Justin Verlander might be the last pitcher ever with a "5th time through the order" split

Justin Verlander was (probably*) the last active pitcher who has faced a batter 5 times in a game, and it's entirely possible this will never happen again. Getting this split requires a pitcher to pitch well enough and deep enough to face 37 batters*. This used to be a common occurrence, but now, with elite pitchers throwing harder and teams more aware of injury risks, it's far less common to let a starter muscle through a rough shutout or leave them to get shelled over 140 pitches in a blowout. Verlander faced a 5th batter twice in his career. The first was in 2009 where he stranded 9

r/baseball · 1h ago