As you should all know by now, Justin Verlander, ace of the Detroit Tigers, threw a no-hitter on Saturday – his 2nd of his young career.
Verlander’s no-hitter came on the eve of Mother’s Day, a year after Dallas Braden threw a perfect game on Mother’s Day. Verlander was an inch or two away from being perfect himself, but it was perfect in another sense: its timing with the Kentucky Derby.
The 137th Kentucky Derby was run on Saturday and The Greatest Two Minutes in Sports lined up perfectly with the break between the top of the 9th inning and the bottom of the 9th inning. Yes, maybe insignificant, but you had just enough time to switch to NBC for the Derby and then switch back to MLB Network/FOX Sports Detroit to catch Verlander’s 9th inning in its entirety.
Fitting, too. Justin Verlander is the unquestioned work horse of the Detroit Tigers’ pitching staff and has been ever since he’s come into the league. Year in and year out Verlander makes it to the mound every 5th day and gives the Tigers their money’s worth. He’s averaging 115 pitches per start this year and has a quality start in each of his eight starts. Ironically, his no-hitter only took 108 pitches, tied for his lowest pitch total this season.
So, when Tigers’ color commentator Rod Allen made a Justin Verlander/Kentucky Derby reference, it was the perfect call here (via Mocksession):
Verlander would make a pretty good Kentucky Derby horse name, too, wouldn’t it?
