On Monday, A's fans were treated to a gem from Tom Milone in his first start with the team after coming over in the Gio Gonzalez trade. The left-hander pitched eight terrific innings in a win over the Royals and, after the game, Hardball Talk put Milone's effort into historical context:
HBT's Matthew Pouliot wrote, in part:
The last pitcher to go eight scoreless without a strikeout was Justin Verlander against the Twins on May 17, 2006. Verlander also went without a walk in that one, though he still threw 103 pitches in his eight innings. Chien-Ming Wang of the Yankees pulled off the same feat five days prior on May 12, 2006, with eight scoreless, strikeout-less innings against the As.Before that, it hadnt been done since Scott Erickson of the Orioles shut out the Royals on April 28, 2002. Milone is the first left-hander to do it since the Pirates Jimmy Anderson against the Cardinals on July 22, 2001.
The article then examines whether Milone, who essentially has average stuff, will be able to keep this up. What do you think?
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