(Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
The Houston Astros unexpectedly stole the AL West title from the Texas Rangers in the last weekend of the season.
By doing that, they made sure to skip the AL Wild Card round and will start the journey to defend their title this weekend against the Minnesota Twins.
The Twins have proven to be a top team capable of taking down the Toronto Blue Jays, and will represent tough competition for the defending champs.
Still, fans in Houston are confident they can get off to a nice start in the best-of-five series because the team is sending Justin Verlander to the mound.
The veteran ace, who won the AL Cy Young award with Houston last year, signed with the New York Mets in the offseason but got traded back to the Astros around the deadline when things went south in Queens.
Verlander already owns a record among active pitchers and is set to extend it on Saturday.
“Justin Verlander will start Game 1 of the ALDS, his 35th career postseason start. That’s the most among active @MLB pitchers. Top 6 in the Wild Card Era: Pettitte, 44; Verlander, 34; Kershaw, 31; Maddux, Glavine, Clemens, 26,” MLB insider Jon Morosi tweeted.
Justin Verlander will start Game 1 of the ALDS, his 35th career postseason start.
That’s the most among active @MLB pitchers.
Top 6 in the Wild Card Era: Pettitte, 44; Verlander, 34; Kershaw, 31; Maddux, Glavine, Clemens, 26.@MLBNetwork @Astros
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) October 5, 2023
It would probably take Verlander two or three deep postseason runs to catch Andy Pettitte at the top of the list, but among active pitchers, no one has more postseason starts than his 34 (soon to be 35).
The right-hander is in good shape ahead of the start, as he had a 3.22 ERA in 162.1 frames between the Mets and the Astros this year.
Many of the Astros’ hopes rest on his right arm.
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