A consideration of the variables and measurements that impact the resonance (or ephemerality) of a performer’s stretch of success is beyond this mere little introduction; suffice it to say, why and how and to what degree we recall and remember and imprint could fill up a season’s worth of dialogue. Part of the lure in these Game Notes resides somewhere in that discussion, for the explorations that come out of these daily rundowns can and so often do serve as a spotlight or a flashlight on, if not the forgotten, the somewhat shunted or buried or boxed up.
After the carnival awe and rocket ship heights submitted by Pedro Martínez and before the triumvirate of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Clayton Kershaw took hold of center stage, Johan Santana enjoyed a three-year run that hasn’t lost any of its luster (but maybe some of its echo?): a pair of Cy Young Awards, a Triple Crown, three straight strikeout titles and three straight years of a sub-one WHIP and a K/9 above nine: an unprecedented uninterrupted run of baserunner suppression coupled with strikeout proficiency. It’s nice to gaze upon, once again.
Bryan Woo surrendered three hits with no walks and fanned nine over his six innings for the Mariners on Monday. The righty is one of six qualified pitchers right now with a WHIP below one (his 0.951 ranks fifth in the Majors), with all six of these baserunner Scrooges also owning a K/9 rate of at least nine*. Some context for this type of combo …
The NL/AL had never seen a qualified pitcher average less than a baserunner per inning and at least nine strikeouts for every nine innings until Sandy Koufax’s 1964 campaign, when the southpaw posted a 0.928 WHIP to accompany his 9.0 strikeouts per nine. There were another five fit-this-bill seasons between 1965 and 1996 (another one from Koufax, one apiece from Sonny Siebert, Luis Tiant, Tom Seaver and Mike Scott) and then things exploded. Beginning with Pedro Martínez in 1997**, there have been 52 such campaigns (this is not counting any of the lines produced in the 60-game season in 2020). The most in any one season comes in at six, in 2018 and 2022.
*One of the pitchers currently making the cut, Zack Wheeler, is done for the year and will fall off the leaderboard soon, as he ended his campaign with 149.2 innings. The others, aside from Woo and Wheeler: Jacob deGrom, Nick Pivetta, Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.
**Pedro had four such seasons, tied for the second most. deGrom, currently at a 0.931 WHIP and 9.8 K’s per nine, is seeking his fourth (again, not counting 2020).
NL/AL History (not counting 2020): Most Qualified Seasons with a Sub-One WHIP and K/9 of at least Nine
6 Max Scherzer (2013, 2015-2018, 2021)
4 Pedro Martínez (1997, 1999, 2000, 2002)
4 Justin Verlander (2011, 2018, 2019, 2022)
4 Clayton Kershaw (2011, 2014, 2015, 2017)
3 Johan Santana (2004-2006 – the first to do this in three straight campaigns)
3 Jacob deGrom (2015, 2018, 2019, and maybe 2025?)
Washington’s Josh Bell drove in six runs as part of a two-homer, four-hit day.
~The switch-hitter became the eighth player in franchise history to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game, joining these other seven:
Tim Raines on July 16, 1988
Bret Barberie on August 2, 1991
F.P. Santangelo on June 7, 1997
José Vidro on July 3, 2000
Geoff Blum on July 5, 2001
Danny Espinosa on June 30, 2016
Danny Espinosa on July 3, 2016
~This effort marked the third time in his time with the Nationals Bell has produced a multi-homer game. Among switch-hitters for the franchise, José Vidro and Danny Espinosa are tied for the most, with five.
~Bell has 19 home runs this year, fairly shy of the Expos/Nationals franchise high in a season for a switch-hitter, but he still gets to see himself at the top of the list, courtesy of his 27 in 2021. The 33-year-old also claims the Pirates’ high mark for the category and designation, thanks to his 37 in 2019. Career-wise, Bell’s 190 longballs leave him two shy of Ray Durham’s tally for the 36th most ever for a switch-hitter.
~Among all switch-hitters in Expos/Nats history, Bell’s 10 total bases in this game tie for the fourth most, with Asdrúbal Cabrera’s 12 on August 10, 2020 tying Tim Raines’ 12 on August 16, 1987 for the high mark. Bell’s six RBI tie for the second most, with Danny Espinosa’s seven on June 30, 2016 at the top.
Giants right-hander Logan Webb struck out seven over six innings, and while picking up his 14th win of the year, also cracked 200 strikeouts for the first time in his seven-year career. His is the 47th line in franchise history to include at least 200 punchouts. Among all 47, Webb’s 9.80 strikeouts per nine ranks as the seventh highest.
11.98 Carlos Rodón fans 237 in 2022
10.64 Kevin Gausman fans 227 in 2021
10.51 Tim Lincecum fans 265 in 2008
10.42 Tim Lincecum fans 261 in 2009
10.04 Jason Schmidt fans 251 in 2004
9.97 Madison Bumgarner fans 251 in 2016
9.80 Logan Webb has 201 strikeouts in 2025
9.79 Tim Lincecum fans 231 in 2010
Garrett Crochet worked seven scintillating innings in which the southpaw allowed three hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks – the pitching power behind a 7-0 Red Sox win.
~The lefty’s Triple Crown numbers show 15 wins (third in the AL), a 2.57 ERA (third) and 228 strikeouts (leads the league). Red Sox pitchers to match/surpass (in the good way) these numbers in a season, with AL leadership indicated by bold.
1911 Smoky Joe Wood goes 23-17 with 231 K’s and a 2.02 ERA
1912 Smoky Joe Wood goes 34-5 with 258 K’s and a 1.91 ERA
1986 Roger Clemens goes 24-4 with 238 K’s and a 2.48 ERA
1999 Pedro Martínez goes 23-4 with 313 K’s and a 2.07 ERA (wins the Triple Crown)
2000 Pedro Martínez goes 18-6 with 284 K’s and a 1.74 ERA
2002 Pedro Martínez goes 20-4 with 239 K’s and a 2.26 ERA
2025 Garrett Crochet is 15-5 with 228 K’s and a 2.57 ERA
~Crochet’s line, with its 10 strikeouts, marked the seventh time this season he has reached double-digits in punchouts. There are five other Red Sox left-handers who produced at least seven lines in a year, with Chris Sale having the three highest tallies (18 in 2017; 14 in 2019; 11 in 2018). Jon Lester produced seven in 2010 and David Price authored seven in 2016.
Right-hander Tyler Glasnow assembled one of the quirkier lines a box score will produce: no hits but an earned run with 11 strikeouts, all over seven innings. Here’s the entire list, dating back to 1901, of pitchers who finished their day with no hits allowed but a non-zero in the runs column along with double-digit strikeouts.
Bobby Witt on April 17, 1986. The right-hander allows two earned runs in five innings while striking out 10 and walking eight. Witt also has four wild pitches.
Ervin Santana on July 27, 2011. The right-hander allows one unearned run in a no-hitter with 10 strikeouts and one walk and one wild pitch.
Érik Bédard on July 20, 2013. The left-hander allows three runs (one earned) in six-and-a-third innings with 10 strikeouts and five walks.
Tyler Glasnow on September 8, 2025: 7.0 innings, one earned run, 11 K’s and two walks.
Miami’s Jakob Marsee was 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and a walk to run his slash line to .321/.395/.567 in 37 career games over 152 plate appearances. That .962 OPS stands as one of 15 this century to be at .950 or better through a player’s first 37 contests (minimum 150 PA). Albert Pujols’ 1.209 in 2001 is the best mark anyone has produced in this span of seasons.
Aaron Nola (6.0 IP, 3 H) and three of his mates combined for a five-hitter and the Phillies slipped past the Mets, 1-0. This affair was the first 1-0 win for Philadelphia over New York since 2016 and the 18th overall. Flipping winner and loser, the Mets have enjoyed 16 1-0 wins over the Phillies, with the most recent one playing out in 2022.
Thrust into a bases-loaded situation for the first time in his career, Rangers center fielder Michael Helman delivered the ultimate response: a grand slam. The big swing was the biggest part of a big night in which the 29-year-old drove in five runs in a 5-0 win for his club. Helman and Josh Jung (September 27, 2022) are the only two players in franchise history to have at least five RBI and be responsible for all the team’s runs in a shutout victory.
Thanks to Baseball Reference and its extraordinary research database, Stathead, for help in assembling this piece.
Roger Schlueter
As Sr. Editorial Director for Major League Baseball Productions from 2004-2015, Roger served as a hub for hundreds of hours of films, series, documentaries and features: as researcher, fact-checker, script doctor, and developer of ideas. The years at MLB Production gave him the ideal platform to pursue what galvanized him the most – the idea that so much of what takes place on the field during the MLB regular and postseason (and is forever beautifully condensed into a box score) has connections to what has come before. Unearthing and celebrating these webs allows baseball to thrive, for the present can come alive and also reignite the past.