Justin Verlander struck out 10 batters over five scoreless innings while throwing 121 pitches as the San Francisco Giants defeated the Baltimore Orioles 13-2. Verlander completed the fifth by striking out Gunnar Henderson and Ryan Mountcastle to earn his third victory of the year and the 265th of his career. The outing lowered his season ERA to 4.29 despite a 3-10 record. He allowed three hits and four walks. The start marked his first 10-strikeout game since Aug. 23, 2022, and his highest pitch total in a start since 2018.
SAN FRANCISCO -- Wins have been hard to come by for Justin Verlander this year. This one took 121 pitches. The 42-year-old right-hander struck out 10 in five scoreless innings Sunday, helping the San Francisco Giants to a 13-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. With the Giants leading 7-0 in the fifth, San Francisco wasn't about to remove Verlander, even as his pitch count climbed.
He finally finished the top of that inning by striking out Gunnar Henderson and Ryan Mountcastle -- and that allowed him to qualify for his third victory of the year. It's the 265th win of his career. "In a day you feel like you're penalizing someone if they throw 100 pitches, to throw 120 in five innings, he didn't want to hear anything about coming out of the game," manager Bob Melvin told the San Francisco Chronicle. "There's a lot to learn from him."
Verlander is just 3-10 on the season, but he lowered his ERA to 4.29 on Sunday and reached double-digit strikeouts for the 73rd time in his career. He allowed three hits and four walks. "It's hard for me because, especially the old school in me is, it's only five innings," Verlander said. "I'm not sure I go home and say that was a great start. End of day, I think they did a great job battling off good pitches and fouling off stuff."
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