'We got Verlander'd': Can Gerrit Cole turn his name into a verb too?

HOUSTON -- Imagine it from Kevin Cash's perspective.

You spend the entirety of the Tampa Bay Rays' quick turnaround from Wednesday's wild-card win at the Oakland Athletics preparing for a 36-year-old ace who somehow seems to keep getting better. The Rays have beaten Justin Verlander before, but not on this stage -- his stage -- as one of the game's best playoff pitchers. The Houston Astros ace has seen it all and defeated it all.

Still, this is the Rays, the team that prepares for each game so assiduously that every micro-moment feels like an opportunity. Finding a flaw in Verlander's arsenal might be nigh impossible, but if there is a manager and a coaching staff and a cutting-edge…