Justin Verlander is finally in the win column.
The future Hall of Famer got his first victory of the 2025 MLB season on Wednesday, ending a ridiculous winless streak, as the Giants topped the Braves in Atlanta.
Verlander (1-8) had gone winless in his first 16 starts in a Giants uniform this year, which was the longest by a pitcher in a single season in franchise history.
The win was the 263rd of his legendary career and his first since Sept. 28 last season when he was with the Astros.
Verlander, 42, has shown his age this season, lowering his ERA to just 4.70 after blanking the Braves over five innings during Wednesday’s game.
“It’s been a tough stretch for me, physically and on the mound a bit,” Verlander told reporters. “Hopefully this can get the ball rolling in the right direction.”
Verlander has had some bad luck en route to his winless streak, though, and it appeared he may run into another unfortunate break when rain started to fall with Verlander three outs away from getting through five innings and qualifying for a potential win.
“I didn’t know. I figured something like that would happen,” Verlander said. “This would be the game that gets rained out or we have a two-hour delay and they don’t let me go back out.”
The veteran right-hander completed five innings while the Giants held on for a 9-3 win, getting the monkey off Verlander’s back.
Verlander said after the game he would celebrate with a little present his teammates gifted him for the occasion.
“A couple of the guys got me a nice bottle of wine as a congrats, which feels great, so I’ll probably have a little bit of that,” Verlander said. “I’m happy to be able to contribute, finally.”
Playing in his 20th MLB season, Verlander is the active leader in wins with 46 more victories than the next winningest pitcher (Max Scherzer, 217).