Another Rarity: Streaks Of One-Run Wins
PLUS: SPENCER STRIDER SUGGESTS HE'S THE NEW KYLE WRIGHT
Pregame Pepper
Former St. Louis mainstay Nolan Gorman, who lost his varsity job, is working on his swing dynamics in the minors but has yet to play in a Triple-A game . . .
Even though he’s on their trade deadline wish list, the Phillies pounded Mets ace Freddy Peralta for 10 earned runs in less than three innings last weekend . . .
The prime culprit was Kyle Schwarber, who enjoyed his fifth career three-homer game (one of those was a four-homer game) . . .
Two-time MVP Bryce Harper, locked in a tussle with Freddie Freeman and Matt Olson to start the All-Star Game in his home park, had the first cycle of his career in the same game, a 15-3 laugher . . .
With a fifth-inning triple, Harper became the second-fastest Phillie with a cycle; Gregg Jefferies finished his with nobody out in the bottom of the fifth on Aug. 25, 1995 with a double against Dodgers pitcher John Cummings . . .
With an 0-7 record and 6.96 ERA, it was no surprise the Reds cut Chris Paddock . . .
At age 38, Boston lefty Aroldis Chapman has become the top closer available for trade by the Aug. 3 deadline, followed by Detroit’s Kenley Jansen, another ancient warrior . .
Because it included a ninth-inning walkoff, that two-homer game by Ozzie Albies against Milwaukee last weekend was the first such effort produced by a Brave in 13 years, with Justin Upton the last Atlanta author.
Leading Off
Multi-game winning streaks, all by a run, are rare
By Andrew Sharp
Win or lose, games decided by a run are always nerve-racking. The can be joyous if your team wins with a late comeback, tense if holding on for dear life or deflating if a comeback never comes, but what one-run games are not - ever - is boring. As Yogi said, “It ain’t over ’til it’s over.”
The 2026 season so far has been forgettable for the San Francisco Giants. But a little over a year ago, the Giants did something that hasn’t happened much in MLB history: they reeled off six one-run wins in a row from June 4 to 10, 2025. Their fans, happy while it was happening, must have been nervous wrecks.
That Giants streak tied the 1989 Angels and the 1916 St. Louis Browns for second most since 1901.
So what’s the all-time record?
The 1927 Chicago Cubs set that mark with seven consecutive one-run victories. They won by a run from June 6 to 12 in the midst of a season-high 12-game winning streak, all at home. Two of the one-run victories were what today we call walk-offs. Two others were won at home with a run in the bottom of the eighth, their last time up. The Cubs’ winning streak also included another one-run victory on June 14.
In this pre-closer era, Cubs’ starting pitchers went the distance in four of the seven straight one-run wins, two of which –- the walk-offs –- went extra innings. The 12-game win streak saw the Cubs jump from fourth place to second, a game out of first, on June 16. Chicago was in first place most of time from in 1927 from July 7 to Sept. 1, leading by as many six games, before fading to a fourth-place finish.
On the flip side, the 1919 Washington Nationals –- more commonly called the Senators -- endured a record seven consecutive one-run defeats from May 21 to May 29. The first six were on the road. The seven one-run losses were part of an 11-game losing streak that ended with an eighth one-run loss.
The great Walter Johnson, winner of 20 of his team’s 54 victories that season, suffered three of those one-run defeats and four of the 11 losses in a row. Johnson started just one of the games he lost. The score was 5-4 with three of runs he yielded being unearned. Another of Washington’s seven one-run losses came courtesy of two unearned runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Ouch.
In 1967, the Cincinnati Reds played an excruciating 11 consecutive one-run games but won seven of them. Their taxed bullpen must have done pretty well. Reds fans probably needed a lot of anti-acids.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, began the 1986 season with 10 straight one-run games, but won just three of them. If you count the final game of 1985, the Dodgers actually played 11 one-run games in a row. They lost that last ’85 game, too.
The 1988 Braves are the most recent team to have played nine consecutive one-run games, losing eighth of them in late September. That team began the season with a 10-game losing streak and finished last with 106 losses. The Braves, of course, got a lot better when the 1990s rolled around. A team with Hall-of-Fame starters Maddux, Glavine and Smoltz would be hard-pressed to lose 10 in a row.
The 2014 World-Series-winning Giants also were involved in eight straight one-run games, going 4-4 in early April.
The 1978 San Diego Padres are the other team that has won as many as five consecutive one-run games in the past half-century.
Andrew C. Sharp is a retired newspaper journalist and a SABR member who lives in central New Jersey. He was raised in the D.C. area as a fan of Senators I and II. Since 2017, he has written about D.C. baseball at washingtonbaseballhistory.com
Cleaning Up
Is Spencer Strider the Second Coming of Kyle Wright?
By Dan Schlossberg
One year after Kyle Wright won 21 games for the Atlanta Braves, Spencer Strider did the same thing.
But that glory was short-lived.
Strider has spent most of his time since on the injured list.
The one-time strikeout king, whose 2023 season included 281 strikeouts in 186 2/3 innings pitched, had to leave his June 12 start early and may not return before September.
He’s already survived Tommy John surgery to repair the ligament in his right elbow (in 2019) and the less-invasive elbow brace surgery (in 2024), plus an oblique injury that struck at the start of this season. And that was before he had the leave the game in New York with elbow and shoulder pain — not to mention a bloated ERA after throwing three gopher balls to tie his worst performance ever.
Wright’s luck was even worse. Although he pitched well in the 2021 World Series and led the majors with 21 wins in 2022, he has won just three other games in his entire career.
The Braves eventually let him leave but he was no better with the Royals. Now he’s at the Triple-A level with the Chicago Cubs organization. But he’s likely 30 and done — as writers used to say at the end of their articles.
Strider is just 27 and has had more success than Wright, winning a total of 46 games. He was 4-1 with a 4.00 ERA before the fiasco in Flushing.
The irony for the serious-minded right-hander is that his performance has declined as his pitching repertoire expanded.
Once a two-pitch pitcher who depended exclusively on a blistering fastball and hard-breaking slider, he has added a curveball and cutter to the mix. But he went only 7-14 last year, after returning from the elbow brace procedure, and had more clunkers than any Atlanta pitchers not named Bryce Elder.
Ironically, he is the only Atlanta pitcher with a long-term contract. He signed a six-year, $75 million deal despite the reluctance of Braves baseball operations chief Alex Anthopoulos to dole out dollars for pitchers. That reluctance is reflected in the results since the signing.
Strider’s pact carried through 2029 but he could be traded first — assuming he follows a similar trajectory to Wright’s. For Braves fans, they’d hate to lose the vegan with the famous mustache but performance supersedes personality.
Getting Strider back in stride would be the Wright thing to do. But is it possible?
HtP weekend editor Dan Schlossberg covers baseball for a myriad of outlets, including USA TODAY Sports Weekly, Sports Collectors Digest, Lucas Communications, Memories & Dreams, and the IBWAA. His email is ballauthor@gmail.com.
Timeless Trivia: All-Star Odds and Ends
Atlanta closer Raisel Iglesias has more saves (268 and counting) than any pitcher who has never been an All-Star. Second on that list is former longtime Braves closer Gene Garber, who had 218 saves without an All-Star selection . . .
Garber and Iglesias are the only closers with at least 200 career saves and zero All-Star nods . . .
Nick Kurtz, bidding to be the American League’s All-Star first baseman, remains the only rookie to hit four home runs in a game . . .
Kirk Gibson’s resume includes a World Series MVP award but no All-Star selections . .
Neither Matt Olson nor Ozzie Albies has ever started an All-Star Game . . .
The NL’s entire starting outfield, according to current totals in the fan vote, would be All-Star Game newcomers Andy Pages, Brandon Marsh, and Michael Harris II . . .
Although All-Star Games are typically managed by pennant-winning pilots of the previous year, Buck Showalter managed one without ever finishing first . . .
Chris Sale is the only active pitcher who started three straight All-Star games.
Know Your Editors
Here’s the Pitch is published daily except Sundays and holidays. Benjamin Chase [gopherben@gmail.com] handles the Monday issue with Dan Freedman [dfreedman@lionsgate.com] editing Tuesday and Jeff Kallman [easyace1955@outlook.com] at the helm Wednesday and Thursday. Original editor Dan Schlossberg [ballauthor@gmail.com], does the weekend editions on Friday and Saturday. Former editor Elizabeth Muratore [nymfan97@gmail.com] is now co-director [with Benjamin Chase and Jonathan Becker] of the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America, which publishes this newsletter and the annual ACTA book of the same name. Readers are encouraged to contribute comments, articles, and letters to the editor. HtP reserves the right to edit for brevity, clarity, and good taste.