Astros’ Verlander and Tigers’ Cabrera Face Each Other for the Final Time in Legendary Matchup
DETROIT — In a historic showdown, two living legends, Justin Verlander and Miguel Cabrera, faced each other for the final time on Sunday afternoon at Comerica Park. With both players considered MVP winners, longtime teammates, and likely Hall of Famers, this matchup marked the end of an era.
During the game, Verlander delivered a masterful performance, throwing five scoreless innings while Cabrera struggled to make contact and failed to get a hit off Verlander. As Cabrera stepped up to the plate in the second inning, both players tipped their hats to each other as a sign of respect. However, Verlander struck Cabrera out looking on a curveball.
Throughout the game, Cabrera battled but was unable to get a hit off Verlander. In the third inning, he fouled off four pitches before grounding into a forceout. In the fifth inning, Verlander managed to end his outing with Cabrera in the on-deck circle, securing his 254th career win.
After the game, Verlander expressed his admiration for Cabrera, stating, “Getting a second to tip my cap to Miggy before we go at it was pretty cool. I love that guy, and I just have so much respect for him. I’m glad [Tigers manager] AJ [Hinch] put him in the lineup. I’m glad we had that moment.”
In the eighth inning, long after Verlander had been taken out of the game, Cabrera hit a three-run homer, his 510th career home run. With that home run, Cabrera surpassed Gary Sheffield for sole possession of 26th place in AL/NL history. He also increased his career RBI total to 1,871.
Verlander commended Cabrera’s historic achievement, saying, “Any time you get to witness history, though, is something special, and every time Miggy gets a hit or hits a home run, it’s a piece of history.”
The Verlander-Cabrera matchup was a rare sight to behold. As teammates from 2008-2017, Verlander brought his numerous accomplishments, including 253 wins, three Cy Young Awards, a pitching Triple Crown, and an MVP Award to the mound. Cabrera, on the other hand, boasted 509 home runs, 3,150 hits, two MVP Awards, an offensive Triple Crown, and a .307 career batting average. Together, they have a combined age of 80 years and 319 days and a combined bWAR of 147.5. Throughout their careers, they have played for 39 seasons and made 21 All-Star Game appearances.
In their head-to-head encounters, Verlander has dominated the matchup with Cabrera. Cabrera is 0-for-5 against Verlander with two strikeouts. However, it is worth noting that Verlander managed to avoid facing Cabrera during his most dangerous years when they were teammates. From 2008-2017, Cabrera had an impressive batting average of .319 and recorded 324 home runs.
Manager Dusty Baker compared the Verlander-Cabrera matchup to iconic battles of the past, such as Barry Bonds against Pedro Martinez and Hank Aaron against Bob Gibson. He emphasizes that witnessing such historic moments is a privilege, mentioning his own experience playing with Aaron on the Braves from 1968-1974.
As the Astros ultimately won the game with a score of 17-4, behind notable home runs from Kyle Tucker, Mauricio Dubón, Martín Maldonado, and Yainer Diaz, Verlander and Cabrera’s last encounter defined the game. Despite the offensive fireworks displayed by the Astros, it was the early moment between Verlander and Cabrera, the mutual hat tip, that truly stood out.
Verlander concluded, “The cool moment between him and I is the acknowledgement, the hat tip from me to him and him to me. … Those moments don’t happen too often. You’ve got two guys who have played together as long as he and I have, and have our careers, and you have a moment where everybody knows it’s Miggy’s last season. … A hat tip says a million things, and I think we all know what I said.”