Three pitchers have struck out six batters in a row. Many years apart.
The first such occurrence was by Hod Eller in the infamous 1919 World Series. Pitching for the Cincinnati Reds in game five of this tainted Fall Classic, it was more Eller's pitching then Chicago's bad play that made the difference. In the bottom of the second inning of a scoreless tie, Eller fanned Chick Gandil, a proven fixer. Swede Risberg, another fixer, followed that by going down on strikes. The inning ended with Ray Schalk striking out. Schalk was not part of the fix. In the sequence of six K's, though, he was one of two Hall Of Famers!
Eller's mound opponent was in on the fix, but pitching well in this game. Lefty Williams had a K of his own in the top of the frame as part of a 1-2-3 inning (The whole inning was, of course). In the top of the third, he did it again, with Eller himself making the second out. But Lefty got no strikeouts.
Eller sure did in the bottom of the inning. He fanned Williams to start, then added Nemo Leibold. Eddie Collins, another Hall Of Famer, went down on strikes to end another 1-2-3 inning of all strikeouts.
Williams' teammates made an error behind him, preventing him from a 1-2-3 fourth. He got out of that inning without any of baserunner reaching. Eller, then made two plays on grounders from Buck Weaver and Shoeless Joe Jacksons. His throws to first made the two outs. Then he fanned Happy Felsch for another 1-2-3 innings. Cincy went on to win the game, 5-0.
When the Los Angeles Dodgers loaded the bases in the bottom of the third inning against Baltimore's Dave McNally in game one of 1966, it ended his day. Moe Drabowsky came in, and soon issued the fourth walk of the inning, scoring a run to cut Baltimore's lead to 4-2. The Dodgers had no way of knowing it then, but they would not touch home again.
The bottom of the fourth saw some reality set in for Los Angeles. The Orioles relief ace was not about to make things easy for the Dodgers. Jim Barbieri, batting for Joe Moeller (Who'd relieved a battered Don Drysdale earlier), fanned. As to, did Maury Wills and Willie Davis. The gave Moe four strikeouts in just 1 2/3 innings.
Drabowsky fanned Lou Johnson, Tommy Davis and Jim Lefebvre in the bottom of the fifth to make it six straight.
Drawbosky finished the game with a masterful performance. The Dodger managed just one hit and two walks of him in 6 2/3 innings pitched. The K's continued all game long, and when it was over, he'd fanned 11. The Orioles went on to sweep the Dodgers.
The 1985 St. Louis Cardinals looked ready to beat the Kansas City Royals in game five at home. However, it was Kansas ahead 4-1 in the top of the sixth as Todd Worrell came in to pitch. He got Buddy Biancalana out on strikes. Danny Jackson, the pitcher for the Royals, also fanned. As did Lonnie Smith for the third out. All swung and missed at strike three.
The next inning saw Willie Wilson miss on a 1-2 pitch. George Brett fouled off a 2-2 pitch. But the next pitch, he swung and missed. Frank White lasted just three pitches, as he swung and missed with two strikes.
Jackson got two K's of his own as the Cardinals batted in the bottom of the seventh. Then, Brian Harper batted for Worrell. Getting into the 1-2-3 on strikeouts act, Jackson got his third straight. Jeff Lahti came in to pitch the top of the eighth for St. Louis. KC scored a run before he ending the uprising with a K of his own. Jackson went on to win the game 6-1 for Kansas, and got his final punch out in the bottom of the inning as he fanned Willie McGee.
References
Brenner, Richard J. The World Series: The Great Contests. East End Publishing, 1989. Print.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Frommer, Harvey. Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball. Dallas, TX: Taylor Pub., 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
The first such occurrence was by Hod Eller in the infamous 1919 World Series. Pitching for the Cincinnati Reds in game five of this tainted Fall Classic, it was more Eller's pitching then Chicago's bad play that made the difference. In the bottom of the second inning of a scoreless tie, Eller fanned Chick Gandil, a proven fixer. Swede Risberg, another fixer, followed that by going down on strikes. The inning ended with Ray Schalk striking out. Schalk was not part of the fix. In the sequence of six K's, though, he was one of two Hall Of Famers!
Eller's mound opponent was in on the fix, but pitching well in this game. Lefty Williams had a K of his own in the top of the frame as part of a 1-2-3 inning (The whole inning was, of course). In the top of the third, he did it again, with Eller himself making the second out. But Lefty got no strikeouts.
Eller sure did in the bottom of the inning. He fanned Williams to start, then added Nemo Leibold. Eddie Collins, another Hall Of Famer, went down on strikes to end another 1-2-3 inning of all strikeouts.
Williams' teammates made an error behind him, preventing him from a 1-2-3 fourth. He got out of that inning without any of baserunner reaching. Eller, then made two plays on grounders from Buck Weaver and Shoeless Joe Jacksons. His throws to first made the two outs. Then he fanned Happy Felsch for another 1-2-3 innings. Cincy went on to win the game, 5-0.
When the Los Angeles Dodgers loaded the bases in the bottom of the third inning against Baltimore's Dave McNally in game one of 1966, it ended his day. Moe Drabowsky came in, and soon issued the fourth walk of the inning, scoring a run to cut Baltimore's lead to 4-2. The Dodgers had no way of knowing it then, but they would not touch home again.
The bottom of the fourth saw some reality set in for Los Angeles. The Orioles relief ace was not about to make things easy for the Dodgers. Jim Barbieri, batting for Joe Moeller (Who'd relieved a battered Don Drysdale earlier), fanned. As to, did Maury Wills and Willie Davis. The gave Moe four strikeouts in just 1 2/3 innings.
Drabowsky fanned Lou Johnson, Tommy Davis and Jim Lefebvre in the bottom of the fifth to make it six straight.
Drawbosky finished the game with a masterful performance. The Dodger managed just one hit and two walks of him in 6 2/3 innings pitched. The K's continued all game long, and when it was over, he'd fanned 11. The Orioles went on to sweep the Dodgers.
The 1985 St. Louis Cardinals looked ready to beat the Kansas City Royals in game five at home. However, it was Kansas ahead 4-1 in the top of the sixth as Todd Worrell came in to pitch. He got Buddy Biancalana out on strikes. Danny Jackson, the pitcher for the Royals, also fanned. As did Lonnie Smith for the third out. All swung and missed at strike three.
The next inning saw Willie Wilson miss on a 1-2 pitch. George Brett fouled off a 2-2 pitch. But the next pitch, he swung and missed. Frank White lasted just three pitches, as he swung and missed with two strikes.
Jackson got two K's of his own as the Cardinals batted in the bottom of the seventh. Then, Brian Harper batted for Worrell. Getting into the 1-2-3 on strikeouts act, Jackson got his third straight. Jeff Lahti came in to pitch the top of the eighth for St. Louis. KC scored a run before he ending the uprising with a K of his own. Jackson went on to win the game 6-1 for Kansas, and got his final punch out in the bottom of the inning as he fanned Willie McGee.
References
Brenner, Richard J. The World Series: The Great Contests. East End Publishing, 1989. Print.
Enders, Eric. 100 Years Of The World Series. New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. 2005. Print.
Frommer, Harvey. Shoeless Joe and Ragtime Baseball. Dallas, TX: Taylor Pub., 1992. Print.
Neft, David S., Richard M. Cohen. The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball, 1992. 12th ed. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1992. Print.
Neft,
David S., and Richard M. Cohen. The World
Series: Complete Play-by-play of Every Game, 1903-1989. 4th ed. New York:
St. Martin's, 1990. Print.
Nemec,
David, and Scott Flatow. Great Baseball Feats, Facts & Firsts.
Toronto: Signet (Penguin Group), 2010. Print.
Nemec,
David et all. 20th Century Baseball
Chronicle: A Year-by-year History of Major League Baseball. Collector's
Edition. Lincolnwood, Ill: Publications International, 1993. Print.
Snyder, John S. World Series!: Great Moments and Dubious Achievements. San Francisco: Chronicle, 1995. Print.
Sports Reference LLC. Baseball-Reference.com - Major League Statistics and Information. http://www.baseball-reference.com/. Web. 4 Jul. 2015.
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