Justin Verlander turned back the clock in a dominant victory over the Mariners on Monday night, allowing just one run on three hits over eight-plus innings of work.
The 40-year-old hurler racked up eight strikeouts on the night while allowing only one base on balls. The Mariners mounted one serious scoring threat against him in the game — loading the bases for Julio Rodriguez with one out in the third inning — but Verlander got him to bounce into an inning-ending double play. He returned for the ninth inning in an attempt to record his first shutout since 2019, but was lifted after allowing a leadoff double. That run ultimately came around to score against Bryan Abreu. Verlander generated 11 swings and misses on 96 pitches in the game, posting a CSW of 30 percent. He’ll head into his regular season finale against the Diamondbacks in Arizona on Sunday with a 3.26 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and a 139/42 K/BB ratio across 157 1/3 innings in his 26 starts.