Last night, many of you might have been engrossed with the Bears-Giants game or the Minnesota Lynx winning the WNBA championship. You might have missed that Justin Verlander shut down the A's with a gem of a pitching performance allowing the Tigers to advance to the ALCS. This short post has two lists--the first is the best SERIES-DECIDING games in postseason history, ranked by game score:
| Rk | Player | Date | Series | Gm# | Tm | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | Pit | Str | GSc | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Verlander | 2012-10-11 | ALDS | 5 | DET | OAK | W 6-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 122 | 83 | 89 | 31 |
| 2 | Mike Hampton | 2000-10-16 | NLCS | 5 | NYM | STL | W 7-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 120 | 74 | 88 | 31 |
| 3 | Bobby Jones | 2000-10-08 | NLDS | 4 | NYM | SFG | W 4-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 116 | 73 | 88 | 30 |
| 4 | Mike Mussina | 1997-10-15 | ALCS | 6 | BAL | CLE | L 0-1 | GS-8 | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 107 | 73 | 88 | 27 |
| 5 | Sandy Koufax | 1965-10-14 | WS | 7 | LAD | MIN | W 2-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 132 | 86 | 88 | 33 |
| 6 | Justin Verlander | 2013-10-10 | ALDS | 5 | DET | OAK | W 3-0 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 111 | 76 | 87 | 27 |
| 7 | John Smoltz | 1997-10-03 | NLDS | 3 | ATL | HOU | W 4-1 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 103 | 76 | 87 | 32 |
| 8 | Orval Overall | 1908-10-14 | WS | 5 | CHC | DET | W 2-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 87 | 34 | ||
| 9 | Cole Hamels | 2010-10-10 | NLDS | 3 | PHI | CIN | W 2-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 119 | 82 | 86 | 31 |
| 10 | Tom Glavine | 1995-10-28 | WS | 6 | ATL | CLE | W 1-0 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 109 | 67 | 85 | 27 |
| 11 | Chris Carpenter | 2011-10-07 | NLDS | 5 | STL | PHI | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 110 | 70 | 84 | 31 |
| 12 | Josh Beckett | 2003-10-25 | WS | 6 | FLA | NYY | W 2-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 107 | 71 | 84 | 32 |
| 13 | Jack Morris | 1991-10-27 | WS | 7 | MIN | ATL | W 1-0 | SHO10 ,W | 10.0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 126 | 79 | 84 | 38 |
| 14 | Milt Wilcox | 1984-10-05 | ALCS | 3 | DET | KCR | W 1-0 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 110 | 79 | 84 | 28 |
| 15 | Bill Dinneen | 1903-10-13 | WS | 8 | BOS | PIT | W 3-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 84 | 31 | ||
| 16 | Ralph Terry | 1962-10-16 | WS | 7 | NYY | SFG | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 83 | 31 | ||
| 17 | CC Sabathia | 2012-10-12 | ALDS | 5 | NYY | BAL | W 3-1 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 121 | 78 | 82 | 32 |
| 18 | Cliff Lee | 2010-10-12 | ALDS | 5 | TEX | TBR | W 5-1 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 120 | 89 | 82 | 33 |
| 19 | John Smoltz | 1991-10-17 | NLCS | 7 | ATL | PIT | W 4-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 123 | 82 | 82 | 35 |
| 20 | Ernie Shore | 1916-10-12 | WS | 5 | BOS | BRO | W 4-1 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 82 | 33 | ||
| 21 | Jose Rijo | 1990-10-20 | WS | 4 | CIN | OAK | W 2-1 | GS-9 ,W | 8.1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 114 | 73 | 81 | 30 |
| 22 | Scott McGregor | 1983-10-16 | WS | 5 | BAL | PHI | W 5-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 113 | 83 | 81 | 33 |
| 23 | Dave McNally | 1966-10-09 | WS | 4 | BAL | LAD | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 81 | 30 | ||
| 24 | Eddie Plank | 1913-10-11 | WS | 5 | PHA | NYG | W 3-1 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 81 | 29 | ||
| 25 | Christy Mathewson | 1905-10-14 | WS | 5 | NYG | PHA | W 2-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 81 | 31 | ||
| 26 | Tim Lincecum | 2010-11-01 | WS | 5 | SFG | TEX | W 3-1 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 101 | 71 | 80 | 29 |
| 27 | Orel Hershiser | 1988-10-12 | NLCS | 7 | LAD | NYM | W 6-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 80 | 35 | ||
| 28 | Bob Gibson | 1967-10-12 | WS | 7 | STL | BOS | W 7-2 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 80 | 32 | ||
| 29 | Dizzy Dean | 1934-10-09 | WS | 7 | STL | DET | W 11-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 80 | 34 |
There's Verlander at the top of the list, except it was his game closing out the 2012 ALDS against Oakland--his game of last night is the 6th one on the list. As a reminder, game score is a Bill James invention that is weighted heavily toward strikeouts and not giving up hits. It's not the only way to measure a game, but it provides a handy framework with which to make objective comparisons between games.
The above list were games that ended series--this next one is the best 50 games by game score in playoff history:
| Rk | Player | Date | Series | Gm# | Tm | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | Pit | Str | GSc | BF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Roger Clemens | 2000-10-14 | ALCS | 4 | NYY | SEA | W 5-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 138 | 87 | 98 | 30 |
| 2 | Dave McNally | 1969-10-05 | ALCS | 2 | BAL | MIN | W 1-0 | SHO11 ,W | 11.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 97 | 41 | ||
| 3 | Babe Ruth | 1916-10-09 | WS | 2 | BOS | BRO | W 2-1 | CG 14 ,W | 14.0 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 97 | 48 | ||
| 4 | Tim Lincecum | 2010-10-07 | NLDS | 1 | SFG | ATL | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 119 | 75 | 96 | 30 |
| 5 | Roy Halladay | 2010-10-06 | NLDS | 1 | PHI | CIN | W 4-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 104 | 79 | 94 | 28 |
| 6 | Don Larsen | 1956-10-08 | WS | 5 | NYY | BRO | W 2-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 94 | 27 | ||
| 7 | Ed Walsh | 1906-10-11 | WS | 3 | CHW | CHC | W 3-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 94 | 30 | ||
| 8 | Josh Beckett | 2003-10-12 | NLCS | 5 | FLA | CHC | W 4-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 115 | 80 | 93 | 30 |
| 9 | Ken Holtzman | 1973-10-09 | ALCS | 3 | OAK | BAL | W 2-1 | CG 11 ,W | 11.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 93 | 38 | ||
| 10 | Bob Gibson | 1968-10-02 | WS | 1 | STL | DET | W 4-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 17 | 0 | 93 | 32 | ||
| 11 | Kevin Brown | 1998-09-29 | NLDS | 1 | SDP | HOU | W 2-1 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 119 | 77 | 92 | 28 |
| 12 | Randy Johnson | 2001-10-28 | WS | 2 | ARI | NYY | W 4-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 110 | 76 | 91 | 30 |
| 13 | Randy Johnson | 2001-10-16 | NLCS | 1 | ARI | ATL | W 2-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 125 | 87 | 91 | 31 |
| 14 | Cliff Lee | 2010-10-18 | ALCS | 3 | TEX | NYY | W 8-0 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 122 | 82 | 90 | 27 |
| 15 | Livan Hernandez | 1997-10-12 | NLCS | 5 | FLA | ATL | W 2-1 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 143 | 88 | 90 | 31 |
| 16 | Nolan Ryan | 1986-10-14 | NLCS | 5 | HOU | NYM | L 1-2 | GS-9 | 9.0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 90 | 30 | ||
| 17 | Mike Scott | 1986-10-08 | NLCS | 1 | HOU | NYM | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 0 | 125 | 88 | 90 | 34 |
| 18 | Vida Blue | 1974-10-08 | ALCS | 3 | OAK | BAL | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 90 | 30 | ||
| 19 | Monte Pearson | 1939-10-05 | WS | 2 | NYY | CIN | W 4-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 90 | 29 | ||
| 20 | George Earnshaw | 1931-10-06 | WS | 4 | PHA | STL | W 3-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 90 | 30 | ||
| 21 | Bill Dinneen | 1903-10-02 | WS | 2 | BOS | PIT | W 3-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 90 | 29 | ||
| 22 | Justin Verlander | 2012-10-11 | ALDS | 5 | DET | OAK | W 6-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 122 | 83 | 89 | 31 |
| 23 | Curt Schilling | 2001-10-09 | NLDS | 1 | ARI | STL | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 101 | 74 | 89 | 32 |
| 24 | Kevin Millwood | 1999-10-06 | NLDS | 2 | ATL | HOU | W 5-1 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 89 | 29 | ||
| 25 | Kevin Brown | 1998-10-08 | NLCS | 2 | SDP | ATL | W 3-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 122 | 78 | 89 | 32 |
| Rk | Player | Date | Series | Gm# | Tm | Opp | Rslt | App,Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | Pit | Str | GSc | BF |
| 26 | Jon Matlack | 1973-10-07 | NLCS | 2 | NYM | CIN | W 5-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 89 | 31 | ||
| 27 | Don Drysdale | 1963-10-05 | WS | 3 | LAD | NYY | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 89 | 32 | ||
| 28 | Hod Eller | 1919-10-06 | WS | 5 | CIN | CHW | W 5-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 89 | 31 | ||
| 29 | Mike Hampton | 2000-10-16 | NLCS | 5 | NYM | STL | W 7-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 120 | 74 | 88 | 31 |
| 30 | Bobby Jones | 2000-10-08 | NLDS | 4 | NYM | SFG | W 4-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 116 | 73 | 88 | 30 |
| 31 | Mike Mussina | 1997-10-15 | ALCS | 6 | BAL | CLE | L 0-1 | GS-8 | 8.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 107 | 73 | 88 | 27 |
| 32 | Mike Boddicker | 1983-10-06 | ALCS | 2 | BAL | CHW | W 4-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 140 | 92 | 88 | 36 |
| 33 | Jim Lonborg | 1967-10-05 | WS | 2 | BOS | STL | W 5-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 88 | 29 | ||
| 34 | Sandy Koufax | 1965-10-14 | WS | 7 | LAD | MIN | W 2-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 132 | 86 | 88 | 33 |
| 35 | Sandy Koufax | 1965-10-11 | WS | 5 | LAD | MIN | W 7-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 88 | 29 | ||
| 36 | Whitey Ford | 1961-10-04 | WS | 1 | NYY | CIN | W 2-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 88 | 30 | ||
| 37 | Warren Spahn | 1958-10-05 | WS | 4 | MLN | NYY | W 3-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 88 | 31 | ||
| 38 | Allie Reynolds | 1949-10-05 | WS | 1 | NYY | BRO | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 88 | 33 | ||
| 39 | Bill James | 1914-10-10 | WS | 2 | BSN | PHA | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 88 | 28 | ||
| 40 | Jack Coombs | 1911-10-17 | WS | 3 | PHA | NYG | W 3-2 | CG 11 ,W | 11.0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 88 | 36 | ||
| 41 | Justin Verlander | 2013-10-10 | ALDS | 5 | DET | OAK | W 3-0 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 111 | 76 | 87 | 27 |
| 42 | Josh Beckett | 2007-10-03 | ALDS | 1 | BOS | LAA | W 4-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 108 | 83 | 87 | 31 |
| 43 | Roger Clemens | 2000-10-22 | WS | 2 | NYY | NYM | W 6-5 | GS-8 ,W | 8.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 112 | 78 | 87 | 28 |
| 44 | John Smoltz | 1997-10-03 | NLDS | 3 | ATL | HOU | W 4-1 | CG 9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 11 | 1 | 103 | 76 | 87 | 32 |
| 45 | Orel Hershiser | 1988-10-16 | WS | 2 | LAD | OAK | W 6-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 87 | 31 | ||
| 46 | Bob Forsch | 1982-10-07 | NLCS | 1 | STL | ATL | W 7-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 104 | 74 | 87 | 30 |
| 47 | Bob Gibson | 1964-10-12 | WS | 5 | STL | NYY | W 5-2 | CG 10 ,W | 10.0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 87 | 39 | ||
| 48 | Vic Raschi | 1950-10-04 | WS | 1 | NYY | PHI | W 1-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 87 | 30 | ||
| 49 | Schoolboy Rowe | 1934-10-04 | WS | 2 | DET | STL | W 3-2 | CG 12 ,W | 12.0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 87 | 42 | ||
| 50 | Orval Overall | 1908-10-14 | WS | 5 | CHC | DET | W 2-0 | SHO9 ,W | 9.0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 0 | 87 | 34 |
Now the more familiar games appear--Larsen's perfect game, Babe Ruth showing that he was every bit the pitcher as he was a hitter and so on. Verlander drops to 41st on this list, nothing to be ashamed of as that would place his game in the top 1.5% of the approximately 2,800 postseason starts since 1903--a very lofty perch with excellent company. Imagine how the A's must feel:
1. Eliminated from the playoffs for the second year in a row
2. By the same team
3. By the same pitcher
4. In a shutout
5. At home
Makes for a long winter.
1. Eliminated from the playoffs for the second year in a row
2. By the same team
3. By the same pitcher
4. In a shutout
5. At home
Makes for a long winter.
Thanks for a greeat read
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