller’s winless streak to 18 starts. The crowd stopped grumbling when Detroit’s offense stalled in the second half of the game, after Nick Castellanos, Miguel Cabrera and JD Martinez all hit early home runs to build the 5-0 lead that would stick as the final score. But since the All-Star break, Verlander has put up numbers reminiscent of his transcendent peak.
How huge would that be for a Detroit team stuck between retooling and a full-fledged rebuild. It was, by his estimation, the only poorly located pitch of the night.
Tigers manager Brad Ausmus was unaware of the history between Aybar and Verlander, but said the infield was fully prepared for a possible bunt attempt.
“Verlander took the mound in the ninth with Eminem’s “‘Till I Collapse” ringing from the stadium speakers. “It was probably about the fourth or fifth inning”.
To say that the adrenaline was there would be an understatement. He had RBI singles in the first and sixth before hitting his 39th homer of the season in the eighth.
Verlander still managed to earn the complete game shutout along with his second win of the season. But then, no-hitters generally are. Price (13-4) threw five scoreless innings after allowing Adrian Beltre’s two-run home run in the first. Or the one after that. I’ll just do it.’ They’re like, ‘You sure about doing it in the middle of a game?’ A game of heartbreak and frustration 70 percent of the time. He was brilliant Wednesday, dominating the way he used to on a regular basis.
The season is over for Tigers starting pitcher Shane Greene who will undergo surgery today to fix arterial damage in his right shoulder. He was nearly there.
“I think when you get to three, the number of guys that’ve done it shrinks significantly”, Verlander remarked.
“It popped in my mind”, Verlander said.
“As far as other guys’ interaction with him, I don’t have the answer for that, but as far as he and I went, between every inning, we continued to discuss how we’d attack the next couple of hitters coming up”, he said.
“Right now it’s tough”, he said in an interview after the game, commenting on missing out on the no-hitter.
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“You lost one here in the ninth-” a reporter began to ask.
