Jerome Solomon: Justin Verlander pitching like best of his generation

Three pitches into the game, a door popped open in the outfield fence at Minute Maid Park. The door wasn’t open for long, as Astros’ center fielder Chas McCormick ran and closed it. The metaphorical “door of opportunity” for the New York Yankees was open significantly longer. Justin Verlander closed that one himself. When he pumped his first and walked off the mound, fired up after striking out Matt Carpenter and his funky mustache to end the sixth, Verlander had again proved he is perhaps the best pitcher of his generation. Sorry, make that a generation and a half. The man is 39 years old.

Wednesday, Verlander allowed only three hits and one run in six innings, affording the Astros enough time to plate runs to claim a 4-2 win over the Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series. Verlander struck out 11 batters, the most since he fanned 13 Yankees in Game 2 of the 2017 ALCS. It was his record eighth playoff game with 10 or more strikeouts, and he is now the all-time leader in postseason strikeouts with 219, six ahead of Clayton Kershaw. Verlander’s outing is even more remarkable considering he threw 45 of his 103 pitches in the first two innings as he worked his way through the batting order the first time. He gave up just a Harrison Bader home run to lead off the second inning, but all indications were he was going to be in for a short night. Verlander, who lasted just four innings in Game 1 of the ALDS against Seattle last week, wasn’t about to leave his team hanging again. He was the epitome of an ace, retiring the final 11 batters he faced, nine by strikeout. “He got it together,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “He was actually better between 80 and 100 pitches than he was prior to that. He was dealing. … He found his rhythm. “Sometimes that happens. He knows how to pitch.”