Justin Verlander dominated from start to finish in his third career no-hitter. He cruised through the eighth with a mix of high heat and nasty off-speed stuff, confidently blowing fastballs by hitters and dropping a curve to end the frame. The game stayed locked at 0-0 heading into the ninth, setting up a tense finish. Alex Bregman got on base, then rookie Abraham Toro, playing in his home country of Canada, came through with a clutch two-run homer. His family went wild in the stands.
With the lead now in hand, Verlander came back out to finish the job. He stuck with what worked, pounding the zone with fastballs and mixing in enough off-speed to keep hitters off balance. He got two quick outs, then worked a long at-bat for the final out, inducing a grounder to third to seal it. The moment was electric. Verlander tipped his cap and tried to hide his bald spot, but his teammates swarmed him anyway. Gurriel launched sunflower seeds into the scrum. The dugout made sure Toro got the love, pointing at him and shouting his name as he jogged back in. It was a complete team win, capped by a pitching performance that was flat-out untouchable.