Shane Bieber is the ninth pitcher in MLB history with 20 strikeouts and zero runs allowed through two starts and the only pitcher to accomplish the feat twice.
Most strikeouts with zero runs allowed through two starts:
Gavin Williams struck out 10 Rays in his 10th career start on Saturday.
It was his second straight double-digit strikeout performance. He’s the 36th pitcher in MLB history with multiple 10-K games within his first 10 career games.
He’s also the 8th rookie in franchise history with multiple 10-K games, joining:
In consecutive games against the Blue Jays, Gavin Williams and Tanner Bibee tossed seven shutout innings.
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It’s the first time rookie starters pitched at least seven scoreless innings in consecutive games since Jeff Mutis and Albie Lopez in 1993 against the California Angels.
Mutis tossed a complete-game four-hit shutout, while Lopez tossed seven scoreless before giving way to the bullpen.
Here’s the full list of rookie starters to toss 7+ shutout innings in consecutive games, with their combined strikeouts in parentheses:
The 18 combined strikeouts by Williams and Bibee are also tied for the second most by rookie starters pitching in consecutive games. Here’s the leaderboard:
Logan Allen has 33 strikeouts through his first six career games, while Tanner Bibee has 34. The era in which which we’re in is a big factor here, but those are the sixth and seventh most strikeouts through six games in franchise history.
Over the last 40 seasons, only two Cleveland rookies have started at least 15 games while posting an ERA under 3.50: Cody Anderson in 2015 and T.J. House in 2014.
It’s odd that such a list would feature such irrelevant players, as neither had much hype as prospects or did much beyond their rookie years.
Here’s a few others who accomplished the feat, dating back to 1955 (it was slightly more common before then):
Konnor Pilkington tossed five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in his third career start (sixth career game) against the Royals yesterday.
He’s the sixth pitcher in franchise history with at least eight strikeouts and zero runs allowed in a game within his first six career appearances. The others:
Over the last 40 seasons, only two Cleveland rookies have started at least 15 games while posting an ERA under 3.50: 