Houston Astros Continue To Get Unbelievable Production From Veteran Ace

Despite the Houston Astros losing another game, their ace continues to look sharp in ways that defies logic.

May 1, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Astros are desperately looking for things that will help them turn around their season after getting off to such an awful start. It would truly take a rare effort to get them into the playoff picture based on what occurred in April.

That's unfathomable to think about considering this is the same team who has been to seven straight American League Championship Series appearances.

But, their pitching staff has been decimated by injuries, starting with Justin Verlander being unavailable at the beginning of the season.

The Astros got back him back at a much-needed time, and he continues to perform well and defy logic for what a 41-year-old starting pitcher should be doing.

In his third outing of the year, he was sensational.

Verlander threw 97 pitches, 58 of them for strikes, over seven innings where he gave up just one earned run. His fastball hit 97 mph, something that is reminiscent of the great Nolan Ryan at this age.

"That's a great performance. We needed him to go deep in the game and he did just that. He gave us a chance to win the game. That's Justin Verlander at his best right there," manager Joe Espada said according to Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

Houston couldn't capitalize on the opportunities they had as their offense sputtered, leaving five men on base and only putting up two runs.

Verlander continues to be the top arm in this rotation.

Framber Valdez might eventually take that title from the veteran superstar, but Verlander shows no signs of slowing down.

It was thought that maybe Father Time had finally caught up to him when he left for the New York Mets prior to the 2023 season. He started on the injured list and had a 4.80 ERA through his first five starts.

But, like he always does, he figured it out and finished out the year with an ERA of 3.22.

It's truly remarkable what he is able to do on the mound, and if he keeps performing this way, he'll have plenty of opportunities to continue his career, whether that is with the Astros going forward or not.