Chart of Justin Verlander's Swinging Strikes in Near No-No is Incredible

Houston Astros ace Justin Verlander is still one of the best starters in baseball, and if you were on the fence about that because of his age (36), he reminded us all Tuesday night when he nearly threw a no-hitter against the Chicago White Sox.

Verlander ended up lasting eight innings, where he allowed just one run on one hit, striking out a whopping 12 batters. We've seen big strikeout totals from JV before, but in the pitch-tracking era, the Astros starter has never had so many swinging strikes.

Verlander totaled 28 swinging strikes, the most he's had in his career, and the last pitcher to have that many was Max Scherzer last May, when he tallied 29. Look at his incredible swinging strike chart from last night:

He was getting whiffs up and down in the zone. The opposition couldn't touch his electric fastball nor his wipeout slider, which accounted for half of his swings and misses (14).

Verlander may be on the back nine of his career, but he's not showing signs of slowing down this year, and could wind up with another Cy Young Award to his name if he keeps up this level of dominance.