It was only a couple of weeks ago that we examined the record-setting “one-batter” relievers. Apparently Astros’ manager Brad Mills reads the VORG, as he decided to go and set a one-game record for one-batter relievers last night during Houston’s 4-3 win over the Mets. Mills used five relievers for just one batter apiece, breaking the record of four (done 19 times, most recently by Colorado vs. Arizona on 9/07/11):
Most One-Batter Relief Appearances by One Team in a Single Game
| Tm | Opp | Date | #Matching |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | NYM | 2012-04-30 | 5 |
| TEX | BOS | 1993-09-01 | 4 |
| STL | CHC | 1981-04-29 (1) | 4 |
| STL | PIT | 1967-09-10 | 4 |
| STL | PIT | 1994-05-17 | 4 |
| SFG | TEX | 1997-06-13 | 4 |
| SFG | LAD | 2004-10-02 | 4 |
| SFG | CHC | 2005-07-25 | 4 |
| PIT | STL | 1963-06-14 | 4 |
| OAK | BAL | 1994-07-07 | 4 |
| MON | NYM | 1977-09-06 | 4 |
| MIN | TBR | 2010-07-01 | 4 |
| LAD | CIN | 1991-09-16 | 4 |
| KCR | OAK | 1976-09-27 | 4 |
| DET | BOS | 1995-09-27 | 4 |
| COL | ARI | 2011-09-07 | 4 |
| CHW | KCR | 2007-08-21 | 4 |
| CHC | COL | 1995-09-06 | 4 |
| CHC | NYM | 1975-09-23 | 4 |
| ATL | HOU | 2006-09-30 | 4 |
Here is how the dance of the one-batter relievers took place in Houston:
|
Inn |
Batter |
Pitcher |
Play Description |
| Top of the 7th, Mets Batting, Behind 0-3, Astros’ Bud Norris facing 4-5-6 | |||
|
t7 |
D. Wright | B. Norris | Single to CF (Line Drive to LF-CF) |
|
t7 |
I. Davis | B. Norris | Single to RF (Line Drive to Short CF-RF); Wright to 2B |
|
t7 |
M. Baxter | B. Norris | Flyball: RF (Deep RF); Wright to 3B; Davis to 2B |
|
t7 |
A. Torres | B. Norris | Single to 1B (Ground Ball); Wright Scores; Davis to 3B |
|
t7 |
J. Thole | B. Norris | Groundout: P unassisted (Front of Home); Torres to 2B |
| Lucas Duda pinch hits for R.A. Dickey (P) batting 9th | |||
|
t7 |
L. Duda | B. Norris | Walk |
|
t7 |
K. Nieuwenhuis | B. Norris | Single to RF (Ground Ball thru 2B-1B);Davis Scores; Torres Scores; Duda to 3B; Nieuwenhuis to 2B/Adv on throw |
| Wilton Lopez replaces Bud Norris pitching and batting 9th | |||
|
t7 |
R. Tejada | W. Lopez | Lineout: 3B (Weak 3B) |
| 3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, 2 LOB.Mets 3, Astros 3. | |||
| Top of the 8th, Mets Batting, Tied 3-3, Astros’ Wesley Wright facing 3-4-5 | |||
| Wesley Wright replaces Justin Maxwell (PH) pitching and batting 9th | |||
|
t8 |
D. Murphy | W. Wright | Lineout: LF (Deep LF) |
| Brandon Lyon replaces Wesley Wright pitching and batting 9th | |||
|
t8 |
D. Wright | B. Lyon | Strikeout Looking |
| Fernando Abad replaces Brandon Lyon pitching and batting 9th | |||
|
t8 |
I. Davis | F. Abad | Single to RF (Ground Ball thru 2B-1B) |
| Fernando Rodriguez replaces Fernando Abad pitching and batting 9thScott Hairston pinch hits for Mike Baxter (RF) batting 6th | |||
|
t8 |
S. Hairston | F. Rodriguez | Flyball: LF (Deep LF Line) |
| 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, 1 LOB. Mets 3, Astros 3. | |||
| Top of the 9th, Mets Batting, Behind 3-4, Astros’ Brett Myers facing 7-8-9 | |||
| Brett Myers replaces Fernando Rodriguez pitching and batting 9th | |||
Not only did Mills set a record for “one-batter” relievers, four of those relievers threw two or fewer pitches during their appearance. That sets a new mark for “short order cooks on a mound”.
Most relievers throwing two or fewer pitches in single game – One Team
| Tm | Opp | Date | #Matching |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | NYM | 2012-04-30 | 4 |
| CHW | KCR | 2007-08-21 | 3 |
As Zachary Levine of the Houston Chronicle pointed out to me, Mets’ manager Terry Collins got into the act too, adding two of his own “one-batter” relievers. So the two managers set a combined single-game record:
Most one-batter relievers used, both teams, single game
| Tm | Opp | Date | #Matching |
|---|---|---|---|
| NYM | HOU | 2012-04-30 | 7 |
| BOS | TEX | 1993-09-01 | 6 |
| COL | ARI | 2011-09-07 | 5 |
| TBR | STL | 2011-07-02 | 5 |
| FLA | ATL | 2011-06-08 | 5 |
| FLA | TBR | 2011-05-21 | 5 |
| TBR | MIN | 2010-07-01 | 5 |
| BAL | MIN | 2006-09-24 | 5 |
| SFG | LAD | 2004-10-02 | 5 |
| TEX | TOR | 2001-04-25 | 5 |
| LAD | CIN | 1991-09-16 | 5 |
| STL | CHC | 1981-04-29 (1) | 5 |
| CHC | STL | 1970-05-16 | 5 |
| ATL | STL | 1967-07-22 | 5 |
| PIT | STL | 1963-06-14 | 5 |
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Collins also added his own “two or fewer pitches” reliever appearance, so THAT sets a new mark also:
Most relievers throwing two or fewer pitches in game - Both Teams
| Tm | Opp | Date | #Matching |
|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | NYM | 2012-04-30 | 5 |
| CHC | FLA | 2007-09-26 | 3 |
| CHW | KCR | 2007-08-21 | 3 |
| KCR | CHW | 2007-04-23 | 3 |
| SFG | CHC | 2003-07-30 | 3 |
| TOR | CHW | 2003-07-23 | 3 |
| CHC | LAD | 2001-08-05 | 3 |
| CHW | OAK | 1998-05-09 | 3 |
| SFG | HOU | 1998-04-08 | 3 |
| SEA | CLE | 1997-07-23 | 3 |
| SEA | DET | 1990-09-25 | 3 |
| SDP | SFG | 1979-09-29 | 3 |
(Thanks to Dan Wachtell for the heads-up on this last night)
Ah, yes, but what you neglected to mention was that in the White Sox-Royals game that had previously held the record for most pitchers throwing 2 or fewer pitches in one game, the three pitchers were consecutive (it’s clear that this wasn’t the case in the Astros-Mets game as the third of the five pitchers struck out his batter, which necessitates at least 3 pitches), and furthermore, all three had one pitch thrown. That creates this incredible pitch sequence.
Kansas City – Top of 8th
Ehren Wassermann pitching for Chicago
E Wassermann relieved B Logan.
Billy Butler Ball, Strike (foul), Strike (looking), Ball, Foul, B Butler flied out to left, M Myers relieved E Wassermann
Ross Gload R Gload singled to center, R Bukvich relieved M Myers
Emil Brown E Brown singled to center, R Gload to second, M Thornton relieved R Bukvich
Alex Gordon A Gordon grounded into double play, second to shortstop to first, E Brown out at second
Kansas City – Top of 9th
Bobby Jenks pitching for Chicago
B Jenks relieved M Thornton.
John Buck E German hit for J Buck, Strike (looking), Strike (foul), Strike (swinging), E German struck out swinging, J Smith hit for T Pena
Yeah, the formatting looks horrible; it’s copy-pasted from ESPN.com because baseball-reference doesn’t give pitch-by-pitch, but if you’re keeping track, from the pitch that Butler hit for a flyout to left to the one German took for a called strike one, five consecutive White Sox pitches were thrown by five different pitchers. (Looking at the total box score, these five pitches were the 117th through 121st that the Royals saw in this game.)
That’s fantastic! Thanks for pointing that out.