The A’s lead the AL with eight victories this year, yet oddly, no single pitcher has more than one win. This is a new team record for Most Consecutive Different Winning Pitchers To Start A Season.
So far, Rich Harden, Justin Duchscherer, Dana Eveland, Alan Embree, Fernando Hernandez, Joey Devine, Joe Blanton, and Lenny DiNardo have each recorded exactly one win. Update: Add Greg Smith! Make it nine different pitchers with exactly one win!
The old team record was seven, set by the 1991 version of the Oakland A’s. The first seven pitchers to record a victory in 1991 were Dave Stewart, Joe Slusarski, Mike Moore, Kirk Dressendorfer, Dana Allison, Bob Welch, and Steve Chitren. Moore ended the streak by notching his second win of the season on April 17th. The A’s were 7-1 during this streak, the only loss being recorded by Bob Welch in the second game of the year.
The major league record (going back to 1920) is 10, held by two teams: 1973 Chicago Cubs (Bob Locker, Jack Aker, Rick Reuschel, Bill Bonham, Fergie Jenkins, Ray Burris, Burt Hooton, Bill Virdon, Larry Gura, Milt Pappas–streak broken by Reuschel) and the 1992 California Angels (Don Robinson, Mark Langston, Jim Abbott, Joe Grahe, Chuck Crim, Scott Lewis, Steve Frey, Julio Valera, Scott Bailes, Chuck Finley–streak broken by Grahe). The 1966 Pittsburgh Pirates had a streak of nine, while seventeen other teams besides the 2008 A’s have run up a streak of eight. The most recent was the 2007 Yankees.
The A’s can tie or break the MLB record if their next two or three victories come from this group of winless A’s pitchers: Santiago Casilla, Keith Foulke, Huston Street, Chad Gaudin (who blew his chance yesterday), and Greg Smith.
Smith takes the mound tonight hoping to extend the streak. He opposes Mark Buehrle, Nick Swisher, and the Chicago White Sox. Update: Success! They are now one short of the MLB record!
1. The A's have also had two streaks of eight different losing pitchers to start a season.
2000: Kevin Appier, Mike Magnante, Ron Mahay, Jeff Tam, Omar Olivares, Gil Heredia, Tim Hudson, T.J. Mathews. Broken by Hudson.
2003: Ricardo Rincon, Chad Bradford, Tim Hudson, John Halama, Barry Zito, Mark Mulder, Micah Bowie, Jeremy Fikac. Broken by Bradford.
2. The MLB record (going back to 1957) for different losing pitchers without a repeat is also 10, held by three teams:
1983 Yankees: Roger Erickson, Bob Shirley, Rich Gossage, Ron Guidry, George Frazier, Rudy May, Jay Howell, Doyle Alexander, Dave Righetti, Shane Rawley. Broken by Guidry.
1993 Orioles: Rick Sutcliffe, Todd Frohwirth, Ben McDonald, Mark Williamson, Mike Mussina, Fernando Valenzuela, Brad Pennington, Alan Mills, Gregg Olson, Arthur Rhodes. Broken by McDonald.
2003 Devil Rays: Jorge Sosa, Jim Parque, Nick Bierbrodt, Steve Parris, Victor Zambrano, Jesus Colome, Travis Harper, Al Levine, Lance Carter, Joe Kennedy. Broken by Zambrano.
3. 2 That's also to start a season.
4. Steve Chitrin lives!
5. Yeah! Chitren had a nasty Blylevenesque curveball with a sharp bite, but he hurt his arm and never got the bite back. It was more slurvy after the injury. Shame.
6. brilliant outing so far by Smith. Hopefully the boys can give him a few more runs.
And Sweeney just doubles. Get em home Emil.
And there you GO!
:-)
7. well this has gotten a bit dicey.
8. phew
9. And Smith makes it 9. Those names brought back a lot of memories except for Dana Allison. Who he?
10. You mean we get to win a game and plunk A.J. Pierzynski with a pitch? I have no problem with that.
11. 9 If I had extended my list of A's That Time Forgot back to 1991, Allison would have been on it:
http://catfishstew.baseballtoaster.com/archives/316710.html
I have no memory of Allison at all.
12. Chad Gaudin picks up the Win in team win #10.