“It’s just been a blessing to come here and meet all these people and be able to learn from such masters of their craft,” said Cole, who will command a fortune in free agency this winter after his second season in Houston. “The talent in the room is second to none. We tend to inspire each other with our great play, and I can’t really envision a greater environment to be in.”

The Astros were baseball’s worst team when they hired Jeff Luhnow as general manager in December 2011, and remained that way for two more seasons. As they rebuilt, Luhnow sought to grow such a productive farm system that he could one day keep his best prospects while having enough left over to bundle others in high-impact trades.

In each of the last three years, the Astros have done just that, packaging four players in a deal for an ace: Verlander from Detroit in 2017, Cole from Pittsburgh in 2018 and Greinke from Arizona in July. The trio has won 50 of 62 decisions for the Astros this season, including Friday.

In the regular season, Verlander and Cole each had at least 20 victories and 300 strikeouts with an earned run average under 2.60. Since Jackie Robinson integrated the majors in 1947, only five others have had seasons like that: Sandy Koufax (three times), Randy Johnson (twice), Vida Blue, Steve Carlton and Pedro Martinez.

If Verlander does not win the A.L. Cy Young Award this season, Cole surely will. Manager A.J. Hinch said the two complement their exceptional stuff with uncanny intuition.

“You can’t just game plan against J.V. as if he’s going to throw high fastballs and late-in-the-count breaking balls; he’s unpredictable,” Hinch said of Verlander. “Gerrit, even more so, will go to areas that you’re not expecting. He’s a good reader of swings. He’s very good at adapting his game plan based on how he feels versus what the hitter’s doing. Continually evolving — in-game, in-season — at this point in each of their careers sets them apart from any pitchers I’ve been around.”

Cole was an All-Star for Pittsburgh in 2015, but in his last two seasons there his E.R.A. was 4.12. With the data-savvy Astros, he has thrown more breaking balls (especially his slider) and elevated fastballs. Verlander said Cole impressed him with how quickly he made those adjustments while applying his own insights.