Houston Astros Ace Wows With Stellar Outing Despite Loss

The Houston Astros former Cy Young winner did all he could against the Seattle Mariners.

May 24, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) smiles as he walks off the field during the sixth inning against the Oakland Athletics at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros have a future first-ballot Hall of Famer on their roster and he had another vintage performance on Wednesday night against the Seattle Mariners.

Justin Verlander is 41 years old but there are times when he pitches that it's hard to tell.

His most recent outing was one of those times.

In seven innings of work, Verlander struck out nine batters and gave up just one run on three hits. The problem is that their offense also only scored one run on the day as they would go on to lose the game in the 10th inning.

The Virginia native is down to a 3.26 ERA on the year with an extra impressive 1.13 WHIP. That would be a better figure than a good number of seasons throughout his career.

His fastball continues to lose a bit of its zip, down to 93.7 mph on average, but he is still able to put together some great performances 19 years in to his career.

There has been some worry about him during different times of the season, given that two of his outings in May were five innings or less and he gave up four or more runs.

Still, that looks to be more of an exception rather than the rule.

Five of his eight outings this year have been "quality starts."

His continued excellence has been much needed throughout the rough season that the Astros' pitching staff has been through. He himself started the year on the injured list.

As a staff, Houstons' starting pitchers rank 27th this season with a 4.91 combined ERA. Verlander and Ronel Blanco have been the team's most consistent pitchers this year.

The poor play of their pitching is a large reason why the Astros sit at 24-32, but that wasn't the case on Wednesday as their ace continues to turn back the clock.