Though he’ll go down as one of the best pitchers in MLB history, Astros ace Justin Verlander is still looking to earn his first World Series victory.
Verlander’s Fall Classic winless streak was extended on Friday night when he squandered Houston’s 5–0 lead and ultimately ended up with a no decision. J.T. Realmuto delivered the final blow for the Phillies in the 10th inning, securing a 6–5 win on the road for the underdogs in Game 1.
The night quickly unraveled for Verlander, who retired the first 10 batters he faced, in the fourth and fifth innings. The Phillies combined for five hits during that span and tied the game up 5–5, laying the groundwork for Realmuto’s late-game heroics.
“Disappointing,” Verlander said when describing his performance Friday night, per Sports Illustrated’s Stephanie Apstein. “My team gave me a five-run lead, and I wasn’t able to hold it. I feel really confident that 99% of the time that I’m able to hold that lead, and unfortunately today I wasn’t.”
Verlander remains 0–6 in eight World Series starts, which marks the most career World Series starts without a win in baseball history. His ERA in the Fall Classic has now climbed to 6.07, the worst ever among starters who have thrown at least 30 innings in the championship series.
“I need to do better,” he said. “No excuses. I felt like I had some guys in good situations and just wasn’t able to quite make the pitches that I wanted to. A lot of credit to [the Phillies] as a lineup. They laid off some good pitches, and they were able to, when I did execute pitches, they were able to foul it off or put it in play and find a couple hits that way. Then when I did make a mistake, they hit it hard.”
It’s very possible that Verlander will get another chance on the mound to redeem himself but for that to take place the Astros will need to keep themselves in the series. Framber Valdez will hope to fare better than his teammate when he takes the bump in Game 2 on Saturday night.
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