Eduardo Rodriguez matched a career high with 13 strikeouts, including his final 11 outs. Heath Hembree struck out all five batters he faced. Matt Barnes got one out, on a strikeout. And Joe Kelly, who closed the game, recorded four strikeouts.
It was only the fifth major league game (since 1913) with at least 23 strikeouts by one team. And the Red Sox's win was by far the shortest game.
July 9, 1971 - Athletics 1, Angels 0 - Athletics: 26 K in 20 innings
May 15, 2003 - Cubs 4, Brewers 2 - Cubs: 24 K in 17 innings
May 31, 2003 - Cubs 1, Astros 0 - Astros: 23 K in 15.1 innings
June 8, 2004 - Brewers 1, Angels 0 - Angels: 26 K in 17 innings
September 25, 2016 - Red Sox 3, Rays 2 - Red Sox: 23 K in 10 innings
The 23 strikeouts set a new Red Sox team record, breaking the old mark of 20, which had been accomplished four times:
April 29, 1986 - 3-1 win over Mariners in 9 innings (Clemens 20)
September 18, 1996 - 4-0 win over Tigers in 9 innings (Clemens 20)
September 15, 1999 - 6-4 win over Cleveland in 13 innings (Pedro 14, Cormier 1, Beck 2, Wasdin 3)
June 12, 2009 - 5-2 win over Phillies in 13 innings (Lester 11, Okajima 2, Ramirez 1, Masterson 3, Bard 3)
The 21 strikeouts recorded in the first nine innings is the most in major league history, but it will not be listed as a nine-inning record, according to Elias Sports Bureau, because the game actually lasted 10 innings.
The 11 strikeouts by Rodriguez and Hembree in 11 consecutive plate appearances set a new major league record. The old mark was 10, set by Tom Seaver of the Mets on April 22, 1970. Seaver struck out the last 10 Padres in the game.
I am assuming that the 17 consecutive outs recorded by the Red Sox via strikeout is also a major league record.
One account of the game said the Rays did not put the ball in play for 2 hours and 11 minutes.
Tampa Bay's play-by-play:
1 - L5 K 1B F9 2 - 2B BB K 1B F8 K 3 - HP K K K 4 - K BB K K 5 - K K K 6 - K K K 7 - K K K 8 - 1B K BB 1B 463 9 - P5 K K 10 - 1B K K 1B F7Strikeout linescore: 123 333 312 2 - 23.
OTM: "In fairness to the Rays, they and the Red Sox alike had to deal with one of the wider strike zones you'll ever see. Anything within a foot of the outside part of the plate was good for a strike, and Rodriguez was taking advantage not only by keeping the ball away, but by painting inside when his relentless outside attack forced them to look away."
ReplyDeleteEven the radio announcers noted the incredibly wide strike zone.
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