<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/how-justin-verlander-handled-tense-moment-in-last-2025-start-with-giants');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Justin Verlander handled tense moment in last 2025 start with Giants');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/San-Francisco-Giants-starting-pitcher-Justin-Verlander-2.jpg"><figcaption>D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Justin Verlander handled tense moment in last 2025 start with Giants</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-27T17:27:52-07:00">September 27th, 5:27pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-27T17:27:52-07:00">September 27th, 5:27pm</time><address><a>Zachary Howell</a>Zachary Howell is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints focusing on creating premier MLB content. He is a big fan of the Yankees, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Syracuse Orange. In his free time, he likes to be outside or read.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The San Francisco Giants started Justin Verlander for the final time in 2025 on Saturday. The veteran fought his way to an effective start against the Colorado Rockies at home. Despite his age, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-rumors-no-doubt-justin-verlander-return-21st-season">Verlander is leaning towards playing at least one more season</a> in Major League Baseball. Unfortunately, Ryan Walker and Jordan Beck made him sweat out his final win of 2025.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-justin-verlander-ends-win-drought-miserable-season">Verlander got off to a rough start in his first season with San Francisco</a>. However, the former Cy Young award winner rediscovered his former glory and put together a respectable finish. After starting the year 0-10, the veteran finished with a 4-11 record, building momentum he can carry into 2026. He allowed two runs on Saturday, but the Giants did not take advantage.</p><p>San Francisco entered the ninth inning with a 4-2 lead. Walker, who has been an effective closer in 2025, needed three outs to secure the save and get Verlander his win. After getting one, Beck crushed a solo shot to center field. With Giants fans on edge, Walker left the game and Spencer Bivens cleaned up after him.</p><p>According to NBC Sports’ Alex Pavlovic, Verlander <a href="https://x.com/PavlovicNBCS/status/1972072992235835885" rel="noopener">broke some old habits</a> to give his team some good luck.</p><p>“Justin Verlander on how he handled that nervous top of the ninth: ‘I found a different place to sit in the locker room than I had all season. I had a different brand of beer,'” Pavlovic said.</p><p>The Giants narrowly missed the National League playoff picture. Verlander’s struggles have played a role in their struggles, but the 42-year-old proved that he can still spin it. Even though fellow future Hall-of-Famer <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-clayton-kershaw-retire-after-2025-season">Clayton Kershaw announced his retirement before facing San Francisco</a> last week, Verlander is not following his lead.</p><p>The former All-Star still has something to prove in the final years of his MLB career. Whether it is in San Francisco or somewhere else, Verlander has shown that he is just as talented as ever.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Justin Verlander handled tense moment in last 2025 start with Giants

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-justin-verlander-receives-brutally-honest-message-john-smoltz');   ga('set', 'title', 'Giants’ Justin Verlander receives brutally honest message from John Smoltz');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Hall-of-Fame-pitcher-John-Smoltz.jpg"><figcaption>JON RATHBUN / Herkimer Times Telegram / USA TODAY NETWORK</figcaption></figure><h1>Giants’ Justin Verlander receives brutally honest message from John Smoltz</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-20T11:05:18-07:00">September 20th, 11:05am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-20T11:05:18-07:00">September 20th, 11:05am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>After San Francisco Giants pitcher <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-justin-verlander-roger-clemens-mlb-history">Justin Verlander made MLB history this week</a>, joining Roger Clemens as the only pitcher to allow one or no runs in four consecutive outings, Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz explained why we may never seen a 20-year pitcher again. Amidst his 20th season, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-rumors-no-doubt-justin-verlander-return-21st-season">Verlander confirmed he will return in 2026</a>. However, Smoltz revealed why Justin is the last of a dying breed.</p><p>Due to the rise of analytics and its importance for MLB teams to determine when it’s time to move on from a particular starting pitcher, Smoltz doesn’t believe future starting pitchers will be granted <a href="https://twitter.com/FlippinBatsPod/status/1969441376166429114" rel="noopener">the opportunity to extend their careers</a> to 20+ years, he said, per the Flippin Bats Podcast.</p><p>“I think everybody should have looked at his career, and we’re going to lose sight of it because he’s the last one to ever do this. Period.” Smoltz said. “You heard it. Last one ever. There will never, under the current circumstances in baseball, and the reward system, ever be a pitcher that pitches 20 years again. You can make statements that they’ll be the last one to reach that many strikeouts on so on and so on. You can make 10 categories that no one will ever reach.</p><p>“But they need to study him and use him as an example for the future if we wanna change the narrative of how pitchers should be used and what they should do.”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">John Smoltz with a message to Justin Verlander for reaching 20 YEARS of MLB Service time:</p><p>“There will NEVER be another pitcher in history to reach 20 years.” <a href="https://t.co/tVFKMLAngg">pic.twitter.com/tVFKMLAngg</a></p><p>— Flippin' Bats Podcast (@FlippinBatsPod) <a href="https://twitter.com/FlippinBatsPod/status/1969441376166429114?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><h2><b>John Smoltz says Giants’ Justin Verlander marks the end of an era</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Giants-pitcher-Justin-Verlander.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz says speed is valued now more than ever in baseball, determining the length of one’s career, while Giants starting pitcher Justin Verlander has defied the odds. For Smoltz, pitchers can evolve in other ways after their fastball peaks. However, he doesn’t believe they’ll be granted the opportunity to prove that.</p><p>“The reason we’ll never see it again is because this generation won’t be allowed to do that,” Smoltz added. “When they fall off the radar gun or fall of the metrics analytically, they’re done. No one wants to take a chance on that because they’re not given the ability to do that. So, as I ended my career and he was in the twilight of his, I enjoyed following and watching this masterpiece of what you can do with the talent that you have.</p><p>“And it’s not all about revving the engines and letting it go because you’re driving a Masserati. It’s using every aspect of what he had,” Smoltz concluded.</p><p>Verlander pitched for seven innings in his last outings. He received a no decision after allowing only three hits and finishing with three strikeouts in the Giants’ 5-1 win against the Diamondbacks.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Giants’ Justin Verlander receives brutally honest message from John Smoltz

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-justin-verlander-receives-honest-message-john-smoltz');   ga('set', 'title', 'Giants’ Justin Verlander receives brutally honest message from John Smoltz');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Justin-Verlander-moves-closer-to-MLB-history-in-start-vs.-Rays.jpg"><figcaption>Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Giants’ Justin Verlander receives brutally honest message from John Smoltz</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-20T10:44:45-07:00">September 20th, 10:44am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-20T10:44:45-07:00">September 20th, 10:44am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>At 42 years old, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-justin-verlander-roger-clemens-mlb-history">Justin Verlander is still making plays</a> on the mound, and he wants to continue to do so beyond this season. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-justin-verlander-exclusive-company-10-strikeout-orioles">Verlander is on a hot streak</a> for the San Francisco Giants, as he’s only given up three runs over 31 innings in his past five starts.</p><p>Everyone is noticing his strong play, even John Smoltz, who <a href="https://x.com/FlippinBatsPod/status/1969441376166429114" rel="noopener">had some high praise</a> for him recently on the Flippin’ Bats Podcast.</p><p>“There will never, under the current circumstances of baseball and the reward system, ever be a pitcher who pitches 20 years again,” Smoltz said. “You could make a statement that they’ll be the last ones to ever have that many strikeouts. You can make 10 categories that no one will ever reach, but they need to study him and use him as an example for the future if we want to change the narrative of how pitch should be used and what they should do.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">John Smoltz with a message to Justin Verlander for reaching 20 YEARS of MLB Service time:</p><p>“There will NEVER be another pitcher in history to reach 20 years.” <a href="https://t.co/tVFKMLAngg">pic.twitter.com/tVFKMLAngg</a></p><p>— Flippin' Bats Podcast (@FlippinBatsPod) <a href="https://twitter.com/FlippinBatsPod/status/1969441376166429114?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 20, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>“I’m talking all the way back from he’s got 99, he had 98, but he didn’t use it all the time. He used his gears, and then when he had to dial it up, he did. And you can still make a claim that, at his age and his velocity, he knows how to pitch. The reason we’ll never see it again is that this generation won’t be allowed to do that.”</p><p>Verlander has 265 career wins, which is one behind Hall of Famers Bob Feller and Eppa Rixey for 34th on the all-time list. If Verlander returns next year, he’ll be in his 21st season, and is letting everyone know that he would love to return.</p><p>“I would hope somebody would offer me a contract now,” Verlander said via Bob Nightengale of USA Today.</p><p>If Verlander can continue to play at a high level, there should be no reason why somebody doesn’t give him a shot next season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-justin-verlander-roger-clemens-mlb-history');   ga('set', 'title', 'Justin Verlander joins Roger Clemens in MLB history with latest gem');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/JV.jpg"><figcaption>D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images.</figcaption></figure><h1>Justin Verlander joins Roger Clemens in MLB history with latest gem</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-17T15:30:47-07:00">September 17th, 3:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-17T15:30:47-07:00">September 17th, 3:30pm</time><address><a>Zachary Draves</a>Zachary Draves is a sportswriter and broadcaster based in the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa. Zachary covers a variety of different sports as well as sports history, sport and society, and sport and culture. He is also a professor of sociology.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>It’s been said that San Francisco Giants veteran pitcher <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-rumors-no-doubt-justin-verlander-return-21st-season">Justin Verlander will return for his 21st season</a>. However, he still needs to finish his 20th.</p><p>On Wednesday, Verlander <a href="https://x.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1968427092392988796" rel="noopener">etched his name</a> in the history books alongside the likes of Roger Clemens, per Sarah Langs of MLB.com.</p><p>Over the course of four games, Verlander has allowed one or no runs. Additionally, he is the only pitcher 42 years plus since Clemens in 2005 to achieve such a feat over 125 seasons.</p><p>In 2005, Clemens went 13-8 with a 3.91 ERA and 104 strikeouts in 179.1 innings pitched with the Houston Astros.</p><p>This is the latest historical feat Verlander has achieved. Recently, he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-justin-verlander-exclusive-company-10-strikeout-orioles">completed a season high of 121 pitches</a> after striking out 10 against the Baltimore Orioles.</p><p>Currently, Verlander is 3-10 with an ERA of 3.94 along with 124 strikeouts. Over a 20-year career, he has notched 265 wins, a 3.32 career ERA, 3,540 strikeouts, and 3,550.1 innings pitched.</p><p>Additionally, Verlander is a three-time Cy Young Award winner, an MVP, and has two World Series titles in 2017 and 2022.</p><p>Meanwhile, the Giants are 75-76 on the year. Ultimately, the Giants did not secure a spot in the postseason. Also, they are in the midst of a four-game losing streak.</p><h2><b>The comparison between Justin Verlander and Roger Clemens</b></h2><p>In addition to their longevity, Verlander and Clemens each were two of the defining pitchers of their eras.</p><p>A major difference between them is a place in Cooperstown. Verlander is likely to be a Hall of Famer, whereas Clemens won’t be inducted due to allegations of steroid use.</p><p>Nevertheless, both have accomplished plenty throughout their careers, particularly in the playoffs.</p><p>Overall, Clemens was 12-8 with an ERA of 3.75 and 173 strikeouts in 35 appearances. Much like Verlander, he won two World Series titles in 1999 and 2000 with the New York Yankees.</p><p>Whereas Verlander has an 17-12 record with a 3.58 ERA and 244 strikeouts in 38 appearances. Meanwhile, Clemens has seven Cy Young Awards to his name.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Justin Verlander joins Roger Clemens in MLB history with latest gem

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-rumors-no-doubt-justin-verlander-return-21st-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Giants rumors: ‘No doubt’ Justin Verlander will return for 21st season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/San-Francisco-Giants-pitcher-Justin-Verlander-pitches.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Tim Vizer-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Giants rumors: ‘No doubt’ Justin Verlander will return for 21st season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-14T08:34:46-07:00">September 14th, 8:34am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-14T08:35:09-07:00">September 14th, 8:35am</time><address><a>Benjamin Adducchio</a>Benjamin Adducchio is a journalist and writer with more than a decade of experience in covering sports news. Ben is a passionate sports fan who loves college football, basketball, and the New York Yankees.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-san-francisco-announces-injury-moves-dodgers">San Francisco Giants are trying to salvage</a> what is left of the 2025 Major League Baseball season. One of the Giants players who is doing everything he can to win is veteran pitcher Justin Verlander. Verlander has posted a 3.94 earned run average this season for the team, while playing in 26 games.</p><p>It seems that the hurler <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2025/09/14/darryl-kile-heart-disease-st-louis-cardinals/86144898007/" rel="noopener">isn’t quite ready yet</a> either to walk away from baseball.</p><p>“There’s no doubt that Justin Verlander, 42, will come back for at least his 21st season next year after the finishing kick with the San Franciso Giants. He has yielded a 2.44 ERA in his last 10 starts, including seven dominant innings Friday when he gave up just one run to the Los Angeles Dodgers,” USA Today’s Bob Nightengale wrote on Sunday.</p><p>The Giants hold a 75-73 record on the season. San Francisco has won six of their last 10 contests.</p><h2><b>Justin Verlander has been a bright spot for the Giants</b></h2><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/san-francisco-giants/giants-news-justin-verlander-believes-he-found-a-fix-to-problems">Verlander joined the Giants</a> before the 2025 season. He has been around several teams in his long MLB career. He has helped San Francisco’s rotation this season, as he is third on the team this season in innings pitched and strikeouts. Verlander has posted 124 strikeouts on the campaign.</p><p>The Giants have several new faces this season on the roster. San Francisco is under new management, who has not been afraid to make big trades. The team traded with the Boston Red Sox for Rafael Devers earlier this year.</p><p>“One of the keys to the Giants’ dramatic turnaround was Buster Posey, president of baseball operations. He had heart-to-heart conversations with several of their top players, subtly reminding them of his expectations,” Nightengale added.</p><p>Time will tell if San Francisco holds on to Verlander for next season. The 42-year-old hurler is a nine-time All-Star, who also is a two-time World Series champion. The hurler has tons of other awards in his trophy case.</p><p>The Giants are playing the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	WINS
63	3.43	19	1.24	2

2025 SEASON STATS
IP	ERA	K	WHIP	WINS
63	3.43	19	1.24	2

Justin Verlander

Latest Justin Verlander News

How Justin Verlander handled tense moment in last 2025 start with Giants

Giants’ Justin Verlander receives brutally honest message from John Smoltz

Giants’ Justin Verlander receives brutally honest message from John Smoltz

Justin Verlander joins Roger Clemens in MLB history with latest gem

Giants rumors: ‘No doubt’ Justin Verlander will return for 21st season

Justin
Verlander