Justin Verlander has some of the worst World Series numbers in history after underwhelming again in Game 2

Verlander surrendered four runs in six-plus innings vs. the Nationals

Given that the Astros lost Game 2 of the World Series to the Nationals in embarrassing blowout fashion (WAS 12, HOU 3), you can't rightly say it's on starter Justin Verlander. That would be unfair given the struggles of the offense and the bullpen after Verlander was chased with no outs in the seventh. The reality, though -- the surprising reality --- is that Verlander yet again failed to meet expectations in a World Series start. 

Here's his work in Game 2 against Washington: 

That's hardly a disaster start, and you can argue he didn't deserve to be charged with that fourth and final run after he'd left the game, but it's not what we've come to expect from Verlander in what's probably going to a Cy Young season. Unfortunately for Verlander, it's also in keeping with his larger World Series body of work. Here's a fairly shocking stat that's true as of Verlander's Game 2 outing: 

Justin Verlander has the fourth-highest ERA in #WorldSeries history.

1. Don Newcombe (8.59 ERA)
2. Carl Erskine (5.84 ERA)
3. Hank Borowy (5.76 ERA)
4. Justin Verlander (5.73 ERA)
5. Don Sutton (5.26 ERA)

(*minimum 5 WS starts) pic.twitter.com/O9qqwUZzON

— CBS Sports HQ (@CBSSportsHQ) October 24, 2019

Let's not overstate this: You have to be a darn good pitcher for a team or teams to entrust you with five or more World Series starts. Those aren't charitable gifts, and Verlander is bound for the Hall of Fame despite what you see above. All that said, yes, Verlander has been very bad across his now six World Series starts. Here are the rest of them: 

1. 2006 World Series Game 1: 5 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 8 SO, 2 BB
2. 2006 World Series Game 5: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 SO, 3 BB
3. 2012 World Series Game 1: 4 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 SO, 1BB
4. 2017 World Series Game 2: 6 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 5 SO, 2 BB
5. 2017 World Series Game 6: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 9 SO, 0 BB

In no World Series start has Verlander, who became the all-time MLB postseason strikeout leader on Wednesday, struck out double digits or made it more than six innings. Again, that's not what we're accustomed to from him. And as you see above, it all adds up to a 5.73 ERA in World Series games, and that figure doesn't account for the three unearned runs that Verlander has allowed in those six starts (despite how ERA is calculated, pitchers do bear some responsibility for unearned runs). 

On one level, this is understandable. Pitchers who carry ace workloads all season, like Verlander does, can hit a wall by the time you get to the Fall Classic. As well, you're typically facing darn good lineups in the World Series, so it's more of a challenge than the regular season. All that said, the truth of the matter is that Verlander has mostly struggled and fallen short of his own standards when leverage is at its highest. The doesn't square with the remainder of his legacy, but for now it's part of his story.