Astros' Justin Verlander, healthy again, shows Twins what aces are all about

Tuesday afternoon, newfound Twins ace Joe Ryan prepared for his start by sitting in front of his locker wearing sunglasses, untied running shoes, jeans and a T-shirt, listening to something through earbuds, while reading.

The assumption here is that Astros starter Justin Verlander, at that time, was in front of his locker, reading the Twins' lineup, listening to recordings of his previous outings against Minnesota, and drooling.

Verlander dominated the Twins on Tuesday night at Target Field, pitching 7 ⅓ no-hit innings before Gio Urshela hit a high fastball on a line to right field for a clean single. The Astros won 5-0 before 16,156 at Target Field.

Before Urshela's hit, the Twins had managed only two baserunners — on Jorge Polanco's leadoff walk in the fifth and Gilberto Celestino's two-out walk in the sixth. Both runners were erased — Polanco on a double play and Celestino trying to steal — so Verlander had faced the minimum possible batters before Urshela's hit.

Ryan took the mound to the strains of The Grateful Dead's "Fire on the Mountain.''

Verlander, given his history against the Twins, just seemed grateful to take the mound. Entering the game, he had pitched 38 games against Minnesota, going 20-10 with 253 strikeouts in 253⅔ innings, with an ERA of 2.91.

Tuesday, he pitched eight innings, allowed one hit, two walks and no runs, striking out five, to lower his ERA on the season to 1.55. He threw 89 pitches, 63 for strikes.

He is 39. He hasn't pitched a full season since 2019. He is coming off Tommy John surgery. Dusty Baker had set his pitch limit on the night at about 90 pitches, but felt good about Verlander going out for the ninth if he hadn't allowed a hit in the eighth.

The last time the Twins had lost a game at Target Field, Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw had no-hit them for seven innings before being removed, having thrown 80 pitches.

Baker, the living baseball encyclopedia, recently said of Verlander: "He's as mentally strong as anybody I've had on my team."

As Twins fans know, Verlander is the definition of an ace. He was trying to throw his fourth no-hitter, which would have tied Sandy Koufax for second on the career list. Nolan Ryan threw seven.

According to journalist David Salituro, Verlander has taken 11 no-hitters into the seventh inning, third-most ever.

"Unfortunately, I've been here many times before and had it happen," Verlander said. "There's been some heartbreaking ones. In the ninth inning."

Baseball needs pitchers like Verlander — and Ryan. On a beautiful Tuesday night at Target Field, a future Hall of Famer and a promising rookie faced each other in the kind of matchup that used to serve as baseball's best marketing plan.

Games like this should make us appreciate what could be the year of the deadened baseball. Runs are down and the game is being played differently, with a renewed emphasis on advancing runners, steals, hit-and-runs, bunts and playing for one run.

In 2019, the Twins set a big-league record with 307 home runs. Entering Tuesday, the 2022 Twins were on pace to hit 162 home runs.

If you love home runs, this is a crisis.

If you love the subtleties and strategies of low-scoring games, this is a relief.

The ball is dead. Long live the dead ball.

Asked why he was able to keep his pitch count down, Verlander said, "Less swings and misses."

Twins fans got to know Verlander when he was a kid. Late Tuesday, he pointed at his gray hair, and when someone noted that he'd smiled during the game, he smiled again.

"My daughter has changed me," he said. "I still take my job extremely seriously, but you know, maybe I appreciate the little things a little more.

"I am having fun. The surgery could have taken this game away from me."

Here's to elbow specialists, softer baseballs, and pitching matchups that make a baseball fan salivate.