Houston Astros Starter Justin Verlander Reflects on His Career Dominating the A's

Jason Burke | May 25, 2024

May 24, 2024; Oakland, California, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander (35) delivers a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the third inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

OAKLAND -- After Friday night's game at the Coliseum, Houston Astros starter Justin Verlander was in a reflective state. Not only did he just allowed just two runs, one earned, dominating the Oakland A's yet again, but he also surpassed the legendary Greg Maddux for tenth place on the all-time strikeout list when he struck out Abraham Toro in the second inning.

It was also Toro that belted a two-run homer against the Toronto Blue Jays in 2019 that helped Verlander secure his no-hitter with Houston. When told that Toro was the one that moved him up on the strikeout leaderboard, the Astros starter replied, "Was he? Was he the one? S---. I really enjoyed playing with Abraham. I hope he doesn't mind."

We then asked the future Hall of Famer about this potentially being his final start at the Coliseum. He mentioned striking out Frank Thomas here, with the Big Hurt being the reason he wears the number 35. Then, he talked a bit about some events that A's fans have very different memories of, but at the same time he was genuine in expressing his love for the fans in Oakland during those ALDS battles with the Tigers in 2012 and 2013.

"I will miss this place, absolutely. The first thing that jumps in my mind was the crowd in [2012] when I was with the Tigers and had game five here, and I went back out for the ninth inning. We were winning 6-0 or 6-1, I forget the exact score, but I went ball one or maybe ball one, ball two to the first batter I faced that inning. The crowd, you would have thought that I just lost the ball game. It was electric. It was one of the most electric atmospheres I've been apart of, multiple times here in this stadium.

"I was standing next to Prince Fielder at one point, and it was a benign part of the game, nothing much was going on. I just remember yelling at the top of my lungs to Prince and we were standing as far as you and I are [about a foot] and we couldn't hear each other. Nothing was happening in the game, it was just how raucous the crowd was here. It was really incredible.

"I've had some personally great moments here but the energy that this place brought for those years where the Tigers and A's faced off in the playoffs, that was that was something I'll always remember.