Miller and Lester Were Almost a Perfect Pair

Shelby Miller gave up a leadoff hit, but then set down the next 27 Rockies hitters in order. (Dilip Vishwanat)

Tonight, St. Louis’ Shelby Miller and Boston’s Jon Lester did something no pair of pitchers have done on the same night in the history of baseball. They each threw a one-hit, no-walk, complete-game shutout. The only hit Miller allowed was a leadoff single by the Rockies’ Eric Young, Jr. Lester bid for perfection lasted until the sixth inning when the Blue Jays’ Maicer Izturis hit a double.

Let's compare the two superb performances. Miller's outing is really unique in that after giving up that leadoff single, he retired the next 27 hitters. This is really as close to a no-hitter as you possibly can be. After the leadoff single, he threw a no-hitter. That's impressive to say the least. However, that is not all that is impressive about Miller's performance. He also stuck out 13 batters and maintained his velocity of up to 93 mph throughout his 113 pitches. That is how dominant Miller was. Finally, his opponent, the Rockies, are the NL’s highest-scoring team.

Lester’s one-hitter is his first shutout since 2008. This is an encouraging sign for Red Sox fans that the lefty might be regaining that top form. On paper, Lester was not as dominant as Miller. He only five struck out five batters. Instead, Lester relied on his infield for a total of 12 ground-ball outs. Both pitchers benefitted from getting ahead in the count. In fact, both pitchers threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of the 28 batters they faced.

You might be wondering how rare of an occurrence is it for two pitchers to throw one-hitters on the same night. It has only happened three other times since the turn of the century.

May 25, 2001: The Cubs’ Kerry Wood and the Red Sox’ Hideo Nomo each threw a complete-game, one-hit shutout on the same night. Both pitchers struck out 14 batters. Wood walked two hitters, while Nomo did not issue any walks.

April 26, 2002: The Dodgers’ Odalis Perez and the Mets’ Shawn Estes both threw complete-game, one-hit shutouts on the same night as well. Perez did not walk any batters, while Estes allowed just one walk.

June 16, 2012: The Orioles’ Jason Hammel and the Angels' Ervin Santana each threw a complete-game, one-hit shutout on the same night. Hammel issued two walks, while Santana only walked one batter.

As you can now see, Miller and Lester share a unique bond that only a handful of major league pitchers have ever shared. There is one statistic that distinguishes them above the rest. Neither one of them walked a single batter. Miller and Lester can say that they are the only pair of pitchers to throw one-hit, no-walk, complete-game shutouts on the same night.