"I wish I could start him tomorrow, to tell you the truth" - Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker has complete confidence in star pitcher Justin Verlander despite poor performance against the Seattle Mariners

Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker has full confidence that his ace pitcher, Justin Verlander, will bounce back from his shaky start in game one. Baker wishes that he could pitch Verlander tomorrow to get the ace's confidence back.

"I wish I coould start him tomorrow, to tell you the truth", said dusty Baker.

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Verlander didn't have his usual dominant performance on Tuesday against the Seattle Mariners. He couldn't get past the fourth inning. He gave up an astounding ten hits and six earned runs.

The Mariners jumped on Verlander early and didn't allow him to get settled in. Star rookie Julio Rodriguez had a massive day against Verlander. He had a double and a triple off the Houston Astros' ace.

Rodriguez's two-run double in the second inning really put Verlander in trouble. A home run off the bat of J.P. Crawford in the fourth inning ended the day for Verlander.

This was one of Justin Verlander's worst starts of the year. He's been great throughout the regular season, being the frontrunner to win the AL Cy Young Award.

In the regular season, he had the league's best ERA at 1.75. He also had the league's best WHIP at 0.83. He had a 10-1 record at home, which is why many thought the Astros would easily beat the Mariners in game one in Houston.

The Houston Astros have 0 quit in them

Division Series - Seattle Mariners v Houston Astros - Game 1

The Houston Astros really had to battle to get their game one win over the Mariners. Down four runs in the eighth inning, Alex Bregman cut the deficit in half with a two-run bomb.

In the ninth inning, the Astros were able to get two men on. This prompted the Mariners to go to their starter Robbie Ray to get the save out of the bullpen. Ray was coming off two days of rest as he pitched in game two of the Wild Card game against the Blue Jays.

The move to get Ray out of the bullpen ended up being Seattle's downfall. Slugger Yordan Alvarez crushed a three-run home run for the walk-off. It was one of the greatest comebacks in postseason history.

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The Astros don't have an ounce of quit in them. After Verlander's poor start, they could have packed it up and moved on to game two. Their veteran presence understands the game is not over until the final out.

The Astros' strong-will will take them far into the postseason.

About the author

Jared "Bloomy" Bloom is a journalist covering Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda and a former college baseball pitcher from Illinois, who just graduated with a Master's degree in Sport Psychology.

A writer with over 3 years of experience, Jared is consistently more concerned with quality than quantity, thoroughly checking multiple sources of information, and prides himself in being knowledgeable not just about MLB, but the game of baseball in general. He loves breaking down plays and game-changing moments, as well as looking closer into players' statistics.

Jared is a die-hard Chicago White Sox fan, and one of his earliest memories is seeing his great-grandfather, a huge Sox fan, in his rocking chair watching a game. Jared started playing from the age of 5 with his grandfather coaching him early on.

Jared loved Tim Lincecum for his quirky delivery and looked up to him as a role model when playing. His current favorite is Phillies star Bryce Harper, an exciting player who doesn't let injuries hold him back. Jared's favorite sports moment is Mark Buehrle's opening day between-the-legs glove flip to first base in 2010.

When he is not watching or writing about baseball, Jared can be found racing BMX at his local Rockford BMX track or coaching his local youth travel baseball team.

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Edited by Gaelin Leif