July 08, 2006
Lackey of Hits
John Lackey pitched a brilliant game against the Athletics last night. He gave up a double to Kotsay leading off the game, then retired the next 27 batters. It's about as close to a perfect game as a pitcher can come without getting one. Lackey struck out 10 along the way, and threw 109 pitches to complete the game.
It was good day and week for high game scores. Lackey's game topped Scott Kazmir's against the Red Sox. C.C. Sabathia tossed a complete game shutout against the Orioles, allowing just three hits while striking out 7. That was the fourth best game of the year.
While Lackey was giving up just a single hit, Barry Zito held kept Orlando Cabrera off base, ending his 63 game on-base streak. It was a remarkable run for a hitter with a career .318 OBA.
Posted by David Pinto at
07:51 AM
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Reminds me of the night against Tampa Bay where Pedro hit the first batter of the game (who charged the mound) and then gave up just one hit in the 8th or 9th and retired the rest in order. Likewise, I think he had a game against either Tampa or the Yanks where he gave up a leadoff HR, and then retired the rest in order for the CG.
I'm making a study of oddities like this, and using Retrosheet and other sources, have identified nine similar games in baseball history, including the famous Babe Ruth-Ernie Shore game.
Here is the list:
Cy Young, BOS vs NY, 6-30-1908
Joe Bush, PHI vs CLE, 8-26-1916
Ernie Shore, BOS vs. WAS, 6-23-1917
Curt Simmons, PHI vs. MIL, 5-16-1953
Robin Roberts, PHI vs. CIN, 5-13-1954
Woodie Fryman, PIT vs. NY, 7-1-1966
Jim Bibby, PIT vs. ATL, 5-19-1981
Jerry Reuss, LA vs. CIN, 6-11-1982
Chris Bosio, SEA vs. BOS, 4-22-1993
The data is not available for 1999, so the Pedro game could have occurred that year.