The Not So Sweet Sixteen (Ouch)
Posted by Steve Lombardi on January 15, 2010
Via Baseball-Reference.com's Play Index Post-Season Pitching Game Finder - here are the games, since the Wild Card Play-off Format was introduced to baseball, where a starting pitcher went 8 innings or more in a post-season game and he was charged with the loss in the contest:
| Rk | Player | Date | Series | Gm# | Tm | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | Pit | Str | GSc | IR | IS | BF | AB | 2B | 3B | IBB | HBP | SH | SF | GDP | SB | CS | PO | BK | WP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johan Santana | 2006-10-03 | ALDS | 1 | MIN | OAK | L 2-3 | GS-8 ,L | 8.0 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 107 | 72 | 71 | 30 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 | ||
| 2 | Jose Contreras | 2005-10-11 | ALCS | 1 | CHW | LAA | L 2-3 | GS-9 ,L | 8.1 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 102 | 68 | 61 | 32 | 31 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.24 | ||
| 3 | Matt Morris | 2002-10-14 | NLCS | 5 | STL | SFG | L 1-2 | GS-9 ,L | 8.2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 100 | 62 | 66 | 36 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.08 | ||
| 4 | Barry Zito | 2001-10-13 | ALDS | 3 | OAK | NYY | L 0-1 | GS-8 ,L | 8.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 110 | 74 | 79 | 29 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.12 | ||
| 5 | Randy Johnson | 2001-10-10 | NLDS | 2 | ARI | STL | L 1-4 | GS-8 ,L | 8.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 113 | 78 | 65 | 31 | 27 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | ||
| 6 | Al Leiter | 2000-10-26 | WS | 5 | NYM | NYY | L 2-4 | GS-9 ,L | 8.2 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 142 | 84 | 62 | 36 | 33 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.12 | ||
| 7 | Tim Hudson | 2000-10-06 | ALDS | 3 | OAK | NYY | L 2-4 | CG 8 ,L | 8.0 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 122 | 72 | 57 | 35 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | ||
| 8 | Randy Johnson | 1999-10-05 | NLDS | 1 | ARI | NYM | L 4-8 | GS-9 ,L | 8.1 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 11 | 2 | 47 | 36 | 32 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7.56 | ||||
| 9 | Kevin Brown | 1998-10-21 | WS | 4 | SDP | NYY | L 0-3 | GS-8 ,L | 8.0 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 118 | 73 | 59 | 35 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | ||
| 10 | Randy Johnson | 1998-09-29 | NLDS | 1 | HOU | SDP | L 1-2 | GS-8 ,L | 8.0 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 106 | 78 | 64 | 33 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 | ||
| 11 | Todd Stottlemyre | 1998-09-29 | ALDS | 1 | TEX | NYY | L 0-2 | CG 8 ,L | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 121 | 72 | 66 | 31 | 25 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 | ||
| 12 | Chad Ogea | 1997-10-13 | ALCS | 5 | CLE | BAL | L 2-4 | GS-8 ,L | 8.0 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 94 | 62 | 64 | 30 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.25 | ||
| 13 | Randy Johnson | 1997-10-05 | ALDS | 4 | SEA | BAL | L 1-3 | CG 8 ,L | 8.0 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 137 | 90 | 67 | 33 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | ||
| 14 | John Smoltz | 1996-10-24 | WS | 5 | ATL | NYY | L 0-1 | GS-8 ,L | 8.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 135 | 79 | 79 | 31 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| 15 | Darren Oliver | 1996-10-04 | ALDS | 3 | TEX | NYY | L 2-3 | GS-8 ,L | 8.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 113 | 68 | 59 | 29 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.38 | ||
| 16 | Erik Hanson | 1995-10-04 | ALDS | 2 | BOS | CLE | L 0-4 | CG 8 ,L | 8.0 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 1 | 119 | 73 | 59 | 34 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 |
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Note that, since 1995, there have been 960 games started in the post-season. And, in 106 of those contests, the starting pitcher went 8+ innings. So, it's rare for a starter, these days, to go that long in a post-season game - and it must really sting like a you-know-what when you go that long and get an "L" tagged on you as well...
January 15th, 2010 at 10:57 am
Neat list although none of these was an "ultimate deciding game" (i.e. a Game 7 in a WS or CS, or a Game 5 in a DS). Going back to 1903 that would probably be a very short list. Smoltz, who is also in your list, was the losing pitcher in the amazing 1991 game 7, 1-0 game against the Twins, but only went 7.1 innings.
January 15th, 2010 at 10:59 am
(Sorry for the typo, Smoltz was obviously not the losing pitcher in '91 Game 7 since he left in the 8th inning, and the game was not decided until the extras).
January 15th, 2010 at 11:30 am
Randy Johnson makes the list four times. Most of those starts weren't too bad; no more than 3 ER except for the Mets game. In that game, his last 3 ER all came in the ninth after he was pulled.
January 15th, 2010 at 12:22 pm
Note that the Yankees did it to a pitcher seven times in six years...and never had it done to them in that time. Of course, with their bullpen, they didn't have to leave a pitcher in that long. I wouldn't be surprised to find similar trends with other dynasties. Still, I think the '96-01 Yankees were probably as good or better at rising to the occasion than any team in history.
January 15th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
The Yankees did enough off-the-charts, statistically (almost) impossible stuff in those years to make an atheist believe in god.