Verlander in 2008
Sweet!
Justin Verlander took a perfect game into the 8th inning Saturday afternoon at the Rogers Centre. But a pitch a few inches off the plate kept him from a spot in history.
What he did after that was almost as impressive. After walking Blue Jays catcher J.P. Arencibia to give Toronto its first base runner of the game, Verlander took a quick stroll himself.
Off the mound. To gather himself.
He stepped back upon it, and induced a double-play grounder to get out of the inning. From there, with the opposing team’s crowd on its feed, Verlander coaxed a harmless infield pop-up, a grounder to second and strikeout to end the game. He threw a 100 mph pitch to the last batter he faced.
When he struck out Rajai Davis with his 108th pitch, Verlander’s teammates ran to the mound to hug him.
It was the second time Verlander has thrown a no-hitter. The first, back in June of 2007, came during interleague play against the Milwaukee Brewers. That was the first no-hitter thrown at Comerica Park.
Big thanks to my friend Dave for giving me the heads up on this...