On Sunday, Astros right-hander Justin Verlander threw the fourth no-hitter in Major League Baseball this season, against the Blue Jays. It was also the second Astros no-hitter on the year after four pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter in August. It was Verlander's second consecutive no-hitter at Rogers Centre, making him the first pitcher in MLB history with multiple no-hitters on the road against the same opponent.
At 36 years old, Verlander proved he's still got a lot left in him for another World Series run while also propelling himself at the top of the American League Cy Young Award race. Here's his final line:
Now, let's take a closer look at some of the other numbers involved.
First off ...
3
No-hitters in Verlander's career after Sunday's masterpiece. With it, he becomes the only active pitcher with three no-hitters. Verlander pitched two no-hitters while with the Tigers and Sunday was his first no-hitter with the Astros. He's now the sixth pitcher in MLB history with at least three no-hitters.
Verlander's three no-hitters:
Sept. 1, 2019 - Houston Astros at Toronto Blue Jays
May 7, 2011 - Detroit Tigers at Toronto Blue Jays
June 12, 2007 - Detroit Tigers vs. Milwaukee Brewers
"I'd be lying if I said I didn't know that the list of guys that have thrown three instead of two gets pretty small," Verlander said in the on-field postgame interview. "Some of the guys I idolized, it's a special moment."
He's right, the list does indeed get smaller, and that leads us to our next highlighted number:
2
Pitchers who have thrown more no-hitters than Verlander: Nolan Ryan (7) and Sandy Koufax (4). Here's the full list of MLB pitchers with 3 or more no-hitters:
Ryan* -- 7 (all-time leader)
Koufax* -- 4
Verlander -- 3
Bob Feller* -- 3
Cy Young* -- 3
Larry Corcoran -- 3
*Hall of Famers
37
Strikeouts needed to reach 3,000 for his career -- a milestone only 17 MLB pitchers have ever achieved. In Sunday's outing, Verlander struck out 14 batters, bringing his career total to 2,963 strikeouts.
14
Verlander's 14 strikeouts in his no-hitter were three shy of the all-time record of 17 in a no-hitter, set by Nolan Ryan in 1973.
250
Benchmark in strikeouts reached by Verlander and teammate and fellow right-hander Gerrit Cole in consecutive seasons. They became the second pair of teammates ever to each post consecutive 250-strikeout seasons. The last pair to do so? Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling in 2001-02 with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
