Verlander won his Astros debut on September 5 against the Seattle Mariners, giving up one run and striking out seven over six innings. He started and won the AL West division-clinching game for the Astros on September 17, allowing one run and striking out ten Mariners batters over seven innings. He won all five of his regular season starts with Houston, posting a 1.06 ERA and 0.65 WHIP in those games. The Astros chose to skip Verlander's final scheduled start on Sunday, October 1 and have him start the first game of the ALDS. As a result, Verlander finished the 2017 regular season with a 15–8 record, 3.36 ERA, 1.175 WHIP, and 219 strikeouts in 206 innings. He threw 3,531 pitches, more than any other major league pitcher for the second consecutive year. After a couple of injury-riddled seasons, many believed Verlander had lost the fastball velocity to which most fans had grown accustomed. However, his velocity soared back up to an average of 95.3 in his 2017 campaign, four miles per hour faster than his average in 2014 (91.2), and three miles per hour faster than his average in 2015 (92.3). He also hit triple digits on the radar gun in 2017 for the first time since his 2013 season. Verlander won two games in the Astros' 3-games-to-1 ALDS triumph over the Boston Red Sox. He started and won Game 1, and picked up the second win with innings of relief in the clinching Game 4. On October 14, he started Game 2 of the ALCS versus the Yankees, throwing a 13-strikeout, 2–1 complete game victory. The Astros won the game on a ninth-inning walk-off double by shortstop Carlos Correa that drove home second baseman José Altuve. With the Astros facing elimination in Game 6 of the ALCS, Verlander pitched seven shutout innings in a 7–1 victory over the Yankees. The Astros went on to defeat the Yankees in Game 7, allowing them to advance to the World Series for the second time in franchise history. During the ALCS, Verlander went 2–0, with a 0.56 ERA and 21 strikeouts in 16 innings pitched. Following his outstanding performance, he was named the ALCS MVP. Verlander received a no-decision in Game 2 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, the third time he participated in a World Series. He allowed only two hits in six innings, but both hits