My Favorite Non-Pedro Red Sox Pitching Performance

[jacklamabe65]

El Tiante, Game 4 of the 1975 World Series. He had NOTHING that evening, but through the bookends of guile and resolve, Luis willed his way to a complete game, 163 pitch victory over the legendary Big Red Machine. This is Exhibit A why it would be hard not to chose Tiant in a one-game playoff in a field of dreams scenario. You had to be there but believe me.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2KXbtza-Ag

 

[inJacobyWeTrust]

I have 2 nominees:
 
Curt Schilling, game 6, 2004 ALCS
 
Derek Lowe, game 7, 2004 ALCS
 
Going into both games, we had no idea what to expect from the starter, and both times they delivered (and then some). Doesn't hurt that I was at game 6 in the Bronx but I think these 2 would come to mind regardless.

 

[Savin Hillbilly]

Bruce Hurst, August 7, 1988, Tiger Stadium. 10-inning, 6-hit, 139-pitch shutout. Hurst outdueled Jeff Robinson, who also went 9 full but faltered in the 10th. Other than Pedro's 17-K game, still the most exquisite and clutch work of pitcherly art I've seen from a Red Sox pitcher. 
 
In context, the game was as huge as the effort was Herculean. Earlier that week, the Sox had climaxed their Morgan Magic run with consecutive Fenway sweeps of the Brewers and Rangers that vaulted them into a first-place tie with the Tigers. Then they went to Detroit for a five-game series (Friday night doubleheader). They proceeded to lose the first four, and then the Sox had to face Robinson on Sunday. Robinson was the Tigers' best pitcher that year. He came into the Sunday game with a 2.69 ERA and a batting average allowed of .195.
 
The only thing between the Sox and a back-breaking sweep was Hurst. And he came through. I still think of that game when I hear the word "stopper." 

 

[snowmanny]

There are several Tiant performances that rate, but I'm going to throw out this one from the last day of the 1987 season by Clemens.  The Red Sox finished 78-84, but Clemens, who had been at 13-8 in late August, was on a tear and needed one more great pitching performance to get his 20th win and assure his second straight Cy Young Award.That's the only reason he was out there in game 162. He was clearly on a mission and looked virtually unhittable, although he did give up two hits (and zero walks). But I think if we play that game over ten times there is more than one no-hitter in those ten. 
 
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS198710040.shtml

 

[Was (Not Wasdin)]

El Tiante, Game 4 of the 1975 World Series. He had NOTHING that evening, but through the bookends of guile and resolve, Luis willed his way to a complete game, 163 pitch victory over the legendary Big Red Machine. This is Exhibit A why it would be hard not to chose Tiant in a one-game playoff in a field of dreams scenario. You had to be there but believe me.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2KXbtza-Ag

 
 
And he did it on short rest as well-he threw a CG shutout in game one just a few days earlier (and singled and scored the first run of the game/WS-I can still see him chugging home from 3rd, wearing his warmup jacket).  
 
I'll go with the Clemens 20-strikeout game in April 1986 against Seattle.  Seattle wasn't very good, and it was a mid week game, and the Sox were scuffling coming out of the gate that season-the stands were pretty empty.  Despite giving up the 3 hits and a run he looked absolutely dominant, and the game sparked a run by the Sox that carried them to 1st place in the AL East.  

 

[bosockboy]

I have 2 nominees:
 
Curt Schilling, game 6, 2004 ALCS
 
Derek Lowe, game 7, 2004 ALCS
 
Going into both games, we had no idea what to expect from the starter, and both times they delivered (and then some). Doesn't hurt that I was at game 6 in the Bronx but I think these 2 would come to mind regardless.

Lowe on 2 days rest is a forgotten footnote. No doubt throwing on pure adrenaline. But Schill is #1.

 

[Monbo Jumbo]

I was fortunate to see Bob Stanley's 10 inning, 4 hit, no walk, CG shutout in Royals stadium on June 11,1979. Busby had a 2 hit shutout through 9 for KC and ended up the loser.

 

[The Long Tater]

 
 
And he did it on short rest as well-he threw a CG shutout in game one just a few days earlier (and singled and scored the first run of the game/WS-I can still see him chugging home from 3rd, wearing his warmup jacket).  

 
And missing home plate!

 

[Monbo Jumbo]

 
 
And he did it on short rest as well-he threw a CG shutout in game one just a few days earlier (and singled and scored the first run of the game/WS-I can still see him chugging home from 3rd, wearing his warmup jacket).  ...

 
I can see it too!  
 
 

 

[Hank Scorpio]

Lowe and Schill top it for me, but I'd like to give honorable mention to John Lackey out-dueling Verlander in the 2013 ALCS, and his Game 6 of the World Series performance. While he wasn't electric in that game, there was just something surreal about him being on the mound in the clincher, with the crowd chanting "Lackey! Lackey!", considering how reviled he was just months earlier.

 

[fineyoungarm]

Jim Lonborg - Final game of 1967 season and games 2 and 5 of the World Series.
 
He won all three and pitched complete games in all three.
 
The importance of the final game of the season is well known. The score was 5 - 3 with Lonborg giving up 7 hits, while having 2 himself.
 
As for the Series, there was much talk that the "vastly superior" Cardinals would sweep the Red Sox. That talk ended with game two. The final score was 5 - 0 with Lonborg giving up only one hit.
 
By game 5, the Red Sox were down 3 - 1 in the Series and it was Lonborg against Steve Carlton (yes, that Steve Carlton), who was terrific that year.  Lonborg pitched a 3 hit masterpiece, the final score being 3 - 1.
 
Yes, I recall game seven. As an official member of the second guessers' club, I feel compelled to mention that Jose Santiago was well rested. 
 
Honorable mention (because I was there in an OV seat) goes to Sonny Siebert for out dueling Vida Blue at Fenway on May 28, 1971. What an incredible game. Blue was at the top of his form and was 10 - 1 (on May 28!). Siebert was 8 - 0.
 
Blue was gone and the score was 4 - 2 in the 9th. Siebert gave up a solo shot to Sal Bando to make it 4 -3, but still recorded two outs. Eddie Kasko brought in the immortal Bob Bolin to get the final out.

 

[WenZink]

Jim Lonborg vs the Cardinals in game 2 of the 1967 WS, at Fenway.
 
Lonborg had a perfect game until he walked Curt Flood in the 7th, and a no hitter until he gave up a 2 out double to Javier in the eighth.  Ended up with a 5-0 one hitter to pull the Sox even in the series.
 
And, 3 games later, in St. Louis, Lonborg kept the Sox alive by winning a 3-hitter, 3-1, with the only run coming on a 9th inning, two-out HR by Roger Maris.
 
Amazingly, Lonborg was only the 2nd best pitcher in the 1967 WS.
 
And for the sake of sentimentality, Lester's No-No in May of 2008 will always be a favorite, given all that he had to endure in his life up to that point.  Seeing he and Tito embrace, after the game, had me crying like a baby.
 
Edit/ FineYoungArm said it all while I was musing about the past!!

 

[fineyoungarm]

Jim Lonborg vs the Cardinals in game 2 of the 1967 WS, at Fenway.
 
Lonborg had a perfect game until he walked Curt Flood in the 7th, and a no hitter until he gave up a 2 out double to Javier in the eighth.  Ended up with a 5-0 one hitter to pull the Sox even in the series.
 
And, 3 games later, in St. Louis, Lonborg kept the Sox alive by winning a 3-hitter, 3-1, with the only run coming on a 9th inning, two-out HR by Roger Maris.
 
Amazingly, Lonborg was only the 2nd best pitcher in the 1967 WS.
 
And for the sake of sentimentality, Lester's No-No in May of 2008 will always be a favorite, given all that he had to endure in his life up to that point.  Seeing he and Tito embrace, after the game, had me crying like a baby.
 
Edit/ FineYoungArm said it all while I was musing about the past!!

WZ  - These stories cannot be told too many times.

 

[ilivefaster]

http://m.bbref.com/m?p=XXboxesXXNYAXXNYA200509110.shtml

Timmy Wakefield out-pitching Randy Johnson in a late-season game is a performance I'll never forget.

 

[jacklamabe65]

A lot of you are throwing out "gems." I agree with all of you. However, what made Tiant's performance so special here was that he had NOTHING that night, gutted it out, threw 163 pitches, a complete game, against a team of Hall of Famers. This is why this was my favorite non-Pedro game for that very reason. Pure balls by number 23.  

 

[Mugsy's Jock]

http://m.bbref.com/m?p=XXboxesXXNYAXXNYA200509110.shtml: 

Timmy Wakefield out-pitching Randy Johnson in a late-season game is a performance I'll never forget.

I was at this game, sitting 2 rows behind the MFY on-deck circle, and it was the most entertaining pitching duel ever.  Giambi took Timmy over the wall in the first inning and that was it for the day -- Johnson blazing 98 MPH heat by the Sox, and Wakefield floating 60 MPH knucklers around the Yankees.  Awesome.
 
Edit:  I'd also call out the Blue/Siebert battle as one of the most dramatic games I remember from my childhood.  Came during that interregnum between 1967 and 1975 when there wasn't always a lot going on for the Sox, but this particular game was billed like a heavyweight fight and all New England was tuned into it.
 
Jacklamabe point holds though -- those are two favorite games, but if you're looking for pitching guts, Tiant's and Schilling's games are 1a and 1b for me.  

 

[Kramerica Industries]

As far as regular season games go this one was great:
 
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/OAK/OAK200706070.shtml
 
David Ortiz homer in the first was all Schilling needed...he shouldn't have shook off Varitek
 
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=270607111
 

Having called fastballs to the first two batters, Varitek called for a first-pitch slider to Stewart. Schilling wanted to throw a fastball.
"I was sure he was taking, and Tek was sure he was swinging," Schilling said. "And I was wrong."
 

 

[rlsb]

Going with the theme of gutting it out, I liked Reggie Cleveland's 1975 debut.  Faces 47 batters over 12 innings, wavers early then pitches 10 shutout innings in Baltimore against the division champs.  Red Sox win in 13.
 
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1975/B04120BAL1975.htm

 

[Pumpsie]

You guys have nailed it.  All amazing, time-stopping performances.
 
1. Luis Tiant  Game 4, 1975 World Series against the Reds

2. Jim Lonborg  Game 2, 1967 World Series against the Cards

3. Curt Schilling  Game 6, 2004 World Series against the Cards

4. Jim Lonborg  Game 5, 1967 World Series against the Reds

 

[WenZink]

Going with the theme of gutting it out, I liked Reggie Cleveland's 1975 debut.  Faces 47 batters over 12 innings, wavers early then pitches 10 shutout innings in Baltimore against the division champs.  Red Sox win in 13.
 
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1975/B04120BAL1975.htm

 
Aha!! thanks for this one.  As a lover of "potential" I was always a fan of Swift Current Fats, and remembered much of this game, but was unable to locate it.  Sad that there is no documented pitch count.

 

[Ramon AC]

David Cone in the valiant losing effort versus Mike Mussina.
http://m.bbref.com/m?p=XXboxesXXBOSXXBOS200109020.shtml

 

[canderson]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200805190.shtml

I have to give love for May 19. 2008.

 

[curly2]

You guys have nailed it.  All amazing, time-stopping performances.
 
3. Curt Schilling  Game 6, 2004 World Series against the Cards

Not trying to be snarky. Are you talking about Game 6 vs. the Yankees or Game 2 vs. the Cardinals?

 

[reggiecleveland]

There was that post season game where Roger Clemens showed real character... Oh wait there isn't.

 

[Al Zarilla]

Partially because I was there, but Rick Wise's 7.1 IP, 2 ER performance against the A's in game 3 of the 1975 ALCS. The A's were 2 time WS champions, and down 2 games to none, but may have still been considered favorites with games 3, 4 and 5 at home. Wise slammed the door shut though. Only possible negative is that I had tix for all 3 Oakland games. Happy for the closeout, still.

 

[NoXInNixon]

You didn't specify starting pitching, so I'm gonna have to go with Foulke.

 

[WenZink]

You didn't specify starting pitching, so I'm gonna have to go with Foulke.

 
Relief pitchers are okay, but it should be one performance as opposed to the entire body of work.
 
Ironically, the greatest relief performance by a Sox pitcher, was also by Pedro, when he closed out game 5 of the 1999 ALCS vs Cleveland.
 
My favorite non-Pedro relief performance was Derek Lowe's 9th inning save vs the Oakland A's in game 5 of the 2003 ALCS,  With K's vs Adam Melhuse and Terence Long to close out the game.  But there was also a walk in between the two K's that put the winning run on second. (I also remember Lowe taking heat for his "salute" after the last out.)
 
I vaguely remember countless 3 IP finishes by Dick Radatz, but they all blur together.  And Papelbon's first month as closer in April 2006 was epic.  Especially his first one, when Tito suprisingly said to hell with the ailing Foulke, and Pap preserved a 2-1 Sox lead vs Texas (4/5/06) with two K's and a popup.  I remember how electric his stuff looked that night.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN198610180.shtml

I keep thinking of this one because of what might have been.

8IP from Hurst. 4 hits, no runs, outdueling Ron Darling on the road in Game 1 of the World Series against a juggernaut of a team in a game in which no earned runs were scored.

After 2 games, the Mets hitters' quotes were along the lines of, "yeah, Clemens, nice pitcher you got there. But Hurst! Oh, man, Hurst!"

 

[runnels3]

 
 
I vaguely remember countless 3 IP finishes by Dick Radatz, but they all blur together. 
 
 

 
I love throwing this out there (from sosh wiki) every time Dick's name comes up in such discussions.
 
June 9, 1963: At Baltimore The Monster starts the 9th inning with the score tied 2-2 . He goes 6 scoreless innings striking out 10, and the Sox win in 14, 3-2. Two days later on June 11, 1963 at Detroit, Radatz enters a 3-3 game in the 7th and goes 8 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 11. The Sox score 4 in the top of the 15th, Dick holds on and has his 2nd win in 3 days. His totals for this span: 14 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 21 K.

 

[rlsb]

 
Aha!! thanks for this one.  As a lover of "potential" I was always a fan of Swift Current Fats, and remembered much of this game, but was unable to locate it.  Sad that there is no documented pitch count.

Any pitcher who consistently beat the Yankees is alright with me.

 

[curly2]

I'm too young to remember Radatz, but I remember watching Bob Stanley do this on 2 days rest after pitching six innings of one-run ball.
 
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS198205220.shtml
 
I've always said Stanley is criminally underrated, and deserves no blame for 1986 (Gerdman's got to catch that ball). If anyone under, say, 45, wants to see one of the great Red Sox pitching seasons, take a look at Bob Stanley's 1982 season, the biggest reason that time was still in the rest into August.
 
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=stanlbo01&t=p&year=1982
 

 
Ironically, the greatest relief performance by a Sox pitcher, was also by Pedro, when he closed out game 5 of the 1999 ALCS vs Cleveland.

 
Ernie Shore says, "What about me?"
 
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS191706231.shtml

 

[NoXInNixon]

 
Relief pitchers are okay, but it should be one performance as opposed to the entire body of work.

I was talking about one performance. I thought it would be obvious which one.

 

[fineyoungarm]

 
I love throwing this out there (from sosh wiki) every time Dick's name comes up in such discussions.
 
June 9, 1963: At Baltimore The Monster starts the 9th inning with the score tied 2-2 . He goes 6 scoreless innings striking out 10, and the Sox win in 14, 3-2. Two days later on June 11, 1963 at Detroit, Radatz enters a 3-3 game in the 7th and goes 8 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 11. The Sox score 4 in the top of the 15th, Dick holds on and has his 2nd win in 3 days. His totals for this span: 14 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 21 K.

And I love reading this. No intro music. Hell, most of the time hardly any fans in the seats. Just that big man. And on the radio. No A/C. Open windows. I can recall one performance by Radatz, when he closed (yet another) one out with a K, hearing the father in the house next door yelling "YES!" and clapping. (Mr. Blakeny)
 
Which raises this question - does age factor into the games that we each rank so highly? And, no, I don't mean in terms of "well I wasn't alive for those Lonborg games". (Clearly "being there" is big.)
 
I wonder if there is some tie in between when "you" were in the early years of having fallen hard for the Red Sox and "favorites"? Games, pitching performances, hits, catches, you hame it.

 

[WenZink]

I was talking about one performance. I thought it would be obvious which one.

 
Foulke's body of work during the entire 2004 postseason was magnificent, and, IMO he should have won the WS MVP.  But earning a save in the 4th game to preserve a 3-0 game lead, and a 3-0 series lead was anti-climactic -- with apologies to Joe Castiglione and his call of the last out that will be one of the last things I think of before I die.

 

[rlsb]

This pre-DH performance I liked because it had great pitching, great hitting by the same guy against a powerful team.  Thanks, Sonny Siebert!
The Earl Wilson fans will say pfft!, but I barely remember when he pitched for the Red Sox.
http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1971/B09020BOS1971.htm

 

[Al Zarilla]

 
I love throwing this out there (from sosh wiki) every time Dick's name comes up in such discussions.
 
June 9, 1963: At Baltimore The Monster starts the 9th inning with the score tied 2-2 . He goes 6 scoreless innings striking out 10, and the Sox win in 14, 3-2. Two days later on June 11, 1963 at Detroit, Radatz enters a 3-3 game in the 7th and goes 8 2/3 scoreless innings, striking out 11. The Sox score 4 in the top of the 15th, Dick holds on and has his 2nd win in 3 days. His totals for this span: 14 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 21 K.

I remember some of those, Pete. Can I call you Pete? Back then there was no talk of burning out a pitcher. Of course, he was "the Monster". Sadly, that didn't protect him from overuse.

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

I was talking about one performance. I thought it would be obvious which one.

 
Why? You can make a case for either Game 4 or Game 6, so it doesn't seem that obvious to me.

 

[MillarTime]

Curt Schilling, game 6, 2004 ALCS
 
Derek Lowe, game 7, 2004 ALCS
 .

We have bingo. Flip a coin.

 

[LogansDad]

http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS200805190.shtml

I have to give love for May 19. 2008.

This is mine, but mostly because I watched it from my bunk in Kuwait hours after having a doctor tell me I had to get med-evac'd out of the country to have a kidney removed due to what they thought was cancer.  I needed this game that night.

 

[fineyoungarm]

This is mine, but mostly because I watched it from my bunk in Kuwait hours after having a doctor tell me I had to get med-evac'd out of the country to have a kidney removed due to what they thought was cancer.  I needed this game that night.

That's another theme, I think. Big performances become especially vivid in memory and important when things otherwise are crappy (very crappy in your case LD).

 

[BoSox Rule]

Gotta give Beckett some love for Game 1 vs the Rockies and especially Game 5 in Cleveland "They don't pay me to make those fuckin decisions"

 

[bosockboy]

 
Foulke's body of work during the entire 2004 postseason was magnificent, and, IMO he should have won the WS MVP.  But earning a save in the 4th game to preserve a 3-0 game lead, and a 3-0 series lead was anti-climactic -- with apologies to Joe Castiglione and his call of the last out that will be one of the last things I think of before I die.

Wrong game. Game 6 he was on pure fumes, and had the brassest balled performance probably in our lifetime.

 

[threecy]

Schilling Bloody Sock
Clemens 20K (either)
Pedro Fenway All Star Game
Can't remember the exact games, but a few instances of young Bard and Papelbon with stuff people couldn't touch

 

[PrometheusWakefield]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXgepikMxuk
 
For those of you who need a reminder of how tense this moment was, this is 2003 Game 5:
 
Bottom of the 9th, Athletics Batting, Behind 3-4,
Red Sox' Scott Williamson facing 5-6-7                   S
S. Hatteberg Walk                  
Eric Byrnes pinch runs for Scott Hatteberg (1B) batting 5th 
J. Guillen Walk; Byrnes to 2B                  
Derek Lowe replaces Scott Williamson
R. Hernandez Bunt Groundout: 3B-2B/Sacrifice; Byrnes to 3B; Guillen to 2B                  
Adam Melhuse pinch hits for Jermaine Dye (RF)
A. Melhuse Strikeout Looking
C. Singleton Walk                  
Terrence Long pinch hits for Frank Menechino (2B)
T. Long Strikeout Looking 

 

[PC Drunken Friar]

I think that pitch from Lowe to Long may have been the best pitch I've ever seen.

 

[kieckeredinthehead]

Schilling Bloody Sock
Clemens 20K (either)
Pedro Fenway All Star Game
Can't remember the exact games, but a few instances of young Bard and Papelbon with stuff people couldn't touch

He was so good that even some of our favorite non-Pedro pitching performances were Pedro pitching performances.

 

[AlNipper49]

 
Relief pitchers are okay, but it should be one performance as opposed to the entire body of work.
 
Ironically, the greatest relief performance by a Sox pitcher, was also by Pedro, when he closed out game 5 of the 1999 ALCS vs Cleveland.
 
My favorite non-Pedro relief performance was Derek Lowe's 9th inning save vs the Oakland A's in game 5 of the 2003 ALCS,  With K's vs Adam Melhuse and Terence Long to close out the game.  But there was also a walk in between the two K's that put the winning run on second. (I also remember Lowe taking heat for his "salute" after the last out.)
 
I vaguely remember countless 3 IP finishes by Dick Radatz, but they all blur together.  And Papelbon's first month as closer in April 2006 was epic.  Especially his first one, when Tito suprisingly said to hell with the ailing Foulke, and Pap preserved a 2-1 Sox lead vs Texas (4/5/06) with two K's and a popup.  I remember how electric his stuff looked that night.

Greatest pitch ever

 

[IdiotKicker]

I think that pitch from Lowe to Long may have been the best pitch I've ever seen.

The 99 mph 2-seamer from Bard in Yankee Stadium still gets it for me. Filthiest thing I ever saw.

 

[Pilgrim]

I was looking for a GIF of the Long K to post here but it was already covered.  But does anyone have a GIF of that?  I find occasion for it at least once a week.
 
edit:  Why dont I just make it myself!
 

 

[glasspusher]

I'm too young to remember Radatz, but I remember watching Bob Stanley do this on 2 days rest after pitching six innings of one-run ball.
 
http://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BOS/BOS198205220.shtml
 
I've always said Stanley is criminally underrated, and deserves no blame for 1986 (Gerdman's got to catch that ball). If anyone under, say, 45, wants to see one of the great Red Sox pitching seasons, take a look at Bob Stanley's 1982 season, the biggest reason that time was still in the rest into August.
 
http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=stanlbo01&t=p&year=1982
 
 

Why do I think there was a game Stanley came into in the 2nd inning in the early 80s and proceeded to pitch 10 innings of scoreless relief to win it in the 11th?
 
Edit: I think my memory is failing me. Must have been the Ojeda game he finished.