This season, 4 completely different starters suffered a loss wherein they went precisely six innings, struck out precisely six batters, and allowed precisely seven hits, three earned runs, and no unearned runs. Three of them confronted the very same variety of batters. However these 4 pitchers all completed with completely different pitching strains as a result of all of them walked a distinct variety of batters. Our common season database goes again to 1871, and it accommodates 241,730 video games, every of them distinctive. In 1927, Bob Smith set a document by dealing with a whopping 89 batters in a 4-3, 22-inning loss to the Cubs. In 2021, Pablo López grew to become the primary starter ever to be charged with a loss after plunking the one and solely batter he confronted. There could also be 50 methods to depart your lover and 5,000 methods to die, however the numerous methods to lose a baseball recreation are unconstrained by any such limits.
I may carry on going. In 1959, Harvey Haddix was excellent by 12 innings, then misplaced the sport and the perfecto within the thirteenth. 5 years later, Ken Johnson of the Houston Colt .45s pitched the one complete-game no-hitter in historical past to finish as a loss. I carry up these performances as a result of, watching these playoffs, I can’t assist however take into consideration pitchers who earn losses regardless of pitching brilliantly. Simply final evening within the NLDS matchup between the Dodgers and Phillies, Jesús Luzardo threw six scoreless innings and retired 17 batters in a row, however he took the loss when two inherited runners scored. Final week, Nick Pivetta took the loss after permitting two runs over 5 innings to the Cubs, and on the identical day, Gavin Williams took a loss for the Guardians as a result of he allowed two unearned runs over six innings.
Right this moment, we’re particularly in search of the pitchers who put up nice numbers throughout all of their losses through the 2025 season. This doesn’t essentially imply the pitchers who had the worst run assist or protection behind them total. It simply implies that particularly through the video games they went on to lose, they pitched significantly effectively. Arduous luck losses will at all times occur. As Jacob deGrom can let you know from lengthy expertise, any pitcher adequate to carry the opposite staff to a single run will finally endure a 1-0 loss. (The truth is, all 5 of the highest spots on that exact Stathead search belong to Corridor of Famers, with Walter Johnson and Nolan Ryan tied at 63. Amazingly, Johnson, the second-winningest pitcher of all time, additionally misplaced 13 video games wherein he didn’t enable a single earned run, the very best mark ever.) Nevertheless it takes a confluence of things to finish the season with nice numbers throughout your entire losses.
Simply ask Quinn Priester. After years of prospect hype, Preister broke out to the tune of a 3.32 ERA and 13-3 document with the Brewers this season. Though he solely misplaced three video games, he ran an ERA of three.00 in these losses, the most effective loss-only ERA of any starter with multiple loss. Priester allowed 5 earned runs over 15 innings in his three losses. He ran a 2.30 FIP, however the Brewers scored a complete of two runs in these three video games, and errors value Priester two unearned runs. The Brewers boasted the sport’s ninth-best offense and sixth-best protection this season, and so they’re on the verge of sweeping the Cubs within the NLDS. That’s simply plain dangerous luck.
Logan Webb turned in arguably the most effective season of his glorious profession, ending fifth amongst all pitchers with 5.5 WAR, however he is aware of somewhat one thing about dangerous luck too. He ran a 3.22 ERA and a pair of.60 FIP total, making 2025 his fifth straight season with an ERA under 3.50 and an FIP under 3.20. Nevertheless, it’s straightforward to think about issues going even higher for Webb. He completed 15-11, and people 26 complete choices put him in a tie for the third-most in baseball. As you’d count on, he received so many choices as a result of he led all of baseball with 207 innings pitched. Webb ran inverse ERAs, placing up a 2.40 mark in wins and a 4.20 mark in losses, however don’t let that idiot you. Throughout his 11 losses, he put up a 2.97 FIP as a result of he struck out 67 batters and walked simply 10. The Giants averaged fewer than two runs per recreation in his losses and exceeded three runs simply thrice. Seven occasions this season, Webb earned both a loss or a no-decision regardless of surrendering two or fewer runs, and he went not less than six innings in six of these seven begins. Had a number of extra bounces gone Webb’s approach, he might need ended up with 20 wins and we would have ended up with a superb quaint shouting match about whether or not or not Paul Skenes actually deserved the NL Cy Younger with a 10-10 document and a 1.97 ERA.
Talking of Skenes, the presumptive Cy Younger definitely wasn’t horrible over the course of his 10 losses; he ran a 4.29 ERA and 4.23 FIP. Nevertheless, throughout these 10 losses, the Pirates scored simply 11 complete runs – 11 runs in 10 video games! By some means, when Skenes left these video games, he’d stored the Pirates inside two runs of the lead six occasions. Sadly for him, they’d solely go on to attain two complete runs after his departures.
Bryan Woo deserves a particular point out right here. Though he earned his seven losses, operating a 4.98 ERA and 5.07 FIP throughout them, he was the one pitcher in baseball to common greater than six innings per begin in his losses. Mariners supervisor Dan Wilson actually let Woo work deep, and much more spectacular, he didn’t appear to be responsible of simply leaving his ace in till he exploded. Woo solely coughed up a lead in his last inning in two of these seven losses, and Wilson solely pulled him mid-inning as soon as.
We’ll end with one other playoff performer in Tyler Glasnow. Glasnow received into 18 video games through the common season, however throughout his three losses, he held opposing batters to a miniscule .510 OPS. That was lowest mark of the 199 completely different pitchers with not less than three losses this season, and almost 100 factors under Glasnow’s .607 OPS in wins and no-decisions. He allowed only one dwelling run and ran a WHIP of 0.88 in these three losses, however the Dodgers scored a grand complete of simply two runs in them.
All of the performances I’ve highlighted listed below are spectacular in their very own approach, however I’ve additionally checked the historic document, and we didn’t see something actually spectacular when it comes to dangerous luck this 12 months. In the event you run a Stathead search for the pitchers with the most effective loss-only ERAs of all-time, you’ll discover 15 completely different pitchers who misplaced not less than 5 video games in a season whereas permitting a grand complete of zero earned runs, together with Cy Younger in 1906. Solely two pitchers from this century even crack the highest 100. The most important motive for that is that unearned runs have been dropping precipitously for the reason that starting of baseball historical past, as you’ll be able to see from this graph of UERA (that’s unearned run common, for the uninitiated):
In 1900, 31% of all runs had been unearned. This 12 months, that quantity was slightly below 8%. That is straightforward to elucidate. Fielding has improved dramatically through the years, and as Sam Miller has documented, grade inflation has made its method to the official scorer’s desk, making it tougher to earn an error than ever earlier than. Figuring out this, you may assume that it might be not possible for one in every of at the moment’s pitchers to place up a historic season within the dangerous luck division, however that’s not fairly true. If we take a look at the lowest loss-only ERAs after World Battle II, we see an entire lot of entries from 1968, The 12 months of the Pitcher™️, however a 3rd of the entries are from the previous 25 years, and two of them are from inside the previous decade. Michael Pineda’s 2014 season is on the very high of the record. Pineda went 5-5 with a 1.89 ERA that season. Throughout these 5 losses, his ERA was nonetheless an astonishing 2.08. Sadly for Pineda, the Yankees scored simply two runs in these 5 video games!
Greatest Loss-Solely ERA Since 1946
Supply: Stathead
Minimal of 5 losses.
Unsurprisingly, we additionally see deGrom’s Cy Younger 2018 season on the record. He joins Bob Gibson and Pedro Martínez in making the record whereas successful the award. deGrom went 10-9, and the Mets scored 11 complete runs in these 9 video games. The road I really need you to note, although, is Clarke Schmidt’s. Schmidt ran a 2.77 ERA over 5 losses simply final 12 months! Schmidt went 5-5 and the Yankees scored 11 runs in his 5 losses. Nevertheless, eight of these 11 runs got here after Schimdt had left the sport! Even much less lucky for Schimdt, the Yankees went on to win in all six of his no-decisions! The Yankees had no downside scoring runs throughout Schmidt’s begins. They simply weren’t inclined to take action whereas he was really on the mound and ready to learn from them.
All of that is to say that though no one cracked the record this 12 months, at the moment’s pitchers nonetheless have an opportunity. With the appropriate season-long mixture of nice pitching, paltry run assist, dangerous protection, and runs from inherited runners, anybody may find yourself on the high of this doubtful Stathead search. They in all probability wouldn’t think about this excellent news, although.