Alex Cora applauds Justin Verlander's greatness after in-game episode with Astros' ace 

Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora was full of praise for Justin Verlander as the veteran ace helped his team over six innings on Tuesday night. The Houston Astros recorded a convincing 7-3 win over the Boston team to move closer to the top of their division. Verlander was the star of the night as the right-hander tweaked something mechanically since his last start to put in his best performance since his move to the Astros earlier this month.

Justin Verlander is a veteran ace who has proved his worth playing with several teams in the MLB. Having originally started his MLB career with the Detroit Tigers in 2005, he was traded to the Astros in 2017, where he won two World Series titles and also the ALCS MVP while also adding two more Cy Young awards to his collection. While he started the 2023 season with the New York Mets, he was traded back to the Astros ahead of deadline day.

While Justin Verlander was on fire on the night against the Red Sox, he had a heated exchange with the opposite team's manager, Alex Cora, ahead of the second innings. The incident occurred when the Houston pitcher motioned that his PitchCom earpiece wasn't working and Cora came out to protest the delay in the game, saying that it was a ploy to get some more time out of the pitch clock. However, after the game, Cora spoke about Verlander and showed that there were no hard feelings.

"He's one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game. He did a good job today," said Cora.

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Justin Verlander records best outing since rejoining the Astros earlier this month

Justin Verlander's return to the Astros for his second spell with the Houston team has gotten off to a terrific start. The veteran looks to have tweaked the mechanics behind his pitch ahead of the game against the Boston Red Sox and it has paid dividends.

Verlander threw 96 pitches on the night, giving up only five hits and recording a season-high nine strikeouts. The Boston bats could not cope with him throughout the night and their manager praised the ace after the game. The Astros are now one game away from leading their division as the Rangers continue to slump in the MLB.