Justin Verlander is no stranger to the World Series, having been twice with the Detroit Tigers and three times now with the Houston Astros.
Verlander was a rookie back in 2006 when he started Games 1 and 5 of the 2006 World Series against the eventual champion in the St. Louis Cardinals.
Verlander took the loss in both of those games.
Fast forward 16 years later and Verlander has started at least one World Series game in each of the past three decades.
Verlander started Game 1 in 2012 against the San Francisco Giants, Games 2 and 6 of the 2017 series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Games 2 and 6 of the 2019 Fall Classic against the Washington Nationals, and Game 1 this year against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Verlander is set to start Game 5 on Thursday night at Citizens Bank Park.
Justin Verlander has now started a World Series game in THREE different decades 😲 pic.twitter.com/bp9Pa8FWLF
— ESPN (@espn) October 29, 2022
The Longevity Of Verlander
At 39, Verlander has seen a little bit of everything, though he hasn’t always had great success in the World Series.
Still, he’s been around a long time and has big game experience.
He allowed five runs over five innings in Game 1 on Friday night.
But not many pitchers have been around as long as Verlander has, and few in the history of the game can say that they’ve started at least one World Series game in three different decades.
He was only a rookie when he made his World Series debut.
Now 16 years later, he’s one of the most experienced postseason pitchers in all of baseball
He’ll be opposed by Noah Syndergaard in Game 5.
It’ll be his ninth career World Series start.
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