Every time Justin Verlander steps on the mound great things are expected to happen. Last night he did not disappoint as he took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against the Pirates. Josh Harrison broke the no-no with a base hit up the middle on probably one of the worst swings anybody had all night.
Throughout the night, Verlander drew raving comparisons. This is what journalist @JonHeymanCBS had to say:
"velrander is amazing. its like nolan ryan again, or id imagine koufax. good job by josh harrison to break it up. #onehitter"
Nolan Ryan and Sandy Koufax are pretty heavy comparisons, but not farfetched. Last year, Verlander could have had three no-hitters. He pitched one against the Blue Jays on May7th. A month later, came five outs from throwing one against the Cleveland Indians. Then again, on July 31st was just four outs from completing a perfect game against the Los Angeles Angels.
The only active pitcher that can come close to this is probably Roy Halladay. Halladay pitched a no-hitter and a perfect game 2010. What made this season magical was that the no-hitter came in the postseason against the Reds.
Justin Verlander has not had a perfect game and it seems like the closest he will come to one will be imitating Randy Johnson in video game commercials. If Verlander continues to dominate hitters this way throughout the remainder of his career, do not be surprised if he joins Ryan and Koufak in the hall of fame.
