San Francisco Giants' Justin Verlander joins exclusive 3,500 strikeout club
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Verlander struck out three in the first inning to reach 3,500 for his career, but things went downhill from there for the home team.
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The Nationals put up four runs in the second inning and had five runs on 11 hits against Verlander before the 42-year-old three-time Cy Young Award winner departed the game.
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Verlander entered the game with 3,497 regular-season strikeouts. He struck out James Wood swinging to start the first and then got CJ Abrams swinging.
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He then gave up back-to-back singles to Josh Bell and Paul DeJong, but both were stranded when Verlander struck out Nathaniel Lowe, who was caught swinging for strike three on a 95 mph fastball.
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The crowd of 40,000 at Oracle Park gave Verlander a standing ovation, and he tipped his cap as he walked back to the dugout.
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'I was happy to get there, happy to have a moment with the fans,' said Verlander, who finished the day with six strikeouts. 'It's a cool milestone.'
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