Astros tally 1,000th Minute Maid Park victory: 'No place like home'

In a season full of countless milestones, the Houston Astros’ penultimate and 161st game on Tuesday provided another.

The Astros defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 10-0 to tally the 1,000th victory at Minute Maid Park, the former’s home venue in Downtown Houston since 2000. 

“No place like home,” the Astros proclaimed in a postgame tweet.

Nearly 24 hours after the Phillies blanked their hosts 3-0 to join the postseason party for the first time in more than a decade, the Astros returned the favor with a probable Cy Young Award-clinching performance from starting right-hander Justin Verlander.

The 39-year-old Verlander in his final regular season start made a strong appeal for his third Cy Young by surrendering no runs nor hits and retiring nine-straight batters in five innings on the mound.

Relievers Hunter Brown and Hector Neris chipped in solid frames of their own to help preserve the no-hitter Verlander weaved, but the feat was quashed when closer Will Smith yielded three singles in a row in the ninth inning.

To hear Verlander tell it, the Cy Young is the least of his priorities right now, according to a report on the Astros’ website.

“I don’t think it’s the right time to talk about that, to be honest,” he said in the report. “With the postseason coming up, personal accolades aren’t really something I try to think about, and I intentionally try not to.”

The veteran ace, who was sidelined for two years because of injuries and procedures, ended 2022 with an 18-4 record and a 1.75 earned run average (ERA), occupying the top spot in several statistical categories.

Verlander’s memorable outing was complemented by the seemingly never-ending hit parade the Astros put on throughout the evening.

According to ESPN, shortstop Jeremy Peña, outfielder Kyle Tucker and catcher Martin Maldonado launched home runs (HRs) while newer Astros Christian Vasquez and Mauricio Dubon each had a runs batted in (RBI) single.

In all, the Astros generated 10 runs on 17 hits in their 105th win of the season.

The Astros’ season finale is on Wednesday, a matinee matchup against the Phillies.

Given the Astros have secured their fifth division title in six years, the top seed in the American League (AL) and home field advantage throughout the postseason, the rubber match has no bearing on their playoff fate though a win could put them one game behind the 2019 squad in terms of most victories in franchise history.