Memory Lane: Looking Back on Justin Verlander and His Best Moments With the Houston Astros

Celebrating the best of JV's time in Houston

It is not hyperbole to say the trajectory of a franchise was permanently altered on August 31, 2017. The Houston Astros landed future Hall-of-Famer Justin Verlander seconds before the waiver deadline in a deal that continues to look better as time passes. In the pre-Verlander days, the Houston Astros had one pennant to their name and zero World Series championships (and zero wins in a Fall Classic game to boot).

In the six seasons since landing Verlander, Houston made six consecutive trips to the ALCS, winning four. Of their four pennants, two became world championships. Without Verlander, is any of this achieved? Who can say for sure.

One thing is certain, Verlander's legacy as an Astro is secure. He'll be in the Astros' Hall of Fame, his number 35 will likely never again be worn by another 'Stro and he may even enter Cooperstown in a cap emblazoned with the Astros' H.

As we bid farewell to JV, it's only fitting we look back at his biggest moments from his Houston tenure.

7) September 12, 2017

Verlander's first start with Houston was a success: six innings, six hits, one run, seven strikeouts. But his second start is when Verlander truly put the rest of the league on notice.

Verlander embarrassed the Angels, spinning eight scoreless innings, yielding only one hit. He struck out nine and finished with a game score of 88. He repeatedly tied up Angels' hitters, throwing 112 pitches, 71 for strikes.

It's easy to forget now, but when Verlander was acquired, he was bringing a 3.82 ERA from Detroit, barely better than league average. This start was the first sign Houston was getting the ace of old. He finished the 2017 regular season in Houston 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA, a sign of future dominance to come.

6) "I literally love you too, Jose Altuve"

In Game 6 of the 2017 ALCS, Verlander perplexed Yankee hitters, finishing seven shutout innings on five hits and eight strikeouts, including arguably the filthiest of his career. 2017 MVP Jose Altuve was as awe-struck as the rest of us, saying after the game, "I literally love Justin Verlander."

All of Houston felt the same way. The feels festival continued postgame when the Houston ace jumped on Twitter.

The Astros fans had already embraced Verlander for what he had done on the field. But now to see him both embrace and be embraced by the face of the franchise, a tide was turning. Houston's success over the last six years can be traced to a deep chemistry and love for their brother. Much of that can be traced to this moment.

Verlander and Altuve commemorated the moment in a picture before Game 5 of the 2017 World Series, only the best baseball game ever played.

Talented teams win a lot of games. But rarely does the team with the best record win the World Series. Houston has shown what it takes to be dominant. Without Verlander diving headfirst into the culture of the clubhouse, they may still be ringless. His full-blown embracing kickstarted the golden era we've been so lucky to watch play out.

5) Return from Tommy John

The Astros inked Verlander to a two-year, $66 million extension following the 2019 season. He threw all of six innings during the contract.

An elbow injury cut his 2020 season short before Tommy John kept him out of the 2021 season. When Verlander returned to the Astros in 2022, questions loomed about who he would be. Could a 39-year-old return from the infamous procedure? Would he still be Houston's ace, or would he be more of a 3/4 and a veteran voice to mentor the younger arms?

While he did take the loss in his season debut, Verlander's effort went a long way to alleviating concerns. Verlander spanned 80 pitches across five innings, yielding only three hits, one run and striking out seven. The offense was shut-out, but Verlander was hardly to blame for the loss.

One week later, he went eight scoreless and the race to the Cy Young was on.

Had JV gotten beat around in his first start, who knows how things snowball from there? Instead, he showed not only was he physically capable of performing again, but he could perform at an ace-caliber level again. Crisis averted. Houston went on to have one of the best pitching staffs ever assembled, something that would not have been possible without peak Verlander.

3) Verlander wins another Cy Young

Those aforementioned questions that Verlander carried on his shoulders into 2022 were answered in resounding fashion. Was he up to the task? Yes...and then some.

He started 28 games in 2022, winning 18 and losing four. He finished with a 1.75 ERA and 0.83 WHIP, both numbers good enough to lead the league. The 1.75 ERA was the best of his career, and the best since Pedro Martinez' historic 2000 season. All doubt about what form he would possess was rendered silent.

His dominance and consistency resulted in a third career Cy Young award and the second of his Astros' tenure. He took home the prestigious award in unanimous fashion, joining Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Greg Maddux, Steve Carlton, Max Scherzer, Jim Palmer, Pedro Martinez, Tom Seaver, Sandy Koufax and Clayton Kershaw as three-time winners.

With his time in Houston now complete, there was no better bow to put on his Astros' career. He finishes with a record of 61-19, an era of 2.26 and a WHIP of 0.83. His last two full seasons resulted in a Cy Young.

2) "Where the **** is Toro?"

Verlander made the defining regular season start of his Astros' tenure on September 1, 2019. He entered September in a near dead-heat with teammate Gerrit Cole for the Cy Young award. Either party was going to need something historic to separate from the other. Verlander delivered just that something.

He overwhelmed the Blue Jays over the course of nine shutout innings, allowing one walk and striking out 14. His third career no-hitter was in the books, joining Nolan Ryan, Sandy Koufax, Bob Feller, Larry Corcoran and Cy Young as pitchers with three or more no-nos.

The only blemish on his line was a five-pitch walk to Cavan Biggio, the second batter of the game. While he dominated from that point on, Houston provided zero run support. Hitless or not, the ninth would surely be Verlander's last inning.

Thankfully, a last minute injury replacement ensured Verlander could both complete nine innings hitless and with a win. Abraham Toro played the role of hero, blasting a two-run home run to left, breaking the game open.

Verlander completed the last three outs and the celebration was on, where he uttered his now famous question about Toro's whereabouts.

Both Verlander and Toro are now employed elsewhere, but this was truly a defining moment of both the golden era and Verlander's run in Houston.

1) 2017 ALCS Game 2

Words do not describe how masterful Justin Verlander was on October 14, 2017. Up 1-0 in the ALCS over the New York Yankees, JV showed exactly why Houston acquired him at the waiver deadline.

He had been masterful through eight, but had already thrown 109 pitches. When he climbed out of the dugout to throw the ninth, the roof blew off of Minute Maid Park. Verlander successfully navigated the top half of the inning, but when Verlander completed his ninth inning of work, he went back to the dugout tied 1-1. Houston's offense had been unable to offer the ace any support. An effort of this caliber simply could not result in a no decision.

Thankfully, Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and an indescribably risky send from Garry Pettis ensured that would not be the case.

Correa's walk-off double gave Houston a 2-0 lead in the series and Verlander the win. JV walked away with a complete game victory, yielding five hits and one run, striking out 13. He faced 32 batters and threw 124 pitches, almost an unfathomable amount in today's game.

Playoff games today are managed with the bullpen constantly in mind. Starters are asked to get through the lineup twice before handing the ball to a bevy of high 90's flamethrowers with obscene off-speed pitches. Only in the most dominant of outings will we see a starter make it through an order three times.

We just watched Cristian Javier get pulled after six hitless innings in Game 4 of the World Series this season on only 97 pitches. If an old school manager like Dusty won't allow a starter to go deeper than that in a pitch count, who will?

We may never again see an effort in the postseason like Verlander delivered that afternoon. As time goes on, the gem will age even better. In a six year span filled with memory after memory and dominant start after dominant start, this one sits above the rest.

Thanks for the memories, JV. You'll be sincerely missed!