Consecutive Complete Game Shutouts
Posted by Raphy on May 12, 2010
Homer Bailey pitched a beauty of a game for the Reds today. Bailey allowed only 4 hits in a complete game shutout against the Pirates. As reader Kahuna Tuna notes this comes the day after Johnny Cueto also pitched a shutout for the Reds.
While back to back complete game shutouts were once common in baseball, today they are a rarity. Here are the longest team streaks of complete game shutouts since 2000 (before today).
| Rk | Strk Start | End | Games | W | L | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | HBP | WP | BK | Opp | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MIN | 2004-07-05 | 2004-07-07 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 27.0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 24 | 0 | 0.00 | 3 | 0 | 0 | KCR |
| 2 | MIL | 2008-08-08 | 2008-08-09 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18.0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | WSN |
| 3 | TBD | 2003-09-03 | 2003-09-04 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | SEA |
| 4 | SFG | 2002-08-19 | 2002-08-20 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18.0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 21 | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | 1 | 0 | FLA,NYM |
| 5 | NYM | 2002-05-14 | 2002-05-15 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | LAD |
| 6 | CHC | 2001-05-24 | 2001-05-25 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | CIN,MIL |
| 7 | OAK | 2000-09-09 | 2000-09-10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 18.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | TBD |
May 12th, 2010 at 6:15 pm
The all-time record for consecutive shutouts is 6, held by the 1903 Pirates, 2-8 June. I don't know for sure that these were all complete games, but given that we're talking about 1903, the chances are pretty good.
May 12th, 2010 at 6:55 pm
Gerry, the Baseball Library chronology implies that all six shutouts by the 1903 Pirates were indeed complete games. The fifth shutout came in a game shortened to six innings by rain.
May 12th, 2010 at 7:38 pm
I love the 1900-1902 Pirates rotation. Jack Chesbro, Sam Leever, Deacon Phillippe, and Jesse Tannehill, all Hall of Very Good types (Chesbro actually made the HOF) who all ended up with very similar career numbers -- 189 to 197 wins, 2.47 to 2.80 ERAs. I think part of those teams' success was predicated on using those 4 pitchers for ~250 IP each, rather than the 300+ IP which most aces were throwing at the time. Anyway, by 1903 Chesbro and Tannehill were gone, both to the Highlanders.
May 12th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
JT, you're right about how similar those Pirates starters were. Leever, Phillippe, and Tannehill all have each of the other three members of the rotation on their top-10 comparables lists. Chesbro doesn't have any of the other three on his list, although his numbers were not that different from what the others compiled.
How good were the turn-of-the-century Pirates? The 1902 team won the NL by 27½ games.
May 12th, 2010 at 9:26 pm
The Reds next starter is Aaron Harang, at home against the Cardinals on Friday. He has an ERA over 6.00 and hasn't had a complete game victory since April of 2009, but the Reds are on a roll right now, so maybe it will rub off on him.
May 12th, 2010 at 10:34 pm
Im sure you guys can work up some trivial information about the back to back shutouts in the Yanks-Tigers dodubleheader tonight (albiet it was a split)
May 13th, 2010 at 12:40 am
Those Pirate pitchers are not only on each other's most similar pitchers lists, they are on each other's most similar batters lists, too. I read that in part those Pirates were so good because the AL teams agreed with each other not to try to lure players away from Pittsburgh - the hope was this would make Pittsburgh so much better than any other NL team that fans would lose interest and the whole league would collapse in a heap.
May 13th, 2010 at 9:56 am
That Cardinals five game streak in 1962-63 is interesting for several reasons. It took place over two years, and Ernie Broglio and Curt Simmons each had two of the shutouts. And the two wins at the end of 1962 were hugely important--they were over the Dodgers, making it possible for the Giants to tie for the pennant on the last day of the season.
May 13th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Pretty amazing to see the 1969 Phillies as one of only four teams to throw four consecutive complete-game shutouts. That team lost 99 games and posted the third-worst team ERA in the NL, ahead of only the expansion Expos and Padres. The four Phillies starters: Jerry Johnson, Woodie Fryman, Grant Jackson, and Rick Wise.