Tonight, Nationals starter Max Scherzer finally gave up a run, as the Phillies touched him up for a pair in the seventh inning. It snapped a 47 and one-third inning shutout streak by Washington starting pitchers, ensuring that the 1974 Orioles' post-expansion record of 54 straight scoreless innings will stand. Of course, the Birds did it the hard way, as those innings were truly consecutive. Dave McNally finished up a 7-1 complete-game victory over the Royals with a scoreless ninth inning on
September 1 after his shutout was spoiled by a John Mayberry groundout with runners on the corners in the eighth. The next day,
Ross Grimsley and
Mike Cuellar each went the distance in a pair of 1-0 squeakers, as the O's swept Boston in a twinbill in Memorial Stadium. "Scuz" twirled a three-hitter, and Cuellar one-upped him with a two-hitter. Jim Palmer continued to flummox the BoSox on Wednesday the 4th, blanking them on three hits in
a 6-0 breezer. The Orioles traveled to Cleveland for a Friday doubleheader and McNally (three-hit,
2-0 final) and Cuellar again (five-hit,
1-0 final) kept the zeroes coming. On Saturday,
September 7, Grimsley carried a four-hit shutout into the game's final frame. With the Tribe down by three, George Hendrick led off with a double and Charlie Spikes finally spoiled the fun with a two-run homer. Ross regrouped to put down the next three Indians hitters in order, preserving the complete game victory. It was the tenth straight victory for the O's, who were in the midst of yet another late-season surge under Earl Weaver. That must have been an incredible time to be a fan.
2 comments:
Glory days indeed. When I took my trip up there that June that they were just treading water. I saw them win a couple of series, White Sox and Twins. But they were not going anywhere and it stayed that way until they went nuts late in the year. I think they were waiting for President Nixon to quit.
I was there for the DH sweep against the Red Sox, can still recall the collective look on the faces after losing both games 1-0, just a blank dazed and confused look.
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