No one’s perfect. And sometimes you have to be.
Astros starter Justin Verlander turned in another excellent performance, but a shaky second inning in which the master surrendered two runs on three hits ruined his chance for an 18th win.
Meanwhile, the Orioles starter, rookie Kyle Bradish, smothered the Astros, throwing an 8.2-inning, two-hit shutout. He whiffed 10 Astros and walked none, throwing 70 strikes out of 100 total pitches.
He was lifted after Jeremy Pena singled with two outs in the ninth. Felix Bautista struck out Aledmys Diaz to finish off the Astros.
Tonight’s loss shouldn’t help nor hurt Verlander’s chances for the Cy Young, although he had trouble missing bats, especially early.