Giants' Justin Verlander ends historic 16-game winless streak - ESPN

ATLANTA — Justin Verlander had good reason to fear the worst when rain began to fall at Truist Park on Wednesday, sending fans scurrying for cover in the fifth inning when he still needed three outs to qualify for his elusive first win in a San Francisco Giants uniform.

San Francisco led 3-0 when the 42-year-old Verlander was forced to consider if bad luck again would extend a winless streak of 17 starts that already ranked as the longest in a season in Giants history.

«I didn't know. I figured something like that would happen,» Verlander said. «This would be the game that gets rained out or we have a two-hour delay and they don't let me go back out.»

Instead, there was no delay. Verlander pitched through the light rain to complete the fifth inning of San Francisco's 9-3 win over the Atlanta Braves. He allowed only one hit and overcame five walks, including three in the first inning, to throw five scoreless innings.

Following the game, teammates who had been pulling for the three-time Cy Young Award winner's first win of the season placed a bottle of Verlander's favorite wine at his locker.

«It's awesome,» said Matt Chapman, whose two-run homer in the fifth helped put Verlander in position for the win. «We've wanted so badly to get him that first win.»

It was Verlander's first win since Sept. 28, when he was with the Houston Astros, and career win No. 263.

«I'll probably have a little bit of that [wine],» Verlander said when asked how he would celebrate.

Rafael Devers, who served as the Giants' designated hitter one day after making his debut as the starting first baseman, drove in four runs with three hits, including two home runs.

The win was more than a personal drought-breaker for Verlander. It gave the Giants the