Justin Verlander had to grind through his five innings on Wednesday in Atlanta.
That's what the future Hall of Famer did. The San Francisco Giants' 42-year old righty went five scoreless frames, walking five but allowing just a single hit.
In the process, Verlander reached a round-number milestone: 3,500 career MLB innings.
He's the career active leader, and the 72nd pitcher to ever get to 3,500 innings. He's just behind 71st-place Juan Marichal (3,507).
Cy Young is the all-time leader in innings pitched, at 7,356.
More notable here is that Verlander could be the last pitcher ever to throw 3,500 career innings.
The next closest active player is Max Scherzer, who is 40 and has thrown 2,906.
Clayton Kershaw is 37 and has 2,797.2 innings.
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In the modern game, with parades of relievers and intense care about arm injuries, starting pitchers don't go as deep into games.
Of active pitchers younger than 34, 32-year old Aaron Nola leads at 1,671 innings. He'd have to pitch 10 more healthy years to have a chance at getting where Verlander is.
Verlander is one of the last of a dying breed of bulldog starting pitchers that refuse to give in or come out of the game.
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