Allow 1 hit, lose the game
Posted by Andy on September 29, 2009
Following the jump is the list of 38 games since 1954 where a pitching staff has allowed at most 1 hit in a game and still lost. The most recent occasion was last year when the Angels allowed zero hits to the Dodgers and still lost, thanks to a runner that reached on error, advanced on error, and scored on a sacrifice fly.
This list includes 5 games with zero hits allowed. Most of these are pretty famous "near no-hitters" as games where the losing team allowed no hits but pitched only 8 innings. However, included is Ken Johnson's 1964 no-hitter (and loss) with the Colt .45's and the bizarre 1967 Orioles-Tigers game that resulted in a combined no-hitter (and loss) for the Orioles.
Cnt Date Tm Opp GmReslt IP H R ER BB SO HR Pit Str IR IS BF AB 2B 3B IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS Pk Ptchrs ERA +----+-------------+---+----+-------+----+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+--+--+--+------+------+ 1 2008-06-28 LAA LAD L 0-1 8 0 1 0 3 9 0 124 75 0 0 29 24 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 2 0.00 2 2007-04-15 CHW CLE L 1-2 8 1 2 0 6 9 0 144 83 1 0 34 28 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 0.00 3 2006-09-03 NYM HOU L 1-2 8 1 2 2 9 5 0 146 81 4 2 35 22 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 3 0 0 4 2.25 4 2006-06-22 STL CHW L 0-1 8 1 1 1 0 6 1 90 67 26 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1.12 5 2005-08-23 CHW MIN L 0-1 8 1 1 1 2 3 1 95 58 27 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1.12 6 2002-04-27 NYY SEA L 0-1 8 1 1 1 1 8 0 100 62 27 24 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 1 1 1.12 7 2000-05-21 TOR CHW L 1-2 9 1 2 0 2 9 0 134 84 0 0 32 28 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 3 0.00 8 1997-09-03 BOS MON L 0-1 8 1 1 1 4 7 1 108 67 0 0 28 23 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 1.12 9 1996-04-13 MIL KCR L 2-3 9 1 3 3 4 1 1 117 61 0 0 32 27 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 3.00 10 1995-08-02 TOR BAL L 0-1 8 1 1 1 4 3 1 107 55 28 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 1.12 11 1993-07-27 KCR TEX L 0-1 9 1 1 1 1 11 1 106 76 28 27 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1.00 12 1992-07-25 PIT ATL L 0-1 8 1 1 1 1 5 1 92 55 0 0 25 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1.12 13 1992-04-14 OAK KCR L 1-3 8 1 3 1 3 3 0 122 72 1 1 30 24 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0 2 2 1.12 14 1992-04-12(1) BOS CLE L 1-2 8 0 2 2 7 6 0 120 63 32 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 1 0 1 2.25 15 1991-09-14 NYM STL L 1-2 8 1 2 2 4 7 0 112 61 0 0 29 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 2.25 16 1990-07-01 NYY CHW L 0-4 8 0 4 0 5 3 0 131 79 31 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0.00 17 1989-08-15 TEX SEA L 0-2 8 1 2 1 5 3 0 124 68 31 25 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1.12 18 1987-09-02 CLE DET L 1-2 8 1 2 1 7 7 0 33 25 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1.12 19 1986-09-07 MON SFG L 0-1 9 1 1 1 5 11 0 0 0 34 27 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 1.00 20 1986-06-16 TEX CAL L 1-2 8.2 1 2 0 4 8 0 32 28 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.00 21 1984-08-24 PIT CIN L 0-2 9 1 2 1 3 8 0 31 27 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 1.00 22 1983-05-18 CHW BAL L 0-1 8 1 1 1 7 5 1 31 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1.12 23 1982-09-05 ATL MON L 1-2 8.2 1 2 1 4 3 1 0 0 32 27 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 2 1.04 24 1975-07-19 CHC SDP L 1-2 8 1 2 2 9 6 0 3 0 34 23 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 2.25 25 1974-09-08 CAL CHW L 0-1 9 1 1 0 3 6 0 35 30 1 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0.00 +----+-------------+---+----+-------+----+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+--+--+--+------+------+ Cnt Date Tm Opp GmReslt IP H R ER BB SO HR Pit Str IR IS BF AB 2B 3B IBB HBP SH SF GDP SB CS Pk Ptchrs ERA +----+-------------+---+----+-------+----+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+---+--+--+---+--+--+--+------+------+ 26 1974-09-04 HOU CIN L 1-2 9 1 2 0 6 3 0 0 0 34 25 0 0 0 1 2 0 2 1 0 0 2 0.00 27 1971-09-02 KCR MIL L 0-1 8 1 1 1 3 3 0 0 0 28 24 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 1.12 28 1971-07-30 KCR BAL L 0-1 4 1 1 1 0 3 1 13 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2.25 29 1969-06-08(2) CLE CAL L 2-3 9 1 3 2 10 8 0 3 0 36 25 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 2 2 0 4 2.00 30 1967-04-30(1) BAL DET L 1-2 9 0 2 1 10 3 0 2 1 40 24 0 0 1 2 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 1.00 31 1965-09-09 CHC LAD L 0-1 8 1 1 0 1 3 0 76 50 26 24 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0.00 32 1965-05-15 CHC LAD L 1-3 8 1 3 0 4 4 1 29 23 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0.00 33 1964-09-12 KCA BAL L 0-1 8 1 1 1 6 4 0 29 19 1 0 0 0 3 1 1 1 0 0 1 1.12 34 1964-09-06 BOS MIN L 1-2 8 1 2 0 1 4 1 27 26 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 35 1964-04-23 HOU CIN L 0-1 9 0 1 0 2 9 0 31 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 36 1959-05-26 PIT MLN L 0-1 12.2 1 1 0 1 8 0 40 38 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.00 37 1957-06-16(2) MLN PHI L 0-1 8 1 1 1 4 1 0 27 22 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1 1.12 38 1956-06-21 BAL CHW L 0-1 8 1 1 1 3 7 0 0 0 30 26 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1.12
September 29th, 2009 at 10:34 am
One of these is the amazing Charlie Hough walkoff-strikeout game covered in this post. I found a description of how it went down. Looks like the key bit not in the boxscore was that Hough didn't cover home, allowing the slow but alert "rookie star" to score:
Charlie Hough of the Rangers held the Angels without a hit for eight and one-third innings tonight, but a single, a three-base error and two passed balls in the ninth left Hough and Texas 2-1 losers.
Hough (5-3) entered the ninth with a 1-0 lead. The right-handed knuckleball pitcher struck out the first batter. Then Jack Howell, pinch-hitting, reached third when George Wright, a defensive replacement, dropped his bloop-fly down the left-field line. Wally Joyner, the Angels' rookie star, followed by ruining Hough's no-hit bid with a line single to right-center that knocked in Howell.
With Doug DeCinces up, the catcher Orlando Mercado committed a passed ball, allowing Joyner to move to second. After DeCinces struck out and Reggie Jackson was intentionally walked, George Hendrick swung and missed at a 3-2 pitch for what should have been the final out of the inning.
But Mercado allowed the pitch to get by him for another passed ball, and Joyner raced home from second with the winning run as Hough failed to cover the plate.
Kirk McCaskill (6-4)allowed only four singles, one after the second inning, and struck out 10.
The Rangers scored in the second inning with the aid of a two-base error by the center fielder Gary Pettis. Tigers 5, Orioles 4
September 29th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
This a great list of odd and sometimes funny games. I especially enjoy the 1990 NYY-CHW game. NY didn't allow a single hit yet lost 4-0. All 4 runs unearned and scored in the bottom of the 8th with 2 outs. Error, walk, walk, error (3 score), error (1 scores). I feel bad for Andy Hawkins, apparently he was pitching so well that the defense fell asleep. In his next game against Minnesota, he allowed 2 ER in 11.2 IP (both in the top of the 12th, also with 2 outs) and lost 2-0. His next game was against the White Sox again and he allowed 8 ER in 4.1 IP and lost 8-0. It looks like he had some pretty good games that year although you wouldn't know it from his 5-12 record and 5.37 ERA.
September 29th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
When the no-hitter rules were changed back in the early 1990s, I felt that eight-inning complete game no-hit losses should still have been counted (as well as similar walk-offs in the ninth inning). The Andy Hawkins game, however, may have been one of the events that led major league baseball to clarify these rules.
That April 12, 1992, game that was the first game of a doubleheader between Boston and the Tribe in Cleveland was the first eight-inning complete game no-hit loss to come after this rule change. So Matt Young of the Red Sox never had his moment of fame of having pitched a no-hitter. I do remember reading at the time, however, that after Roger Clemens allowed only two hits in game 2, the 2 hits that the Indians managed in the two games combined broke a doubleheader record set by the Mets in that 1964 doubleheader in which one of the games was Jim Bunning's perfect game. The Mets only got 3 hits in the other game. I don't know if this record has since been broken or tied. There aren't that many doubleheaders these days.
September 29th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
The Mets didn't set a record in that 1964 doubleheader, they just tied a record set by the Dodgers, against St Louis, 21 September 1934. The 2nd game was a no-hitter by Paul Dean (and I think the 1st game was a 3-hitter by Dizzy Dean, who said, after the 2nd game, "If I'd a known Paul was gonna throw a no-hitter, I'd a thrown one, too!").
September 30th, 2009 at 7:46 am
I hated when they changed the no-hitter rules. Is the baseball record book really better off without Harvey Haddix and Ernie Shore? Bud needs to lighten up.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:01 am
Record books and just record books. Baseball fans like us remember these games and mentioned them often. This post is at least the 5th on this blog to mention the 1990 NYY/CWS game and the 1992 BOS/CLE game.
September 30th, 2009 at 12:16 pm
That is very true. Thanks for another great blog Andy.
September 30th, 2009 at 8:41 pm
I found two more 3-hit doubleheaders. On 27 May 1945, Boo Ferriss threw a 1-hitter and Emmett O'Neill a 2-hitter for the Red Sox against the White Sox. On 8 June 1969, Sam McDowell threw a 2-hitter and Mike Paul, Gary Kroll, Jack Hamilton, and Stan Williams combined for a 1-hitter for the Indians against the Angels. That 1-hitter makes the list above, as the Indians lost, 3-2.