HOUSTON -- On a night when Roger Clemens and Nolan Ryan looked on approvingly from behind home plate, and John Smoltz was doing the color commentary in a booth upstairs, Justin Verlander went all Jack Morris before a euphoric home crowd beneath a roof in Houston.
Epic October performances aren't quite what they used to be, so Verlander's seven-inning, 99-pitch shutout effort against the New York Yankees wasn't quite on a par with Morris' 126-pitch, 10-inning masterpiece to beat Smoltz in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series. But for fans and baseball purists who like their pitchers to throw hard, stand tall and summon larger-than-life-competitiveness when it matters most, Verlander's performance maxed out on the 20-80 pitcher throwback scale.
Morris certainly thought so. And he's about as Old Hoss Radbourn-ish as it gets.
"He's got all the attributes," Morris told ESPN.com late Friday night, after Verlander and the Houston Astros beat New York 7-1 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. "He's got the will. He's got the stuff and the God-given talent. But you still have to have the makeup, and Justin's got that.
"Our generation is all smiling when we see him pitch. He gives us all a smile. He's unique in that regard."
Lots of storylines will coalesce into an epic three-hour-plus span Saturday night in Game 7 at Minute Maid Park:
• Can CC Sabathia, the old warhorse, crank up the wayback machine one more time and pitch the Yankees to their first World Series since 2009?
• Can the Astros hang in there with Charlie Morton, Lance McCullers and a cast of a half-dozen?
• And now that Houston's lineup has awakened, can Jose Altuve and friends give Johnny Wholestaff a little margin for error?
Make no mistake, those questions are only in play because Verlander, a master of elimination games, gave the Houston offense the requisite time to collect itself and emerge from a comatose state.
You couldn't turn sideways Friday without encountering a daunting historical comparison. Verlander joined Bob Gibson, Curt Schilling and Sandy Koufax as the fourth pitcher to strike out at least 20 Yankees in a postseason series. With his 11th postseason victory, he moved into a fifth-place tie with Schilling and Greg Maddux on the career list. And he passed Randy Johnson and moved into sixth place with 136 postseason strikeouts.
Verlander's 1.21 ERA in elimination games ranks second in MLB history to San Francisco's Madison Bumgarner, a Bunyanesque figure who once hurled five innings of relief in a World Series clincher when he wasn't killing a rattlesnake and saving a rabbit in one fell swoop.
With offense hard to come by, the Astros needed every grunt and droplet of beard-soaked sweat that Verlander could wring from his body.
"He's been everything that we could have hoped for and more," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. "This guy prepares. He rises to the moment. He's incredibly focused and locked in during games, and he emptied his tank tonight."
The Astros had reason to be concerned after an anemic offensive performance in the first five games of the series. The ineptitude continued in the early innings of Game 6, as they flailed against Luis Severino's fastball and grew more exasperated with each at-bat. Three innings and one uneventful turn through the batting order, the Astros sported a .138 batting average (22-for-159) against New York pitching in this series.
But the Astros had Verlander, and every teammate who had watched him gear up for this start could sense something momentous was about to happen.
"The guys who are special have that thing," McCullers said. "It's tough to put a finger on it and say, 'This is what makes him great.' But it's everything he brings to the table. He's got an amazing work ethic and his preparation is second to none, and he's an extremely smart pitcher. He really thinks along with the game and understands what he's trying to do out there.
"I know it sounds simple, but it's not -- especially when the big lights come on and the game starts getting fast. It's not as easy as it sounds to remain calm and stick to your plan."
Verlander threw 124 pitches in a complete-game, 2-1 victory in Game 2. And the Yankees had to wonder: Would he change his pitch mix as an antidote to facing the New York lineup for the second time in five days? The chess match between pitchers and hitters is always magnified by the familiarity between adversaries in October.
The postgame numbers say Verlander held firm and dictated the terms. He read the Yankees' swings, gauged their adjustments and essentially stayed with the plan that was so effective five days earlier.
The breakdown for Verlander's 124 pitches in Game 2: fastballs (57 percent), sliders (31), curveballs (10) and changeups (2).
The breakdown for his 99 pitches in Game 6: fastballs (58 percent), sliders (22), curveballs (15) and changeups (5).
There were some anxious moments along the way. In the sixth inning, Gary Sanchez got a green light on a 3-0 count with two runners on base and hit a check-swing nubber on a Verlander slider. In the seventh, Verlander walked Greg Bird and hit Starlin Castro to put runners on first and second. But he struck out Aaron Hicks on a 3-2 slider and benefited from a terrific catch by George Springer to steal extra bases from Todd Frazier for the second out of the inning.
Chase Headley followed with a groundout to second, and Verlander's evening was complete. As the Astros jogged off the field, Verlander pumped his fist several times and waited near the first base coach's box to give Springer a high-five.
"I thought homer," Verlander said. "Especially the way the balls have been flying this postseason, and really all year. We don't need to get into that."
Hinch saw Verlander expend enough energy to lift his ace for Brad Peacock in the eighth and closer Ken Giles in the ninth, and they were able to bring it home -- even though Aaron Judge's stratospheric homer off Peacock reminded the crowd of the Yankees' quick-strike capability.
Here's the craziest thing to contemplate as everyone looks forward to Game 7: When Verlander was asked if he might be available Saturday night, he declined to rule out the possibility. And Hinch wouldn't entirely discount it, either.
"He's superhuman, so we'll see how he shows up tomorrow," Hinch said.
Judging from the way Verlander's teammates talk about him, they wouldn't be shocked to see him jogging out of the bullpen for an out or two in the ninth, should it come to that.
"I overheard [Brian] McCann, Altuve and Carlos [Correa] all talking about him after the game, and they basically admitted that you play to a different level when he's on the mound," Morris said. "That's because you look out there and see his determination and his will, and you play to his level. That's what happens.
"Managers probably know their players better than anyone, and I remember a quote I heard once from Jim Leyland. He said, 'Justin is built for this.' And I couldn't agree more."
Expectations for ace starters have changed markedly since Morris defined his legacy with that amazing start against Smoltz in the 1991 Series. Morris threw 175 career complete games to Verlander's total of 23 and counting. But Morris sheds his trademark irascibility and recognizes a kindred spirit in Verlander. He sees a pitcher who would have fit right in 30 years ago, before baseball became so pitch count-obsessed and ultra-protective of arms.
As an October legend, Morris is happy to welcome another member to the fraternity.
"I would have loved to have been his teammate or to pitch against him," Morris said. "It would have been fun."