So close.
Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander came within five outs of his fourth career no-hitter Tuesday in a 5-0 win over the Minnesota Twins.
But Twins third baseman and former New York Yankees star Gio Urshela ended the no-no bid with a single to right field in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Verlander was vying to tie Sandy Koufax for second on the career no-hitter list. Nolan Ryan holds the record with seven.
“Unfortunately, I’ve been here many times before and had it happen. I’ve had a few heartbreaking ones in the ninth inning,” Verlander said. “This one I think it’s just one of those you appreciate that it was a good outing and gave us a chance to win, and we did that.”
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Verlander, in his return from Tommy John surgery which cost him most of the 2020 season and all of last year, struck out five and walked two on 89 pitches. Blake Taylor pitched the ninth for Houston to finish off the shutout.
With the win, the 39-year-old Verlander improved to 4-1 with a 1.55 ERA through six starts this year.
“The guy’s a horse,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “When he pitches, the guys stay alert. He gets the ball quickly. He doesn’t mess around on the mound, so you keep the defense sharp when you do that.”
Baker said Verlander was on a 90-pitch limit but added they might have extended that had Verlander got through eight no-hit innings.
Verlander was perfect through four innings before allowing a leadoff walk to Jorge Polanco in the fifth. Verlander got Urshela to tap into a double play one pitch later to retire Polanco.
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Verlander’s first no-hitter came with the Detroit Tigers in 2007 when he mowed down the Milwaukee Brewers. His second came four years later against the Blue Jays in Toronto.
Verlander picked up his third no-no with the Astros in 2019, when he again dominated the Blue Jays.
Despite Verlander’s near miss, MLB did have a no-hitter to celebrate Tuesday, with Los Angeles Angels rookie Reid Detmers blanking the Tampa Bay Rays.
It was the second no-hitter of the season, with five New York Mets pitchers combining to shut down the Philadelphia Phillies last month.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected].