Justin Verlander, Kate Upton praise Houston Astros fans

Unprompted, Verlander, who earned the first World Series win of his career when he threw five innings in the Astros' Game 5 victory, shouted out the fans who have supported him since he was traded to Houston during the 2017 season.

"We've got to give props to Houston fans," Verlander said. 

"Yes. I mean, Houston fans … can you actually imagine a Houston fan ever booing anyone?," Upton said. "No, they’re the nicest people in the world."

Upton, who was born in Michigan and grew up in Florida, said she would have been OK if fans in Houston booed the fan that ran on the field during the Yankees series and tried to take a selfie with Jose Altuve.

"They didn’t even boo the random guy who ran on the field," Upton said. "I was like, 'Let’s boo him. He’s so lame. I think we should boo him.'"

Much like her husband, Upton also wanted to clear up a viral video that's been going around of her giving fans in Philadelphia the finger in the game Verlander won at Citizens Bank Park. Days earlier, video of Verlander exiting the team bus in Philadelphia and giving Phillies fans the middle finger spread across the internet, and Verlander joked about his treatment of notoriously rowdy Philadelphia fans by tweeting that he was "just saying hello in their native tongue."

Upton had a similar reasoning for middle finger moment.

"Actually, I loved Philly fans and I feel like I need to set the record straight," Upton said on the postgame show. "I’m the third child of four kids, so banter is my love language and I was having the best time. It was all in fun. I have to say: I respect any fans that stay the entire game, stand up, cheer the whole game and don’t boo their own team. That is my No. 1 thing I hate is to see people booing their own team. I’m like, 'What are you guys doing? Why are you here?'"

Verlander, who turns 40 in February, is likely to win the third Cy Young Award of his career and his second with the Astros. Coming off Tommy John surgery that kept him out almost all of 2020 and 2021, Verlander signed a two-year, $50 contract with the Astros that allowed him to become a free agent after just one season if he threw at least 130 innings. Verlander had one of the best seasons of his career, going 18-4 with a 1.75 ERA over 175 innings. That means he'll hit the open market this offseason.

During the Astros' 2017 championship run, Altuve said, "I literally love Justin Verlander." The next day, Verlander responded by saying, "I literally love you too, Jose Altuve." It seems he feels the same about Houston.