Webb Shutout Streak at 42 Innings
Arizona's Brandon Webb Has Pitched Scoreless Baseball For a Month
2006 National League Cy Young Award Winner Brandon Webb is on the hot streak of a lifetime, throwing five straight shutouts and chasing a record once thought unbreakable.
When Brandon Webb got Kelly Johnson to ground out to second base for the final out of Friday night's Braves-Diamondbacks game, the Arizona pitcher closed the loop on his 42nd consecutive inning pitched without giving up a single run. That's right. Brandon Webb hasn't surrendered a run -- earned or unearned -- since the fifth inning of his July 20, 2007 start against the Chicago Cubs.
The Victims of the Streak
Prior to his July 25, 2007 start against the Florida Marlins, Brandon Webb wasn't pitching like the stud who'd hurled his way to the 2006 National League Cy Young Award. He was 8-8. His ERA was a respectable 3.38. He was good, but not great.
All of that would change, and it would change that late July night against Florida. Webb had a spectacular outing: he pitched seven innings, struck out eight batters and held the Marlins scoreless. With the one shutout inning that he'd thrown at the end of his July 20 outing, Webb now had a modest streak of eight consecutive scoreless innings pitched.
In his next start, against the Padres, Webb was even more dominant, giving up just 3 hits and 2 walks while fanning seven. He also gave up no runs in seven innings and extended his streak to 15 innings. Webb followed those outings with back-to-back complete game shutouts against the Dodgers and Nationals.
As Webb approached his start Friday night in Atlanta, the pressure was mounting. He was now in the white hot glare of the national sports media's spotlight. With 33 straight scoreless innings, Webb was making some start to think that he might have a legitimate chance of approaching Orel Hershiser's record of 59 consecutive shutout innings pitched.
Whatever pressure there may have been, however, didn't seem to bother Webb one bit. He pitched his third consecutive complete game shutout, and gave up just two hits to a lineup that included Chipper Jones, Mark Teixiera and Andruw Jones. With this latest shutout win, Webb is now at 42 straight scoreless innings and counting.
Brandon Webb's Stats During Scoreless Innings Streak
- Won-Loss Record: 5-0
- Earned Run Average: 0.00
- Innings Pitched: 42
- Batters Struck Out: 38
- Batters Walked: 7
- Hits Surrendered: 23
- WHIP: 0.688
D-Backs Record During the Scoreless Innings Streak: 20-5
Other Pitchers with Notable Scoreless Inning Streaks
Orel Hershiser. In 1988, Hershiser pitched 59 consecutive scoreless innings, breaking the old record, which had been set 20 years earlier by another Los Angeles Dodger pitiching legend. The streak helped propel Hershiser to the Cy Young Award and the Dodgers to the 1988 World Series title.
Don Drysdale. Hershiser broke the record of another Dodger great, Don Drysdale. Just two years before he made his legendary cameo appearance on the Brady Bunch, Don pitched 58 2/3 consecutive innings without letting up a run. From May 14 through May 31, 1968, Drysdale threw six (6!) consecutive complete game shutouts. There's a lot of good starting pitchers playing today who won't get six complete game shutouts in their entire careers.
Greg Maddux. Maddux has the longest scoreless innings streak of the past 10 years. In 2000, from September 7 through the 28, the Mad Dog threw 39 1/3 consecutive scoreless innings.
Whitey Ford. Ford holds the World Series record for consecutive shutout innings pitched with 33. He broke the prior record of 29 2/3 held by Boston Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth.
Upcoming Matchups
August 22, 2007 vs. the Milwaukee Brewers (9:40 p.m. PST)
August 28, 2007 @ San Diego Padres (10:05 p.m. PST)
