Justin Verlander dominates Angels, spoiling Garrett Richards' return

ANAHEIM >> A pair of headphones engulfed Justin Verlander’s ears Tuesday afternoon. A giant computer monitor, maybe a foot in front his face, commanded his attention. Glance up a couple inches and Verlander could watch the Detroit Tigers play the Cleveland Indians on a television inside the Astros’ clubhouse, but with his first pitch a few hours away, his gaze stayed true.

His uniform may have changed, but Verlander’s game face has not.

Making his second start in a Houston Astros uniform, Verlander (12-8) limited the Angels to one hit over eight shutout innings Tuesday. A Yuli Gurriel single in the second inning knocked in the only run in the Angels’ 1-0 loss before an announced crowd of 36,088 at Angel Stadium.

The gap between the first-place Astros and the second-place Angels in the American League West is 14 games. More significantly, the gap between the Angels and the Minnesota Twins in the race for the AL’s second wild-card berth is two. The Twins beat the San Diego Padres 16-0 on Tuesday.

At least the gap between the Astros’ and the Angels’ best pitcher didn’t seem so large.

Making his first home start since April 25, 2016, Angels starter Garrett Richards (0-1) allowed only one run in five innings. The right-hander allowed four hits, all singles, and didn’t walk a batter.

“I tried to go out and throw competitive pitches, get ahead in the count and try and use my 65 to 70 pitches as efficiently as I possibly could,” he said.

With a fastball marauding in the 95-97 mph range, Richards struck out four batters and generally looked like his former self. For four years Richards has been a staff ace, or close to it, when he’s healthy. His health has been elusive.

Richards spent most of this season on the disabled list with an irritated nerve in his biceps. This was only his fourth competitive game at any level since spring training, and his second since rejoining the Angels’ rotation. Going back to May 2016, when an elbow injury curtailed that season, Richards has appeared in only nine major league games.

However, in those nine games, Richards has a 2.08 earned-run average, with nearly as many strikeouts (45) as innings pitched (47 2/3). The silver lining Tuesday: it felt OK to have faith in Richards’ small sample size again.

Comparing himself to 2015, his last full season, Richards said “I don’t see any difference. My delivery right now feels more repeatable than it ever has been. I guess I’ve had a long time to think about how I want to throw a baseball. I’ve kind of tried to implement that in my bullpen sessions leading up to this (start). I’m just trying to fine-tune stuff.”

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If it hasn’t happened already though, silver linings and moral victories will soon carry less weight than a feather in the Angels’ clubhouse.

The Angels (73-71) have lost four of their last five games, giving the Twins (75-69) room to separate themselves in the standings. With 18 games left in the regular season, seven teams are separated by 4 ½ games for the second wild card spot.

The Astros are trying to separate themselves, too. They landed Verlander in an 11th-hour trade on Aug. 31, the final day teams could add a player who is eligible for the postseason. The 34-year-old right-hander allowed one run in his Astros debut last week and, like Richards, has validated his reputation as an ace in a small sample.

Tuesday, he allowed a double to Brandon Phillips in the first inning. Verlander walked Mike Trout in the fourth inning and began the seventh inning by hitting Trout with a 97-mph fastball just above the left elbow.

Those were the Angels’ only baserunners until Ken Giles took over in the ninth inning.

True to Verlander’s workhorse reputation, no pitcher began throwing in the Astros’ bullpen until the eighth inning. He had already reached the 100-pitch mark at that point; he then retired the side in order on 12 pitches. In eight innings, Verlander struck out nine.

“He just kept the ball down,” Phillips said of Verlander. “He was mixing pitches up. We weren’t able to hit his mistakes. That’s just how baseball goes.”

In the ninth inning, Phillips again provided the only threat against Giles. But the veteran second baseman was caught trying to stretch a single into a double.

Phillips actually beat George Springer’s throw from right field, but was called out when he briefly lost contact with second base and Astros shortstop Carlos Correa maintained his tag.

Correa didn’t deny that he nudged Phillips off the bag with his glove. Phillips didn’t complain.

“He did the same thing I would’ve done,” the 36-year-old Phillips said of the 22-year-old Correa. “That’s the first time I fell for my own trick. I salute him for what he did. It’s the name of the game. I’m not mad about it because I would’ve done the exact same thing.”