HOUSTON – In a career with so many accomplishments, Justin Verlander‘s success this season after missing almost two years with an elbow injury has been particularly sweet.
“Of course,” the Houston Astros right-hander said when asked if his stellar start means a lot to him. “Yeah, absolutely. We’ve talked about it a lot, just so much hard work since the since the surgery and it’s nice to see it pay off and hopefully – knock on wood – it continues.”
Verlander got his 11th win, Yordan Alvarez hit his 26th homer and the Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 5-2 to take the series 3-1.
Jose Altuve added a homer and three RBIs for the Astros, who bounced back after a 7-4 loss that snapped an eight-game winning streak.
Verlander (11-3) grinded through six innings, allowing seven hits and two runs – one earned – with eight strikeouts to lower his ERA to 2.00 in his remarkable return from Tommy John surgery. His ERA, opponent average (.190) and WHIP (0.97) all rank second in the AL. He shares the MLB lead in victories with the Dodgers’ Tony Gonsolin (11-0).
“I had to make some pitches in some big spots and trust my defense behind me,” he said. “Every game is not going to go perfectly without traffic. Today was one of those games where you had to grind a bit.”
The Royals led 2-0 and Kris Bubic (1-6) had walked five batters but had allowed just one hit – a single by Jake Meyers in the second – when Martin Maldonado doubled with one out in the fifth.
Altuve then jumped on the first pitch, sending it into the seats in left field to tie it at 2-2.
There were two outs in the inning when Alvarez connected on his opposite-field shot to the first row in left field to put the Astros on top 3-2. His 26 home runs rank second in the AL to Yankees star Aaron Judge, who has 30.
Altuve was asked if he’s impressed by what Alvarez does day after day.
“We enjoy the way he goes out there and everything he does,” Altuve said. “So sometimes we get surprised, sometimes not. We’ve seen good swings from him and it seems like every day he comes ready to hit the ball.”
Houston added two insurance runs in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Altuve and an RBI double by Aledmys Diaz.
Ryan Pressly pitched a scoreless ninth for his 18th save.
Verlander has 24 wins against the Royals, which is his most against any team and ties him with Nolan Ryan for fourth-most in league history against Kansas City.
The Royals led early in this one just as they…