Verlander 1-hitter tightens Piazza Division race

Justin Verlander came within two outs of throwing a no-hitter on Thursday, tossing a 1-hit gem to keep Livingston hot on the heels of Sardine City in what is the closest division race with some 30 games remaining.

Mr. Kate Upton struck out 9 and walked 1 in a 2-0 shutout at Hillsborough, as 74 of his 114 went for strikes (.649). With Sardine City's loss to Marietta, the Lords of Swing reduced the deficit in the Piazza Division to just a single game and pushed its lead for the No. 6 seed to 1 1/2 games over San Francisco (which lost to Hoboken. Hopatcong and Poovey Farms both won to keep pace, 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 games behind, respectively, for the final wild card spot.

Verlander lost any chance for a perfect game early, plunking Josh Harrison in the second inning. He walked George Springer to lead off the 7th but induced a double-play from Kris Bryant to end the inning.

The crowd at Hillsborough got behind the Richmond, Va., native, who spent his first seven seasons with the Hit Men, as he started the 9th inning with the Nos. 8, 9 and 1 hitters due up. Verlander struck out pinch-hitter Aaron Hicks to start the 9th. It would be the No. 9 hitter, catcher Tucker Barnhart, spoiled the night, doubling down the right-field line for the first hit of the ballgame.

Johnathan Villar popped out to second before Springer drew his second walk of the game to put the tying runs on base. Verlander finally got Mookie Betts to line out to second, capping off his shutout.

It's at least the second career one-hitter for the 2012 ERA king. Verlander came within two outs of perfect game in 2012 against Hopatcong.

Carlos Beltran got Livingston the lead early with a 2nd-inning home run, his 25th on the season and now 13th all-time with 387. The Lords of Swing tacked on another run in the 7th on Nori Aoki's pinch-hit single to make it 2-0. Carlos Martinez (12-12) took the loss for Hillsborough despite just 2 runs and 7 hits allowed over 7 innings.

Verlander improved to 14-10 on the season, all but one of his 28 starts with Livingston. The Lords of Swing acquired the 34-year-old a week into the regular season, sending three picks -- a 1st, 2nd and 4th in 2018 -- along with Justin Bour for Verlander and Hanley Ramirez. The Mighty Men had acquired Verlander a year earlier with an 11th-round pick from Philly for Jeremy Hellickson and a 4th-rounder.

Verlander's 9 Ks on Thursday give him a career-high 226 strikeouts (4th in the league), a smidge better than the 224 and 223 had for Hillsborough in 2012 and 2010, respectively. He now has 2,026 career strikeouts, becoming the 10th pitcher in league history to eclipse 2,000. In his next start, Verlander only needs 1 1/3 innings to become the 19th pitcher to reach 2,000 for his career. The 4 complete games and 3 shutouts tie him for 2nd in the league with three other pitchers.