Houston Astros' Justin Verlander, bullpen blank Philadelphia Phillies, lose no-hit bid in 9th

HOUSTON — Justin Verlander capped his magnificent comeback season by striking out 10 without allowing a hit in five innings, and Houston's bullpen kept the Philadelphia Phillies hitless until the ninth inning in a 10-0 win Tuesday night.

Verlander, who has pitched three no-hitters in his career, walked one before being pulled after 77 pitches. The AL West champion Astros led the NL wild-card Phillies 8-0 at the point.

Rookie Hunter Brown pitched 2 1/3 hitless innings and Hector Neris got the last two outs of the eighth inning. Will Smith came on for the ninth Garrett Stubbs singled to center field to break up the no-hitter bid, causing a smattering of boos from the crowd.

Jeremy Pena, Kyle Tucker and Martin Maldonado homered as the Astros jumped on Ranger Suarez (10-7) for six runs in two innings to build a huge lead early in their 1,000th win at Minute Maid Park, which opened in 2000.

Verlander (18-4) collected his American League-leading 18th win, and his MLB-leading 1.75 ERA is the lowest for a qualified pitcher in the AL, excluding the pandemic-shortened season, since Pedro Martinez posted a 1.74 ERA in 2000.

The two-time Cy Young Award winner's ERA is also the lowest of his career, besting his 2.40 ERA in 2011, when he won his first Cy Young and was also named AL MVP while with Detroit.

Verlander, who also won the Cy Young in 2019, is a top candidate to win the award for a third time this season after returning to form following an almost two-year absence following Tommy John surgery.

Verlander, 39, was dominant from the start Tuesday, fanning eight consecutive batters at one point to set a career-high and tie a franchise record.

That eight-strikeout streak started when he struck out Darick Hall to end the first. He