Sports

Sooo Close! Verlander Misses No-No Number 3 By Inches

August 26, 2015, 10:02 PM by  Joey Yashinsky

The Detroit Tigers have been playing baseball more than 100 years.  Never had a pitcher thrown more than two no-hitters.  Virgil Trucks threw a pair in 1952 and Justin Verlander nabbed his double no-no in 2007 and 2011.

On Wednesday night, JV nearly became the first Tiger in franchise history to pull off the no-hitter hat trick.

Eight innings flew by with the Los Angeles Angels making nary a peep during their turns at bat.  Strikeouts, weak grounders, double plays.  Entering the ninth, Verlander had faced the minimum 24 batters.  All he had to do was set down the punchless Angels bottom third of the order and we’d be witnessing another piece of Tigers’ history.

But the first hitter of the final inning, Chris Iannetta, he of the .190 batting average, ripped a line shot down the left field line.  Fair or foul, nobody knew.  Finally, the ball made its landing, and white chalk filled the air, a double to break up the no-hitter by the absolute slimmest of margins.

Verlander finished the Angels off three batters later, and he walked away, almost disappointedly, with a one-hit masterpiece.  It was the saddest you’ll ever see a big league pitcher after tossing a complete game shutout.

"Right now it's tough," he said in an interview after the game, commenting on missing out on the no-hitter.

Over JV’s last seven starts, he’s compiled a microscopic 1.41 ERA, a most encouraging sign for a floundering team looking for any reason to get excited during these dog days of summer.

His record might read 2-6 on the year, but make no mistake -- Justin Verlander has been one of the top two or three pitchers in baseball throughout the month of August.

When he missed a large chunk of the year with an injury, then came back with diminished velocity, there were many that left the former MVP for dead.

That group is eating a healthy portion of crow tonight.

Verlander missed no-no number three by about six inches, but he is still unquestionably the star of the evening.

When David Price was traded, and Anibal Sanchez continued to struggle, many wondered if the Tigers would even have a viable Opening Day starting pitching candidate for 2016.

That concern is no longer. 

Justin Verlander, Staff Ace, is back.  And he does not look to be going away again anytime soon.

Related article Wednesday:

Yashinsky: Quiet Rebirth of a Dominant Justin Verlander



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