Justin Verlander pitches for the Mets and won two World Series titles with the Houston Astros, but he will always be a part of Detroit. It was there that he started his storied career, won his first of three Cy Young Awards and his one Most Valuable Player Award and fired two of his three career no-hitters.
So when three Tigers pitchers combined to throw the ninth no-hitter in club history — and the 20th combined no-hitter in major league history — Verlander was paying attention. As was the rest of his family: Their group chat quickly blew up with talk of the first no-hitter thrown at Comerica Park since Verlander handcuffed Milwaukee in 2007 and the old highlights that were being shown during the broadcast.
“My wife informed me of how young she was when that happened and then somebody else told me how young I looked,” Verlander said, smiling and good-naturedly muttering an expletive that emphasized how long ago that was.
Verlander does not know Matt Manning, the Tigers right-hander who mowed through the Blue Jays for the first six and two-thirds innings during Detroit’s 2-0 win on Saturday, nor is he familiar with the relievers who took over from there: Jason Foley (one and a third innings) and Alex Lange (one inning). But more than any other active player, he knows…
