SF Giants blown out by Nationals as Verlander joins 3,500-strikeout membership

SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Verlander made historical past, however the Washington Nationals performed spoiler.

In entrance of a Sunday sellout crowd at Oracle Park, Verlander grew to become the tenth pitcher to ever whole 3,500 profession strikeouts, including to the laundry record of feats that may land him in Cooperstown.

That was nearly all the house followers needed to have a good time.

Verlander allowed 5 runs and 11 hits over 5 innings. Washington’s MacKenzie Gore pitched six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts. Infielder Christian Koss pitched the ninth inning. With a three-game sequence in opposition to the San Diego Padres looming, the Giants misplaced 8-0 to the Nationals, dropping a sequence to the third-worst group in baseball.

Verlander entered the day with 3,497 regular-season strikeouts, and he wanted just one inning to succeed in the subsequent huge spherical quantity.

The long run Corridor of Famer started his afternoon by placing out James Wooden swinging with an elevated 95.3 mph four-seam fastball. He adopted up by punching out CJ Abrams swinging with a down-and-in slider that dropped off the desk, bringing him one strikeout away from historical past.

Verlander’s march to historical past was delayed by back-to-back singles from Josh Bell and Paul DeJong, establishing a matchup in opposition to Nathaniel Lowe with two on and two outs. As soon as Verlander obtained forward within the depend, 1-2, he reared again and fired a four-seam fastball on the skin edge. Lowe’s foul tip landed proper within the mitt of catcher Patrick Bailey. Verlander had his historical past.

The Sunday afternoon crowd at Oracle Park rose to their ft and showered Verlander with applause. Verlander, in return, tipped his cap as he walked again to the third-base dugout.

The vibes on the ballpark instantly shifted within the high of the second because the Nationals put up a four-spot in opposition to Verlander, the backbreaker being CJ Abrams’ towering two-run shot off the right-field foul pole. It was an inning that set the tone for a day the place the Giants allowed 17 hits, tied for probably the most they’ve allowed in a single recreation this season. For Verlander, it was the eighth time in his profession that he has allowed no less than 11 hits.

Verlander joined Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Steve Carlton, Bert Blyleven, Tom Seaver, Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry and Walter Johnson as the one pitchers to ever attain the milestone.

With six strikeouts on the afternoon, Verlander is now sitting on 3,503 profession regular-season strikeouts. Verlander ought to overtake Randy Johnson (3,509) for ninth place on the all-time record within the subsequent begin or two, and he’ll have a powerful likelihood at overtaking Perry (3,534) by season’s finish.

The Giants enter Monday’s sequence opener in opposition to the Padres 6.5 video games behind them within the wild-card hunt and 4 video games behind the Mets for the third and last wild-card spot.

Initially Revealed: August 10, 2025 at 3:31 PM PDT