When former teammates and future Hall of Famers Max Scherzer of the Rangers and Justin Verlander of the Astros opposed one another on Wednesday night in Arlington for the first time in their careers, it was expected to be a duel of aces. Instead, it was a one-sided affair that saw Texas' recent struggles persist.
The Astros swept the series with a 12-3 win, and across the three games, they out-scored their in-state rivals by a tally of 39-10. Houston, 80-61, has expanded its lead in the American League West to one game over the Mariners and three games over the Rangers. The Rangers, meanwhile, suffered their 15th loss in their last 19 games. The team that was a season-best 24 games over .500 less than a month ago and was long in the discussion for the best team in baseball is now out of playoff position in the AL. The loss on Wednesday dropped them to a half-game behind the Blue Jays in the race for the final AL wild-card spot.
As for the pitchers in question, it was Verlander's night:
Of his 100 pitches, 64 went for strikes. For his efforts, Verlander picked up career win No. 255, which puts him alone in 43rd place on the all-time wins list and just one victory shy of tying Andy Pettitte. On the season, the 40-year-old right-hander now has a 3.23 ERA across 136 1/3 combined innings for the Mets and Astros.
Scherzer, on the other hand, endured uncharacteristic struggles:
This marks the first time that Scherzer has allowed seven or more runs in a start since July 8, 2021. Most of the damage came on this, the fifth grand slam of José Abreu's career:
Jose Abreu's grand slam is the 14th @Astros homer of the series, a club record for any three-game set. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/4as8JcwKSK
— MLB (@MLB) September 7, 2023
Abreu's was one of three home runs allowed by Scherzer on the night and one of six hard-hit balls against him. Abreu homered again in the ninth, his 14th of the season. The Astros hit 16 home runs during their trip to Arlington, a franchise record for a three-game series. As for Scherzer, his ERA for the season now stands at 3.91 across his time with the Mets and Rangers. If that holds up, it'll be Schezer's highest ERA since 2011.
Looking ahead, the Astros may have a chance to grow their edge in the division, as they'll play their next nine games against the Padres, A's, and Royals. Texas moves right into what should be an accommodating three-game set against the A's, and then comes a critical four-game road series against the Blue Jays.
Coming into Wednesday's slate, the SportsLine Projection System gave the Astros a 97.6% chance of making the playoffs, while the Rangers checked in with a 52.7% chance.
