Low Run Support Perfect Games

Roy Halladay got a single run in the third inning of his perfect game. (via Dirk Hansen)

Roy Halladay got a single run in the third inning of his perfect game. (via Dirk Hansen)

The perfect game is one of the rarest feats in baseball. There have still only been 23 total perfect games in major league history, dating back to 1880. Perfect games are, of course, a pitching accomplishment, but baseball is still a team game. There’s that pesky fact that you do indeed need to score some runs to win a game, even when your pitcher is dealing. But sometimes that’s easier said than done.

Seven perfect games were won 1-0. Then two pitchers weren’t so fortunate, as they carried their perfect games into extra innings before they were broken up. Let’s take a look at these peculiar games, including the win expectancies when the pitchers’ teams scored for the games that we have that data.

June 12, 1880: Lee Richmond and Worcester Ruby Legs vs. Cleveland Blues; Ruby Legs win 1-0

Left-hander Lee Richmond owns the honor of throwing the first-ever perfect game in major league history. He was 23 at the time, and in his first full season. It was also the Ruby Legs’ inaugural major league season. Richmond faced 23-year-old Blues righthander Jim McCormick, who gave up just three hits and struck out seven in eight innings that day.

Richmond and Worcester came out on top thanks to a mishandled ball and an errant throw home by Cleveland second baseman Fred Dunlap that allowed Ruby Legs shortstop Arthur Irwin to score in the top of the fifth inning. Irwin finished the day 2-for-3; the only other Worcester player to get a hit against McCormick was Richmond himself, who went 1-for-3.

Richmond finished the 1880 season 32-32 with a 2.15 ERA, while McCormick led the majors with 45 wins. McCormick finished with a 45-28 record and a 1.85 ERA, so he wasn’t too shabby himself, though it certainly was a pitching-dominated era. An additional example of the pitching domination of the time is that Providence Grays right-hander John Ward threw the second perfect game in major league history just five days later, in a 5-0 win over the Buffalo Bisons. Never since have two perfect games happened so close to one another.

Oct. 2, 1908: Addie Joss and Cleveland Naps vs. Chicago White Sox; Indians win 1-0

This was the second perfect game in American League history and the fourth in major league history. Right-hander Addie Joss, 28, threw a perfect game in the final week of the regular season to cap a five-game win streak for the Naps. Cleveland was trailing the Detroit Tigers by only a half game in the race for the American League pennant.

Joss came into the game with a 23-11 record and was up against Chicago right-hander Ed Walsh, who entered with a 39-14 record. Cleveland center fielder Joe Birmingham scored the lone run in this one, in the third inning on a passed ball. Walsh, 27, held the Naps to just four hits overall in eight innings, but Birmingham’s score was all Cleveland needed. Birmingham was Cleveland’s overall leading hitter on the day, going 2-for-3 with a stolen base. But Walsh otherwise kept the team at bay, racking up 15 strikeouts, and would lead the league that year with 40 wins. Still, Joss got the upper hand this day.

Despite their fifth win in a row, the Naps still finished a half game behind the Tigers in the pennant race, and Detroit lost to the Chicago Cubs in the World Series (the Cubs haven’t won one since). Joss would add a no-hitter to his resume in the 1910 season in another 1-0 win over the White Sox.

Sept. 9, 1965: Sandy Koufax and Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Chicago Cubs; Dodgers win 1-0

With the Dodgers fighting for the National League pennant, left-hander Sandy Koufax, then 29, bested Cubs left-hander Bob Hendley. This was another case where a fielding mistake turned out to be the difference. In the bottom of the fifth, Dodgers left fielder Lou Johnson stole third base and an error on the throw allowed him to come home for the score, which boosted the Dodger’s win expectancy from 59 percent to 71 percent.

The game was the 26-year-old Hendley’s eighth start of the season compared to Koufax’s 35th. Koufax had three previous career no-hitters entering the game. But Hendley went toe-to-toe with Koufax, pitching eight innings of one-hit ball. Johnson reached base in the fifth inning via a walk, but he also had the game’s sole hit, a double in the seventh inning. Until that double, Hendley was pitching a no-hitter.

The Dodgers would win the NL pennant a few weeks later, with three more Koufax shutouts en route. Koufax finished the regular season with a 26-8 record and 2.04 ERA, both major league bests. Los Angeles then defeated the Minnesota Twins to win the World Series. Koufax pitched a pair of shutouts in the World Series, including one in Game Seven, and was named World Series MVP.

Sept. 30, 1984: Mike Witt and California Angels vs. Texas Rangers; Angels win 1-0

Right-hander Mike Witt’s perfect game came in the Angels’ final game of the 1984 season. The Angels were out of the AL West race, four games behind the Kansas City Royals entering the day, but the 24-year-old Witt helped them finish the season on a high note.

Witt’s one run of support came on a fielder’s choice in the top of the seventh. Third baseman Doug DeCinces led off the inning with a single, advanced to second on a passed ball, then to third on a groundout and then finally scored to increase California’s win expectancy by 10 percent, to 69 percent.

Witt had 10 strikeouts in his perfect game, which brought his season total to 196, seventh best in the majors that year. He faced 36-year old Rangers right-hander Charlie Hough, who allowed seven hits in a complete game. The Angels left six runners on base, and their batters were 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position, so this one could have been a lot easier on Witt. But Hough didn’t pitch until he was 46 because he was easy to hit.

A Hardball Times Update
Goodbye for now.

Sept. 16, 1988: Tom Browning and Cincinnati Reds vs. Los Angeles Dodgers; Reds win 1-0

Reds left-hander Tom Browning, who was 28 that season, pitched this perfect game after an almost two-and-a-half hour rain delay. He faced Dodgers righty Tim Belcher, who at age 26 was in his first big league season. Belcher didn’t go quietly into the night: He had a no-hitter working into the sixth inning, when shortstop Barry Larkin tallied a two-out double. Third baseman Chris Sabo then knocked Larkin in with a single to give the Reds the only run they would get. The play upped the Reds’ win expectancy 18 percentage points, from 55 percent to 73 percent.

Browning finished the game with seven strikeouts. The Dodgers were the NL West leaders at the time and the Reds were largely out of it, still 7.5 games back after this game. The experience didn’t seem to dent the Dodgers’ spirit too much, as they went on to win the World Series over the Oakland Athletics about a month later. Belcher started two games in the World Series and won Game Four.

May 29, 2010: Roy Halladay and Philadelphia Phillies vs. Florida Marlins; Phillies win 1-0

Roy Halladay punctuated the best four-season run of his career when he twirled a perfect game against the Marlins. The 33-year-old right-hander added a postseason no-hitter that October against the Reds in the NL Division Series, and would take home the Cy Young Award about a month later.

On the fateful May day, Philadelphia’s one run came relatively early. In the third inning, shortstop Wilson Valdez reached base on a single. Second baseman Chase Utley followed, and hit a ball to center field that was misplayed, allowing Valdez to score and Utley to reach third base. The play pushed the Phillies’ win expectancy went from 50 percent up to 66.

Halladay struck out 11 in the game to help the Phillies hold on to the lead. The win was Halladay’s seventh of the season on the way to 21, which tied with the New York Yankees’ CC Sabathia for most in the majors that season (1880, it was not). Right-hander Josh Johnson, 26, was on the mound for the Marlins in the game and allowed seven hits in seven innings.

Aug. 15, 2012: Felix Hernandez and Seattle Mariners vs. Tampa Bay Rays; Mariners win 1-0

The most recent perfect game on this list came courtesy of Mariners right-hander Felix Hernandez, who was 26 at the time. As in Halladay’s perfect game two years prior, Hernandez received his run support in the third inning. Shortstop Brendan Ryan led off the inning with a single. Two outs later, with designated hitter Jesus Montero at the plate, Ryan stole second base and then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Montero singled to bring Ryan home and the Mariners’ win expectancy jumped up from 54 to 65 percent.

Rays right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, 25, faced the Mariners on this day and gave up five hits and one run and struck out one in seven innings pitched. Hernandez had 12 strikeouts in the game, which tied for his second-highest total of the season. He struck out 12 batters three times in 2012, and 13 once.

When the Run Never Comes…

Then there were the two potential perfect games in which the pitcher failed to get even one run of support and wound up surrendering a hit in extra innings. The first instance was on May 26, 1959, when the Pittsburgh Pirates were playing at the Milwaukee Braves. Pirates left-hander Harvey Haddix, 33, had a perfect game going for 12 innings.

The first Braves batter in the bottom of the 13th, second baseman Felix Mantilla, reached on a throwing error. Later in the inning, after an intentional walk to a right fielder named Hank Aaron, Braves first baseman Joe Adcock doubled to bring home Mantilla and give Milwaukee the walk-off win.

On June 3, 1995, Pedro Martinez carried a perfect game into the 10th inning for the Montreal Expos, who were visiting the San Diego Padres. The Expos actually went up 1-0 in the top of the 10th inning thanks to a two-out RBI single by second baseman Jeff Treadway. But Padres left fielder Bip Roberts doubled to lead off the bottom half of the inning. Martinez was then removed in favor of right-hander Mel Rojas. Rojas successfully finished the inning to pick up the save and Martinez still got the win even if he did lose the perfect game.

One of the beauties of baseball is that you never know what you’re going to see from game to game. Tossing a perfect game, or even a no-hitter, is probably a dream for every pitcher. But if he has one in progress, please get the poor guy some runs.

References & Resources


Wayne Epps Jr. is a recent graduate of James Madison University, where he was the editor of the student newspaper The Breeze. He has worked for The Boston Globe, USA Today and The New York Times. Follow him on Twitter @wayneeppsjr.
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Merkle McPratt
8 years ago

“Braves first baseman Joe Adcock doubled to bring home Mantilla and give Milwaukee the walk-off win.”

I heartily endorse your proposal that the phrase “walk-off” be used only for games that end on a baserunning blunder.

bucdaddy
8 years ago
Reply to  Merkle McPratt

Hee.

Marc Schneider
8 years ago

Adcock actually hit a home run but Aaron left the basepath and was passed by Adcock, making it a double.