Yes, it was in 13 innings, but the number 24 next to strikeouts in a single game is eye-popping nonetheless. That’s how many times Rays pitchers punched out Tigers batters in Tampa Bay’s 1-0 victory over Detroit on Saturday.
But that’s not all: The Rays pitching staff also didn’t walk a batter. They set a Major League record for most strikeouts in a game without a walk.
Rays pitchers struck out 24 batters today and *did not walk anyone*
That’s the most strikeouts by a team without issuing a walk in a game since at least 1908.
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) August 18, 2019
Offense wasn’t producing
One reason the Rays pitchers were able to put on such a dominant performance for so long was because Tampa Bay’s offense wasn’t helping out.
The Tigers shut out the Rays on Friday night and then held them scoreless for the first 12 innings Saturday. In all, dating to Wednesday’s 7-2 loss to the Padres, it had been 29 innings and almost 72 hours since the Rays had scored. But when pinch hitter Michael Brosseau drove home Eric Sogard with an RBI single in the 13th inning, they had a win during that stretch, too.
“Obviously a long game, right? So you want to be the one to end it in that situation,” Brosseau said, according to the Associated Press.
Michael Brosseau came off the bench in the 13th to give the #Rays the walk-off win over the Tigers, and talked to our own Tom Akins about the clutch hit.#RaysUp | @RaysBaseball | @MikeBrosseau10 pic.twitter.com/d3srkiUNAT
— MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM (@MLBNetworkRadio) August 18, 2019
Strikeouts upon strikeouts
The legendary pitching performance started with Cade Yarbrough, who allowed three hits and struck out 10 in 6-1/3 innings. He also hit a batter, but those four baserunners were the only ones the Rays allowed all day.
The bullpen effort from Chaz Roe, Nick Anderson, Emilio Pagan, Diego Castillo and Colin Poche was superb. All struck out at least two batters, and none allowed a baserunner.
They retired the final 20 Tigers batters in order with 14 strikeouts.
“I know we struck out as many times as I’ve ever seen in a baseball game,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said.
Ryan Yarbrough set the tone and the bullpen did the rest as #Rays pitchers set a club and MLB strikeout record in Saturday’s 1-0 win in 13 innings, which ended with a Brosseau walk-off single: https://t.co/6R8wR2PPXG
— Juan Toribio (@juanctoribio) August 18, 2019
