Justin Verlander reminds MLB he’s the best pitcher of this generation

Justin Verlander just missed his fourth career no-hitter on Tuesday, but he showed that, even at 39 and coming off Tommy John surgery, he’s just as good as he’s ever been.

Justin Verlander didn’t need the anguish. Approaching his 39th birthday and already having accomplished everything there is to accomplish in his career—an MVP, two Cy Young Awards, three no-hitters, and a World Series title—he could’ve walked away rather than put himself through the long months of rehab.

But he didn’t walk away, he didn’t allow his Cooperstown-bound career to end with a blown elbow. Verlander belongs on a Major League mound and, even after all those games and all those innings over the last 17 years, he’s doing the incredible: only getting better.

Verlander flirted with history on Tuesday night in Minnesota, taking a no-hit bid into the eighth inning against the Twins before it was spoiled by a single from Gio Urshela. It was the eighth time he had taken a no-hitter that deep into a game, tying Randy Johnson for second-most in the Divisional Era and behind only Nolan Ryan’s 23.

A year ago, Verlander was in a fight just to pitch again. He made only one start in 2020 before experiencing tightness in his right forearm. He tried to return, but the diagnosis was inevitable: he needed Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire 2021 season. By the time he returned to the Astros rotation this season, it had been more than 600 days since he had stood on a big-league mound.

The surgery didn’t defeat him or take away any of his dominating stuff. With eight shutout innings in Houston’s 5-0 win on Tuesday, his ERA this season is down to 1.55. Opponents are hitting just .147 against him, which leads the league and would be the best mark of his career.

Verlander threw 20 pitches at least 95 mph against the Twins. Even after the surgery, he’s throwing just as hard now as he was in his Cy Young year in 2019. It was already his second start this season in which he gave up three or fewer hits over at least eight scoreless innings; only Adam Wainwright, the Hall of Famer Johnson, and knuckleballer Tim Wakefield have done that at the age of 39 or older in the last 20 years.

Justin Verlander eclipsing his rivals from this generation

Verlander will end up with a plaque in the Hall of Fame when he finally decides to walk away from the game. So will two of his pitching peers, Clayton Kershaw and Max Scherzer. All three of them are aging like fine wine, showing no sign of wearing down as they progress through their legendary careers.

But Verlander has both of them beat in how long he’s been at it. He’s pitched 500 more innings than either of them and is two years older than Scherzer, seven older than Kershaw. The Dodgers left-hander has gone through some of the worst years of his career, at least by his lofty standards, since reaching the wrong side of 30. Kershaw has a 2.90 ERA since 2018; Verlander’s ERA is 2.52 over that same span.

Verlander is also the only one with a somewhat realistic chance of reaching a pitching milestone that seemed out of reach, given how starting pitchers are used in today’s game: 300 wins. Tuesday’s win was his 230th in his 460th career start. He’s reached that total faster than Ryan, Don Sutton, Tom Glavine, and Steve Carlton, all of whom ended up with 300. Verlander will have to pitch at a high level until he’s well into his 40s in order to have a chance, but after what he’s been through—coming back to be just as dominant as ever—no one will doubt what he’s capable of again.

Verlander had been this dominant before. He was trying for his fourth no-hitter, an achievement done only by Ryan and Sandy Koufax. He fell just short, but Verlander has never looked better, even after all these years.

“Unfortunately, I’ve been here many times before and had it happen. I’ve had a few heartbreaking ones in the ninth inning,” he said on Tuesday. “This one, I think, is just one of those where you appreciate that it was a good outing and gave us a chance to win. And we did that, and get ready for the next one.”

It was a performance worthy of a pitching master. It seemed a year ago that it would never happen again, that Verlander’s best days were behind him. He’s defied time and the agony of the surgical knife. As he said, one to the next one for someone who’s done it better for longer than any pitcher of this generation.