I heard this stat on the Baseball Bar-B-Cast podcast and had to share, as it involved Cleveland.
Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly recently had a no-decision against the Dodgers, keeping him winless in 15 starts against Los Angeles – the third most starts without a win against a team in MLB history.
The leaderboard:
- Herm Wehmeier vs STL – 19 starts
- Joe Mays vs CLE – 16 starts
- Kelly vs LAD – 15 starts
- Kevin Millwood vs MIN – 14 starts
- Sidney Ponson vs CLE – 14 starts
- Bob Weiland vs NYY – 14 starts
Mays’s teams (MIN, KCR, CIN) were 4-12 in his starts against Cleveland from 1999 through 2006. Ponson’s teams (BAL, KCR, TEX) were 4-10 against Cleveland from 1998 through 2009.
Two other pitchers have made at least 10 starts against Cleveland without a victory:
- Jason Johnson, 11 starts
- Spencer Turnbull, 10 starts (active)
Turnbull is injured but on a rehab assignment, so maybe we’ll get to see him in September.
I also love that Jason Johnson joined the Indians after failing to beat them. He was winless in 10 starts when he signed in 2006, but then lost again later that year as a member of the Red Sox after Boston purchased him from Cleveland.
Four of Kevin Millwood’s starts against Minnesota occurred as a member of the Indians, although Cleveland actually managed to win two of those games as no-decisions for Millwood.
In total there have been 42 pitchers to make at least 10 starts against a franchise without a victory.
