SAN FRANCISCO — Justin Verlander needed about four months to record his first win as a Giant. He only needed a fraction of the time to earn his second.
Verlander totaled the 264th win of his career as the Giants beat the Chicago Cubs 5-2 on Tuesday night at Oracle Park, allowing two runs over six innings with five strikeouts.
This marks the Giants’ (64-68) first time winning three consecutive games since they won three straight from Aug. 5-8.
With his strikeout of former teammate Kyle Tucker in the top of the first inning, Verlander passed Walter Johnson for ninth on the all-time strikeout list. Verlander is now 15 strikeouts away from passing Gaylord Perry (3,534) for eighth on the all-time list.
Verlander generated five whiffs with his slider, which had a noticeably lower velocity compared to his season average. Against the Cubs, Verlander’s slider clocked in at 85.6 mph. On the year, by contrast, his average slider has been 87.6 mph.
The Giants trailed 2-1 going into the bottom of their fifth, their only run of the night courtesy of Wilmer Flores’ solo homer in the second. By inning’s end, San Francisco owned a 3-2 lead on an RBI double by Heliot Ramos and an RBI bloop single by Rafael Devers.
Once Verlander’s night ended, Matt Chapman extended San Francisco’s lead to 5-2 with a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth, his first home run since July 27.
With Randy Rodríguez currently on the injured list with a right elbow sprain, manager Bob Melvin called on right-hander Ryan Walker to secure Verlander’s second win of the season.