Complete-game losses ending on a walk-off homer
Posted by Andy on July 3, 2010
A reader recently asked about occasions when a pitcher has thrown a complete game but lost on a walk-off homer at the end. I went through the box scores and found a bunch.
Firstly, for a pitcher to lose a CG on a HR, he must be on the visiting team, since only the home team can score a walk-off run. Aside from rain-shortened games, such a CG loss would need to happen in the 9th inning or later and thus involve a pitching performance of at least 8 IP (with at least one batter faced in the 9th inning.)
There's one challenge left in finding these games: lots of visiting pitchers throw 8-inning complete-game losses. This happens any time the home team is ahead before the 9th inning, maintains the lead, and the visiting pitcher goes 8 innings. Such games happen roughly a dozen times per season. It was done just a few days ago by Roy Halladay, when the allowed a 2-run homer in the 8th inning and then didn't pitch the 9th because the Reds didn't bat, having already won the game.
The most recent game where the pitcher was credited for 8 innings but lost the game on a walk-off homer was this 2008 game. With the score tied at 2, the Angels' John Lackey surrendered a homer to the White Sox's Carlos Quenton. It came leading off the bottom of the 9th inning, ending the game. Here is the full list of 197 CG losses since 2000 that included a home run surrendered (but not necessarily a walk-off.) Feel free to peruse it to try to pick out other games that meet the criteria.
Once we limit the IP to at least 8.1, the list gets a lot shorter because it eliminates all those ordinary CG losses where the home team didn't bat in the 9th inning.
Here are all the games in the last 25 years featuring a CG performance, a loss, at least 1 HR surrendered, and 8.1 or more IP.
| Rk | Player | Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | GSc |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Derek Lowe | 2007-05-10 | LAD | FLA | L 0-3 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 66 |
| 2 | Chien-Ming Wang | 2006-06-18 | NYY | WSN | L 2-3 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 59 |
| 3 | Jon Garland | 2004-06-20 | CHW | MON | L 2-4 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 65 |
| 4 | Jarrod Washburn | 2003-08-18 | ANA | CHW | L 2-4 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 61 |
| 5 | Matt Morris | 2003-04-11 | STL | HOU | L 2-3 | CG 9 ,L | 8.2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 64 |
| 6 | Curt Schilling | 2002-08-01 | ARI | MON | L 1-2 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 68 |
| 7 | Chris George | 2001-10-06 (2) | KCR | DET | L 1-2 | CG 9 ,L | 8.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 68 |
| 8 | Curt Schilling | 1999-05-23 | PHI | NYM | L 4-5 | CG 9 ,L | 8.2 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 46 |
| 9 | Kirt Ojala | 1998-09-16 | FLA | MON | L 2-3 | CG 9 ,L | 8.2 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 63 |
| 10 | Alan Benes | 1997-06-16 | STL | MIL | L 0-1 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 79 |
| 11 | Todd Stottlemyre | 1996-08-24 | STL | HOU | L 1-3 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 57 |
| 12 | Jack McDowell | 1996-05-27 | CLE | TEX | L 2-3 | CG 9 ,L | 8.2 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 56 |
| 13 | Paul Wilson | 1996-05-03 | NYM | CHC | L 2-4 | CG 9 ,L | 8.2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 68 |
| 14 | Chuck Finley | 1994-06-29 | CAL | OAK | L 0-1 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 73 |
| 15 | Jeff Fassero | 1994-05-07 | MON | ATL | L 1-2 | CG 9 ,L | 8.2 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 70 |
| 16 | David Cone | 1993-06-27 | KCR | CLE | L 2-3 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 63 |
| 17 | Erik Hanson | 1993-05-19 | SEA | TEX | L 3-4 | CG 9 ,L | 8.2 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 70 |
| 18 | Kevin Tapani | 1992-08-20 | MIN | CLE | L 1-2 | CG 10 ,L | 9.1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 76 |
| 19 | Jack McDowell | 1992-08-12 | CHW | OAK | L 1-2 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 62 |
| 20 | Dennis Martinez | 1992-07-29 | MON | STL | L 1-4 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 62 |
| 21 | Charlie Hough | 1992-07-25 | CHW | MIL | L 0-3 | CG 9 ,L | 8.2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 61 |
| 22 | Jaime Navarro | 1991-09-18 | MIL | NYY | L 1-2 | CG 10 ,L | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 70 | |
| 23 | Bill Wegman | 1991-07-27 | MIL | MIN | L 4-7 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 11 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 36 |
| 24 | Teddy Higuera | 1990-09-23 | MIL | BAL | L 1-2 | CG 10 ,L | 9.2 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | 1 | 70 |
| 25 | Terry Mulholland | 1990-08-20 | PHI | LAD | L 1-2 | CG 9 ,L | 8.1 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 62 |
These games all ended on walk-off performances by the home team, but not necessarily home runs.
It turns out, though, that most of these games did in fact end on a home run. The ones that didn't are:
- Chris George's 2001 game ended on a sacrifice fly by sausage-beater Randall Simon
- Curt Schilling's 1999 game bizarrely ended on a 5-run 9th inning. He was left in to face 9 batters, ending with a 2-run single by helmet-wearing John Olerud. I don't know why Terry Francona didn't relieve Schilling. This wasn't a terrible Phillies team either.
- Kirt (not Curt) Ojala's 1998 game ended on a double by Jose Vidro, one of the few Expos stars from the 1990s not able to escape Canada (until the team moved to Washington.)
- Jack McDowell's 1996 game ended on a double by Darryl Hamilton, who got the first hit in the first regular-season interleague play game.
- Erik Hanson's 1993 game ended on a single by Doug not-at-all Strange.
- Kevin Tapani's 1992 game ended on a double by Paul Sorrento, who got the first hit at Camden Yards.
- Jack McDowell's 1992 game ended on a sacrifice fly by Rickey Henderson, who's still waiting for interest rates to rise.
- Teddy Higuera's 1990 game ended in the 10th inning on a sacrifice fly by Bob Melvin, who's probably got to feel some satisfaction about the firing of A. J. Hinch.
The other 17 games on this list were all complete-game losses that ended on homers.
Jaime Navarro's 1991 game ended on a homer in the 10th inning by Roberto Kelly.
Keep in mind that this list is not complete for the last 20 years since there were undoubtedly some games that ended with exactly 8 IP.
There are lots more such games from before 1990 as it was far more common for starters to go deep into games. I looked into it a little bit and there was often at least 1 such game every year.
July 3rd, 2010 at 3:21 pm
I think one might argue these aren't actually complete games, since the pitcher didn't throw a full 9 innings. If a pitcher threw a CG win, it would need to be a full 9 innings, right? So why lower the bar in a loss?
July 3rd, 2010 at 3:22 pm
MLB records them as complete games. If only one pitcher ever takes the mound for a team in a game, he gets credited with a CG regardless of how many innings he actually threw. The idea that 9 innings is a complete game is a construct in the fan's mind...in real games, half the time one of the team only bats for 8 innings.
July 3rd, 2010 at 3:59 pm
Andy,
The McDowell game {which, by the way, happened in 1997, not '96} was also the first regular season matchup in which a National League DH {who the heck is Glenallen Hill???} got an RBI?
July 3rd, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Frank...not sure what you mean about 1997 vs 1996. Looks like 1996 to me.
By the way, Sam McDowell also had a game that fits this list, in 1970.
Glenallen Hill was a hotshot rookie who came up with Toronto and then bounced around to a lot of different places. Similar to Mark Whiten...flashy sometimes, bad sometimes.
July 3rd, 2010 at 4:05 pm
That Terry Mulholland game in 1990 featured a bench-clearing brawl between Lenny Dykstra and Rick Dempsey.
I just don't know how Mulholland was able to sustain a career 2.25 ERA against the Dodgers in 160 IP.
July 3rd, 2010 at 4:17 pm
According to the game log, the game ocured on June 12, 1997 -- which figures, since that was the year the Devil Rays and Diamondbacks began play, and interleague play started. I could be wrong {my wife sayhs I usually am, but that's a whole 'nuther story}, but that makes sense to me.
July 3rd, 2010 at 4:21 pm
Frank, you're confusing the link. The link is about a different game that Darryl Hamilton featured in but is not the McDowell game by which I first mentioned Hamilton.
July 3rd, 2010 at 4:21 pm
I forgot to mention that there was another game during that same Dodgers-Phillies series where the Dodgers led 11-1 in the eighth inning and ended up losing that game 12-11. Strange series indeed.
July 3rd, 2010 at 5:10 pm
Andy, please throw no rocks...
The 1996 game wasn't an interleague game, which confused my already slightly verboggled mind. Sorry about that; I thiught you were saying the event happened in an interleague game.
July 3rd, 2010 at 5:43 pm
As a companion to the piece on consecutive starts of 9+ innings without a complete game, could we see one on consecutive starts with fewer than 9 IP, each resulting in a complete game? I think the Play-Index era record for consecutive CG, at most 8 IP, is 5, and in 1961 someone got CGs in two consecutive starts in which he pitched 7 innings or less.
July 3rd, 2010 at 7:44 pm
Now give it up for Bert Blyleven, who I'm guessing is the modern career leader with 75 complete game losses. I'd like to see a a full list of career won-loss % for CGs if it's out there...
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/split.cgi?n1=blylebe01&year=Career&t=p#outco_extra
July 4th, 2010 at 12:38 am
Buck, I'd say that depends on what you call "modern". I'd be surprised if Warren Spahn didn't have more than 75 CG losses, and, by most definitions, he qualifies as modern.
July 4th, 2010 at 6:13 am
From 1942-1949, Spahn had 10 complete-game losses. From 1952 through the end of his career, he had 40. Retrosheet doesn't cover 1950 and 1951, but Spahn would have had to lost 25 complete games over those two seasons to get to 75.
July 4th, 2010 at 6:14 am
would + have + had + to + have + lost
July 4th, 2010 at 12:29 pm
Andy, thanks for the post, I really appreciate it. Lots of interesting facts. In response to Glenallen Hill...remember that home run he had for the Cubs that landed on the building across the street? Has to be one of the longest of all-time. Man that dude could crush.
July 4th, 2010 at 7:01 pm
BunnyWrangler, thanks - not what I expected. For what it's worth, if I'm interpreting the numbers right, Gaylord Perry had 76 CG losses, one more than Blyleven.
July 5th, 2010 at 5:47 pm
I felt like the Blue Jays kept churning out young outfielders in the late 80s/early 90s. Derek Bell probably had the best career, though it ended ignominiously. Hill and Whiten were solid and certainly had their great moments. Rob Ducey, Sil Campusano, and Junior Felix (not to be confused with Felix Jose) never amounted to much, but it seemed like they were highly touted when they came up.
Hill was a midseason trade to the Yankees in 2000 and just crushed the ball. Odd that his career ended just a couple months into '01. I don't remember his being a clubhouse cancer. Any reason no one else gave him another chance? Was his defense that bad?
July 6th, 2010 at 8:10 am
Andy - thanks for the reply. So if a game was called early after like 6 innings (due to rain or whatever), and a team had only one pitcher on the mound for them, he would get credit for a CG?
July 6th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
Gabe, yes. See Sabathia's 4/16 start: http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?n1=sabatc.01&t=p&year=2010
Incidentally, it seems such boxscores should note that the game was called for rain. Maybe it's obvious? But occasionally games get called for other reasons (not that I can think of any good examples right now, besides darkness back in the pre-lights era).