Verlander's Game 2 gem was a reminder of the good ol' days

On Saturday evening in front of 43,193 screaming fans inside Minute Maid Park, Houston Astros right-hander Justin Verlander delivered arguably the best pitching performance of the 2017 postseason when he struck out 13 New York Yankees en route to a complete-game, five-hitter.

Verlander tossed 124 pitches during the fantastic outing, which was reminiscent of ol' timey baseball when hurlers such as Deacon Phillippe, Luis Tiant, and Bob Gibson stood atop mounds with the intentions of finishing what they started; even in the postseason.

Complete games in postseason

*17 other pitchers are tied with three complete games in postseason

On Saturday, Astros skipper A.J. Hinch offered up his best Red Schoendienst impression when he allowed Verlander all the slack he needed to earn the second complete postseason game of his career, matching his effort from the 2012 American League Division Series.

"A.J. didn’t even ask after the 8th. It was mine to win or lose. These are the moments you envision," Verlander told reporters, including MLB.com's Richard Justice after the game.

During the current playoffs, managers have had a short leash on their starters, entrusting bullpens - containing both relievers and fellow starters - to do damage control rather than give a starter too much wiggle room to figure things out.

Verlander revised the postseason script on Saturday, however, when he became the first starter in these playoffs to reach the eighth inning, while some of the game's best have been yanked before their starts really even began.

2017 postseason

Sure, runs are hard to come by in the postseason, which is why pitchers receive the hook earlier than they would in the regular season, but watching Verlander's Game 2 performance - which came less than 24 hours after teammate Dallas Keuchel hurled a seven-inning gem of his own - was a refreshing sight. One so alluring that Verlander may have even surprised himself.