Yankees breaking Justin and Ben Verlander at the same time was extremely satisfying

On Tuesday night, the Yankees killed two chirping birds with one home run.

For the first time in forever -- literally, it had never happened before in an Astros uniform -- Justin Verlander failed to complete six innings against the New York Yankees, getting firebombed harder than Babe Ruth's poor wife Helen.

Alex Verdugo started the agitation by responding to Kyle Tucker's first-inning blast with a three-run laser of his own in the bottom of the frame. Not only did this prove that Verlander could, in fact, bleed, but it forced someone else to make a very difficult choice.

The ace's brother Ben, infamously, works for FOX Sports and also tweets a lot. Before the game, despite Houston starting the evening 0-4 against the Yankees in 2024, he was his usual boastful self, taking aim at the Bleacher Creatures for chanting, "F*** Altuve!" and predicting another Houston barrage.

Quickly, his braggadocio was proven outdated, and the Tweet Machine was forced to feel real, human emotions, even though the haters (reportedly) claimed that he couldn't. Bravely, Ben forged on, and ... tweeted some more.

Yankees dominate Justin Verlander, make Ben Verlander surrender on Twitter

And ... tell you what ... it really shouldn't have been satisfying to see these Ben Tweets. It shouldn't have meant anything at all. And yet ... it felt nice. It felt nice to go 5-0 against the dreaded Astros in 2024, adding to an already clinched season series.

And it felt nice to make Verlander the Pitcher, an all-time antagonist, look 41 years old and then some.

Oh, look. Another bomb by Anthony Volpe. Would a reprogrammed Ben tweet again? He sure would.

Come on, man! Chin up! Shohei Ohtani's the NL MVP frontrunner in a non-pitching season!

Everyone has one of these days. Verlander struggling to contain a Yankees offense that, despite fans' complaints, somehow ranks second in MLB in wRC+, doesn't necessarily mean he's "washed" for good. He might've rushed back too soon from injury to help a depleted Astros club. He might've just had an off night, which would feel totally normal for any other pitcher against any other team.

But ... yeah. It's definitely more fun to feel like this could be the end of the road for one of the Yankees' great tormentors.

And sad Ben tweets are more fun than gloating Ben tweets. It's just science.