Raising his game in October, Verlander ready for Game 2 test

LOS ANGELES -- Justin Verlander will take the ball for the Houston Astros in Game 2 of the World Series with a mandate to pull his team even against the Los Angeles Dodgers. If the gleam in his eyes and the life on his heater are any indication, it could be a while before he gives the ball back.

In this, his 12th big league season, Verlander is a smarter, more self-assured pitcher than the rookie who got knocked around by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2006 World Series. A lot of strikeouts, charter flights, video sessions, spring trainings, scouting meetings and on-field adjustments have taken him here, to his October happy place, at the advanced baseball age of 34 years, 8 months.

En route to winning the American League Championship Series MVP Award, Verlander carved up the New York Yankees with a 124-pitch complete game and a 99-pitch, seven-inning gem. The two outings were in the Bob Gibson, John Smoltz, Curt Schilling or Jack Morris October hero mold, from before managers were paid to obsess about third-time-around-the-batting-order stats and when elite starters had the latitude to work out of any messes they made.

Verlander appeared to be in his own little world in the ALCS, staring in for signs and summoning the will to makes big pitches in pivotal situations. As his former manager, Jim Leyland, was fond of saying, Verlander is built for this grand stage in October.

"I think the mental focus is just at another level," Verlander said. "It's easy to say, 'Why don't you just do that every game?' But it's unsustainable throughout the course of the regular season. It you were that mentally focused, you'd just burn out.

"I don't really know how to explain it. My sole focus even between innings is thinking about what I can do to execute and what pitches I should throw and what I've seen and what my instincts are telling me. There are times where I lose track of where we're at in the game, and I don't really know what's going on."

One of Verlander's most freakish attributes is his ability to hold his velocity and fit the moniker of "power pitcher" at an age when so many contemporaries have either declined physically or had to reinvent themselves for the sake of survival.

This year, Verlander ranked eighth among MLB starters with an average fastball velocity of 95.2 mph. The seven pitchers ahead of him (Luis Severino, Gerrit Cole, Michael Fulmer, Carlos Martinez, Stephen Strasburg, Chris Archer and Jose Urena) range in age from 23 to 29 years old.

"I was told when he first got here, both by him and other people, that he gets stronger throughout the game, and everything speaks to that," Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. "When you watch it happen on the biggest stage in some of the biggest moments in our biggest games, you become a believer. It's in his DNA. He's a finisher mentally just as much as he is physically."

In his mid-30s, Verlander is enhancing his reputation as a terrific second-half pitcher. The past two seasons, he has a 1.96 ERA after the All-Star break, second only to that ofKyle Hendricks of the Chicago Cubs (1.91) among major league starters.

There's no shortcut to that kind of durability. Verlander spends his winters immersed in core training, lifting weights and laying a foundation of strength. Once the season begins, he concentrates on sleep, proper diet, running, light weights and recovery.

"I actually got a text from my trainer yesterday saying, 'It's funny. This time last year, we were in the gym getting after it right now, and here you are in the World Series,'" Verlander said. "It's crazy how things can change in a year."

Verlander's star appeal and the dramatic, last-minute deal that brought him to Houston from Detroit have made him a popular subject with the media this postseason. He has been engaging and insightful in his interviews, befitting a man whose career took a sudden turn and dropped him in the middle of fantasyland.

Verlander chuckled during a media session Tuesday when asked to reflect on reports that he might've been willing to waive his blanket no-trade clause to leave Detroit and pitch for the Dodgers. As it was, the Astros and Tigers barely beat the deadline to complete a trade by the end of August.

"I think a lot of it was blown out of proportion because I bought a house out here," Verlander said. "I think it was easy for everyone to say, 'There's been rumors of Justin going to L.A., and he bought a house. It's the perfect fit.'"

With two years left on his contract, Verlander is a wonderful fit as the resident leader/mentor/professional role model on the Houston staff. When he arrives at Dodger Stadium for Game 2, his teammates will give him the requisite space with the knowledge that he has everything under control.

"He's not a guy that you can't say hi to," pitcher Charlie Mortonsaid. "But he's very focused before the games. He seems like he knows where he has to go, and he just goes there, whether it's the clubhouse or the dugout or he's about to go on the mound. He's been doing this for a long time, and he's really, really good at it."

Especially when it matters most. Verlander took some lumps in his postseason outings early in his career, but he has been an October force of nature since 2012. After logging a 5.57 ERA in his first eight postseason starts, he has posted a 1.61 ERA in his past 11.

"When we wake up tomorrow morning, we'll have breakfast and get here early and [know] we have a very good chance to win because Justin Verlander is on the mound," Hinch said. "We think he can win every single game he pitches. I don't know if there's any better compliment for a starting pitcher."