Verlander named AL Player of the Week
SEATTLE — After striking out 20 and allowing just one earned run in the 15 innings he threw last week, Astros ace Justin Verlander collected his seventh career American League Player of the Week honor on Monday.
Verlander had not won the award since 2012. He twirled seven scoreless innings against the Twins in 35-degree temperatures on April 9 — a 2-0 win that was the second-coldest game in Astros franchise history — before dueling fellow Cy Young Award winner Bartolo Colon on Sunday.
“It was a goal of mine to start the season strong. That was something I put a lot of emphasis on,” Verlander said. “It’s been kind of a weakness of mine my whole career, really. It’s nice to get off to a good start. It doesn’t mean it’s going to stay good. I think for me the goal is to try to be consistent as long as I can. To get off to a good start is always nice.”
Verlander gave up 11 earned runs in his first three starts last season and 13 in his first three starts of 2016.
This year, however, has been different.
Entering Monday’s games, Verlander trails only teammate Gerrit Cole for the American League lead in strikeouts.
He ranks second in the AL with 262⁄3 innings pitched, and his 1.35 ERA is fifth in the league.
Verlander got a no-decision against the Rangers despite eight innings of one-hit, onerun baseball. Teams hit just .100 against him in the two starts.
“I think I tried to take the next step this year,” Verlander said, “and really focus on the smaller things that I found success in last year that transitioned me from early-in-theseason struggles to being where I was late in the season.”
Keuchel 16th Astro with 1,000 innings
When he stabbed Dee Gordon’s sharp comebacker that led off Monday evening’s game, Dallas Keuchel etched his name in Astros history.
The leadoff out gave the bearded lefthander 1,000 innings as an Astro, just the 16th pitcher in franchise history to achieve the feat. He joins Nolan Ryan, J.R. Richard and Roy Oswalt, among others, on the list.
Keuchel, the 2015 American League Cy Young Award winner, is just the fifth lefthander in club history to throw 1,000 innings.
Larry Dierker is the franchise leader with 2,2941⁄3 innings pitched. Keuchel now trails Turk Farrell, who threw 1,015 innings, for No. 15 on the club’s all-time list.
Hinch knows how to connect off Colon
In the wake of their 3-1 loss Sunday night to the Rangers, the only Astros in uniform who have homered off veteran pitcher Bartolo Colon are Carlos Correa, Josh Reddick and, go figure, manager A.J. Hinch.
Hinch went deep off Colon on May 9, 2002, when Colon was with the Indians and Hinch with the Royals, for one of his 32 career home runs.
“We were both young players when Bartolo was in Cleveland, throwing a hundred, and I was a young catcher with the Royals,” Hinch said before Sunday’s game. “Bartolo needs to keep playing so I can keep asking questions about active players that I’ve homered off of. When he and ( CC) Sabathia retire, it’s going to be a sad day for me personally.”
Of course, given the manner in which Colon, 44, mastered the Astros, pitching seven perfect innings and allowing one hit and a run through 72⁄3innings, Hinch might not be eager to see Colon again any time soon.
“It’s a very difficult thing to do,” Hinch said. “He may pitch until he’s 50. I know I feel too old to play right now, and he’s older than me.”