Inside the at-bat that won Justin Verlander his first World Series game
PHILADELPHIA — Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander knew the stakes.
He had stepped up to the mound on Thursday for Game 5 of the World Series with plenty to prove. Winless in seven career games in the Fall Classic, he had just blown a 5-0 lead in Game 1 of this series, a game in which many believed manager Dusty Baker left him in too long. He had a 6.07 ERA in World Series games, almost three runs higher than his career average. On top of all that sat the very real possibility that this would be his last start in an Astros jersey.
And then, on his second pitch of the game, Verlander gave up a leadoff home run to Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber. After losing that Game 1 lead — and now giving up an early homer — even a veteran like the 39-year-old Verlander was shaken.
“It just sucks because of the moment and obviously all the questions and weight,” he said. “But you have to rely on the hundreds of starts and the thousands of pitches I’ve thrown before, and just kind of say, ‘OK, I’ve given up leadoff home runs before, let me bear down.'”
Through four innings, Verlander had labored but survived, and he had a 2-1 lead as the fifth inning — an inning he’d have to complete to be eligible for a win — began. After two quick outs, Bryce Harper lined a double to right. That’s when Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos stepped into the box.
Verlander’s pitch count was approaching 90. It was his third time through the order. This time, the bullpen was active. This would be a defining moment for the future Hall of Famer.
“I was considering, after the Bryce double, whether Dusty was going to leave me in there or not,” Verlander said after the Astros’ 3-2 win. “I wasn’t sure. I was thankful for the opportunity, and thankful to come through.”
But it wouldn’t be easy.
“I thought my third at-bat against Verlander was my best of the series,” Castellanos said after the game.
The Phillies slugger had been slumping in this World Series, just 2-for-16 in the first four games, but was in the midst of his best night at the plate — even if he had little to show for it. His at-bats against Verlander were getting better and better. A first-inning fly out was followed by a third inning, 105 mph line drive that was caught by shortstop Jeremy Pena. Now Castellanos stepped to the plate with the tying run on second in front of a raucous Citizens Bank Park. The next few seconds would be high drama.
“I don’t think JV would’ve wanted it any other way,” teammate Alex Bregman said. “Those big situations, having to make big pitch after big pitch — that’s Justin Verlander. He makes big pitch after big pitch.”
During the regular season, Castellanos ranked fourth in baseball in swinging strike percentage, but on this night, he wasn’t missing. He kept fouling off pitch after pitch.
Verlander threw everything in his arsenal, beginning with sliders and fastballs, eventually moving on to a rare changeup. That pitch was hammered down the left field line — but foul.
“We could have gone a number of ways,” pitching coach Josh Miller said. “He emptied the tank and threw all of his stuff to Nick there.”
After a line drive that almost landed fair in left, catcher Martin Maldonado took a slow walk to the mound. Verlander had thrown seven pitches to Castellanos, and the count was 2-2. “It’s a big situation right there,” Maldonado said. “I want to make sure we both agree on the same pitch.”
They didn’t.
Verlander wanted to throw a curveball; Maldonado wanted to throw “something else.” His pitcher won the debate.
“Nick had, to me, looking back at Game 1, probably the at-bat of that game,” Verlander said of the two-out single that scored the first run of the Phillies’ rally against Verlander in the series opener. “Here, I find myself on the verge of a ballgame again with him up and just wanted to — just really wanted to get him out.”
Verlander threw the pitch he wanted — twice. But Castellanos took one for a ball and fouled the second curveball off.
Finally, for the 10th pitch of the at-bat, Maldonado went back to the slider. It wasn’t perfect — it might have caught too much of the plate — but it was effective. Castellanos hit a lazy fly ball to left. The inning was over.
“I just missed it,” Castellanos said. “This is a game of centimeters. If I’m on top of that ball a little bit more, we’re in a different situation for the rest of the game.
“I was doing my best to stay relaxed and try to barrel up something. I almost did.”
Verlander escaped. And by doing so, he earned his first win in the World Series, after the Astros held the Phillies to just one more run in a 3-2 victory. The relief was all over Verlander’s face after his outing — and in the long embraces he gave Baker after that at-bat, as well as Chas McCormick after a game-saving home run robbery in the ninth inning.
“They gave me the rookie treatment after the game,” Verlander said. “They put me in the cart and rolled me in the shower and just doused me with all sorts of stuff.
“It was one of the best feelings in my career.”
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Eli Lederman
NORMAN, Okla. — A week after John Mateer threw for the most yards in an Oklahoma quarterback debut against Illinois State, the transfer passer’s instinctive playmaking highlighted an imperfect performance that helped propel the No. 18 Sooners to a 24-13 win over No. 15 Michigan on Saturday night.
While Oklahoma smothered Wolverines freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, Mateer completed 21 of his 34 passes for 270 yards with a passing touchdown and an interception. He also finished with a team-high 19 carries for 74 yards, adding a pair of rushing scores on either side of halftime in his second career start for the Sooners.
“You saw what he can do,” Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said of Mateer. “He falls forward a lot. He’s got great strength and great skills. Tough guy. He’s fearless. He attacks everything without fear.”
Playing behind four new offensive line starters, including freshman left tackle Michael Fasusi, Mateer remained poised against the Michigan pass rush early, connecting on completions of 34, 31 and 21 yards across the Sooners’ initial pair of offensive drives. According to ESPN Research, Mateer finished 8-of-13 with 156 passing yards and a touchdown in blitzing situations Saturday.
Oklahoma opened the scoring on its opening possession via a pop pass from Mateer to wide receiver Deion Burks, who logged a team-high seven receptions for 101 yards. Mateer’s 2-yard rushing score with 22 seconds remaining in the second quarter handed Oklahoma a 14-0 halftime lead, and he used his legs again for a 10-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter.
Mateer’s 19 carries marked the fourth-highest single-game tally of his career and included three runs of at least 10 yards. With his pair of rushing scores, Mateer joined Lamar Jackson and D’Eriq King as the only FBS players to record at least one passing and rushing score in eight consecutive games since 2015, according to ESPN Research, dating to his breakout campaign at Washington State last fall.
“John’s a willing runner,” Sooners offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle said. “He understands what it takes to win. They’re definitely designed QB runs in the game. At the end of the day, you’re just trying to win a football game, and John Mateer is willing [to run]. He probably took a big hit or two tonight. But hopefully all for the good of the team.”
Mateer’s night was not without mistakes. He was intercepted by Michigan defensive back TJ Metcalf in the first quarter after overthrowing tight end Will Huggins. Mateer was nearly intercepted again after halftime, and his third-quarter overthrow in the end zone beyond the hands of tight end Jaren Kanak cost the Sooners seven points as the Wolverines mounted a second-half comeback.
But Mateer’s risk-taking and flair for the extraordinary were also the drivers for Oklahoma in only the Sooners’ third win over a top-15 opponent under Venables. The Sooners led 14-7 early in the third quarter when Mateer shed a tackle in the backfield, rolled to his right and fired a 36-yard strike to wide receiver Isaiah Sategna. Mateer ran in his second touchdown and lifted the Sooners to a 21-7 advantage just two plays later.
“The thing with John, I trust that kid to like no end,” Arbuckle said. “He understands moments and situations. He knows when to take a chance, when not to take a chance. So whenever he lets one rip and puts the ball in what someone may say is a risky situation, whenever he does that, I have the utmost confidence that he’s making the right decision.”
Another one of Mateer’s risks paid off early in the fourth quarter, ultimately launching an 8:27 drive that allowed Oklahoma to drain the remaining minutes and any lingering hope of a Michigan comeback.
Facing second-and-10 from the Sooners’ 38-yard line, Mateer again rolled out and — with Wolverines linebacker Jaishawn Barham bearing down on him — made a daring throw off his back foot into heavy traffic to find Kanak for a 9-yard connection.
“[Kanak] kind of went to the open space and I threw it a little dangerous,” Mateer said. “But he made it happen.”
A timely bit of innovation, Mateer’s throw marked the start of a 16-play, 78-yard scoring drive that effectively iced Oklahoma’s Week 2 victory and showed off the very best of Mateer and what his game-changing playmaking ability can offer the Sooners.
Oklahoma visits Temple in Week 3 before embarking on a gauntlet of an SEC schedule at home against Auburn on Sept. 20.
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David Hale
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The man with more Super Bowl wins than any other coach in NFL history now has his first win as a college coach.
Bill Belichick picked up win No. 1 in college — and No. 334 overall — as North Carolina shrugged off a dismal opening performance Monday vs. TCU and beat Charlotte on Saturday night 20-3.
“It’s great,” Belichick said, “but it’s really about the team. It was disappointing Monday night against TCU, but these guys bounced back — players, coaches, staff, support people — and just got back to work. They were determined to have a better outcome. I’m really proud of what they did. They deserve the credit for tonight.”
After a 48-14 blowout loss that included two defensive touchdowns by the Horned Frogs, Belichick praised the team’s ability to shrug off the performance and focus on the fundamentals.
UNC led 17-3 at the half, rushed for 148 yards, and didn’t turn over the ball against Charlotte. Meanwhile, the Tar Heels’ maligned defense held the 49ers to just 21 yards on the ground, five days after TCU ran for 258.
The news cycle after Monday’s loss had been ugly for Belichick and the Tar Heels — “a lot of negativity from the outside,” he said — including reports from multiple outlets, including ESPN, that scouts from the New England Patriots, with whom Belichick won six Super Bowls, have been banned from North Carolina’s facility.
Belichick confirmed those reports Saturday, saying the decision was in response to a closed-door edict in New England.
“It’s obvious I’m not welcome at their facility,” Belichick said, “so they’re not welcome at ours.”
Belichick has had an acrimonious divorce from New England and owner Bob Kraft since he left the Patriots after the 2023 season, with multiple spats erupting in the media in recent months. Belichick took issue with comments from Kraft that hiring him had been a “big risk,” releasing a statement in July saying that he was the one who took a risk by accepting the job. In a Boston Globe story last month, Belichick appeared to take another swipe, saying that one of the perks of his job at North Carolina is that “there’s no owner, there’s no owner’s son,” the latter a reference to Jonathan Kraft.
On Saturday, Belichick seemed in far better spirits, though hardly effervescent in his celebration.
Asked if the team had given Belichick a game ball to celebrate his first win with the Tar Heels, senior Gavin Gibson laughed and said, “If we’d tried, I think he’d look at us like, ‘Nah.'”
Instead, Belichick pointed to UNC’s determination to wipe the slate clean after Monday’s ugly loss and offer some renewed hope that the Tar Heels wouldn’t roll over.
“It was clear in the locker room and as we got out on the practice field there was a … higher level of determination and commitment,” Belichick said. “That was good to see us improve.”
North Carolina hosts Richmond next week before heading to UCF to close out its nonconference schedule.
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