Where does Burnes rank among the best starts in Brewers history?
Where does Corbin Burnes‘ performance Wednesday rank among the best starting pitching efforts in Milwaukee Brewers history?
Burnes dealt eight marvelous innings, allowing four hits and posting the second-most strikeouts in franchise history (15), all in just 99 pitches.
If we’re using the “game score” metric, it merely ties for 11th with 89, although that requires some explanation.
“Game score,” devised by baseball luminary Bill James, is a pretty simple mechanism that opens at 50 for each starting pitcher and awards points for successes (1 for each out, 3 for each inning, 2 more for each inning after the fourth, 1 for each strikeout) but also subtracts for hits (2), earned runs (4), unearned runs (2) and walks (1).
There are some caveats for Burnes. For one thing, all four hits allowed were singles, and two of the hits he allowed were infield squibbers in the eighth (one of which was misplayed by Eduardo Escobar and one of which was an infield chopper nearly converted into an out anyway). Burnes would have racked up a minimum of five more points if he’d been allowed to work through the ninth (not to mention record the Brewers’ first nine-inning complete-game since 2017).
He had the pitch count to get away with it, but the Brewers were also leading, 10-0, and had a fresh arm (Hoby Milner) available to mop up, so it made sense that the Brewers called it a night. In a less-conservative pitching environment, his game score would have threatened the Brewers’ record of 94.
Oh, and by the way, Burnes struck out 10 straight batters early in the game, tying an MLB record accomplished only twice before by Tom Seaver and Aaron Nola.
With all of that on the table, it’s simply up to the onlooker where to rank Burnes’ masterpiece. But using game score, these are the outings that rank the best in Brewers lore.
Ben Sheets, May 16, 2004 vs. Braves (94)
The remarkable 18-strikeout performance became a conversation topic when Burnes found himself threatening the Brewers franchise mark Wednesday. It’s the only game among the top 10 in which an earned run was allowed — an Andruw Jones homer in the seventh accounted for that tally in the 4-1 Brewers victory. Sheets allowed three hits (also a double) and one walk in the complete-game win.
Teddy Higuera, Aug. 26, 1987 vs. Cleveland (94)
Higuera worked 10 full innings for the completegame shutout, allowing three singles, with two walks. He struck out 10 and helped the Brewers secure a 1-0 win. That game, however, is more notable for the offensive end, since the game-winning hit off the bat of Rick Manning ended Paul Molitor’s 39-game hit streak with Molitor on deck. Higuera picked up the “Team Streak” mantle on his way to 32 consecutive scoreless innings.
Jim Colborn, Sept. 27, 1974 vs. Orioles (94)
This outing gets credit for its longevity; Colborn worked a crazy 13 innings of shutout baseball. The only problem was another Jim — Hall of Famer Jim Palmer — was likewise exceptional for the Orioles, posting 12 shutout frames. Milwaukee eventually lost the game in the 17th inning, 1-0.
Colborn allowed eight hits and six walks, so this can’t truly stand alone on the dominance front. He struck out nine batters, but he posted only three 1-2-3 innings out of his 13, so this is more of a curiosity than a special demonstration of excellence.
CC Sabathia, Aug. 31, 2008 vs. Pirates (93)
Brewers fans are still salty about this one. Sabathia famously allowed one hit — a slow roller back to the mound that Sabathia himself didn’t handle cleanly — and finished with three walks and 11 strikeouts in the complete-game 7-0 shutout of the Pirates. Brewers supporters still insist that it should have been ruled an error and thus granted Sabathia the second no-hitter in Brewers history. Milwaukee lost 12 of its next 15, putting its playoff standing at risk and costing manager Ned Yost his job, though Milwaukee, of course, rallied to make the playoffs for the first time in 26 years.
Teddy Higuera, Sept. 1, 1987 vs. Royals (92)
Higuera wasn’t done. Coming off his 10-inning shutout, Higuera continued his streak of scoreless innings with a one-hitter against the Royals, helping Milwaukee take a 2-0 win. Higuera retired the first 13 batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until Ross Jones tripled with two outs in the eighth. It’s probably the better of the two consecutive Higuera performances in that run.
Steve Woodard, July 28, 1997 vs. Blue Jays (91)
It’s another one of the most famous outings in Brewers history, coming from a pitcher making his major-league debut. It’s the only eight-inning outing that ranks better than Burnes, with Woodard shutting down the Blue Jays and opposing ace Roger Clemens in a 1-0 victory. Woodard allowed one hit — a double to Otis Nixon leading off the game — and finished with 12 strikeouts and one walk on 119 pitches. Mike Fetters pitched the ninth in the first game of a doubleheader sweep.
Bill Wegman, July 7, 1986 vs. Angels (91)
Once again, this is a feat of longevity more than dominance, but the rookie Wegman was still pretty steady. He worked 11 innings and allowed no runs on four hits, with four strikeouts and two walks but still couldn’t get an upgrade to his 2-7 record.
The game wasn’t decided until the 16th, when the Angels broke the seal and won the game, 3-1. Ray Searage and Mark Clear both worked two hitless innings after Wegman, but Wally Joyner’s bases-clearing triple against Dan Plesac gave California what it needed. The Brewers got one back on a Jim Gantner single with two outs in the bottom half.
Matt Garza, July 5, 2014 vs. Reds (90)
Garza allowed just two hits over nine innings in a 1-0 shutout win against the Reds, just at the front end of the 2014 team’s plunge from the top of the standings. Milwaukee had lost four straight games when Garza delivered at Great American Ballpark, but the Brewers then lost the next seven and saw a 61⁄2 game lead disappear by the all-star break. Aramis Ramirez’s RBI single in the first accounted for the only run. Garza struck out nine and walked two batters.
Ben Sheets, June 8, 2004 vs. Angels (90)
Sheets worked nine shutout innings but didn’t get the win — the game had a long way to go. Milwaukee fans will remember this 1-0 victory for a couple of reasons. For one, it didn’t end until the 17th, when Scott Podsednik doubled in future skipper Craig Counsell with two outs to break the seal. For another, Sheets was absolutely crushing it, holding a perfect game with two outs in the seventh before Vladimir Guerrero swung at a ball off his shoe tops and singled to left to break up the perfection. It’s the only hit or walk Sheets allowed in nine innings (another batter reached on an error), with five strikeouts and an economical 103 pitches. It was part of a sensational 2004 season for Sheets.
Teddy Higuera, July 20, 1988 vs. Royals (90)
Somehow, there are three losses on this list (and the aforementioned Sheets game that wasn’t settled until the 17th inning). Higuera struck out 10 and allowed just one walk and three hits in nine innings, but the Brewers wound up losing the game to the Royals, 4-0. Chuck Crim worked three scoreless innings after Higuera, but the Royals broke through for runs against Tom Filer and Plesac, while Charlie Liebrandt (8 innings) and Jeff Montgomery (5 innings) kept the Brewers off the board on just five hits and two walks.
Other games with an 89 score
● Freddy Peralta: April 3, 2019 vs. Reds. Peralta struck out 11 and allowed just two hits with no walks over eight innings in the 1-0 win.
● Kyle Lohse: Sept. 24, 2014 vs. Reds. Lohse struck out 11 and allowed two hits over eight innings, with no walks. The Brewers won, 5-0.
● Zack Greinke: May 9, 2012 vs. Reds. Greinke allowed two hits and no walks with 11 strikeouts over eight innings, but the problem was the ninth. John Axford permitted two runs in the top half, and though Ryan Braun homered leading off the bottom and the Brewers loaded the bases, Travis Ishikawa flew out and the Brewers settled for a 2-1 loss.
● Yovani Gallardo: June 24, 2010 vs. Twins. Gallardo went all nine innings, allowing five hits and no walks with 12 strikeouts in a 5-0 victory.
● Cal Eldred, April 23, 1993 vs. Rangers. Eldred allowed just one hit (a double by Rafael Palmeiro as the second batter of the game) over eight innings with 10 strikeouts and one walk in the 3-0 win. Eldred’s walk came leading off the ninth, but Jesse Orosco induced a double play and then a strikeout to cement the onehitter.
● Juan Nieves, April 15, 1987 vs. Orioles. You’re probably wondering how the franchise’s only no-hitter doesn’t rank higher on the list. Five walks and only seven strikeouts! But it’s still one of the most notable games in Brewers history, completed in 128 pitches during a remarkable 12-0 start to the season.
● Danny Darwin, Aug. 19, 1985 vs. Twins.The only hit Darwin allowed was Roy Smalley’s leadoff home run in the fifth; otherwise he finished with eight strikeouts, no walks and a 4-1 Brewers win. Darwin also hit a batter but was otherwise perfect.
● Mike Caldwell, Sept. 19, 1978 vs. Yankees. How appropriate that the Yankee killer show up on this list against the Yankees. In the 2-0 complete-game shutout, Caldwell struck out 10, allowed four hits and did not walk a batter.
● Jim Slaton, Aug. 23, 1974 vs. Royals. The alltime wins leader in Brewers history worked 102⁄3 innings in this game, allowing no runs on four hits and three walks, with six strikeouts. The Brewers won the nightcap of a doubleheader, 1-0, in the bottom of the 13th on a walk-off triple by John Briggs, one of five walk-off triples in Brewers history.
JR Radcliffe can be reached at (262) 361-9141 or jradcliffe@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @JRRadcliffe.