SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Verlander made history, but the Washington Nationals played spoiler.
In front of a Sunday sellout crowd at Oracle Park, Verlander became the 10th pitcher to ever total 3,500 career strikeouts, adding to the laundry list of feats that will land him in Cooperstown.
That was just about all the home fans had to celebrate.
Verlander allowed five runs and 11 hits over five innings. Washington’s MacKenzie Gore pitched six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts. Infielder Christian Koss pitched the ninth inning. With a three-game series against the San Diego Padres looming, the Giants lost 8-0 to the Nationals, dropping a series to the third-worst team in baseball.
Verlander entered the day with 3,497 regular-season strikeouts, and he needed only one inning to reach the next big round number.
The future Hall of Famer began his afternoon by striking out James Wood swinging with an elevated 95.3 mph four-seam fastball. He followed up by punching out CJ Abrams swinging with a down-and-in slider that dropped off the table, bringing him one strikeout away from history.
Verlander’s march to history was delayed by back-to-back singles from Josh Bell and Paul DeJong, setting up a matchup against Nathaniel Lowe with two on and two outs. Once Verlander got ahead in the count, 1-2, he reared back and fired a four-seam fastball on the outside edge. Lowe’s foul tip landed right in the mitt of catcher Patrick Bailey. Verlander had his history.
The Sunday afternoon crowd at Oracle Park rose to their feet and showered Verlander with applause. Verlander, in return, tipped his cap as he walked back to the third-base dugout.
The vibes at the ballpark immediately shifted in the top of the second as the Nationals put up a four-spot against Verlander, the backbreaker being CJ Abrams’ towering two-run shot off the right-field foul pole. It was an inning that set the tone for an afternoon where the Giants allowed 17 hits, tied for the most they’ve allowed in a single game this season. For Verlander, it was the eighth time in his career that he has allowed at least 11 hits.
Verlander joined Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton, Bert Blyleven, Tom Seaver, Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry and Walter Johnson as the only pitchers to ever reach the milestone.
With six strikeouts on the afternoon, Verlander is now sitting on 3,503 career regular-season strikeouts. Verlander should overtake Randy Johnson (3,509) for ninth place on the all-time list in the next start or two, and he’ll have a strong chance at overtaking Perry (3,534) by season’s end.
The Giants enter Monday’s series opener against the Padres 6.5 games behind them in the wild-card hunt and four games behind the Mets for the third and final wild-card spot.
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