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 special variety of batters. Our common season database goes again to 1871, and it incorporates 241,730 video games, every of them distinctive. In 1927, Bob Smith set a report by dealing with a whopping 89 batters in a 4-3, 22-inning loss to the Cubs. In 2021, Pablo López turned 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 varied methods to lose a baseball recreation are unconstrained by any such limits.
I might carry on going. In 1959, Harvey Haddix was good by means of 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 convey 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 night time 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.
In the present day, we’re particularly searching for 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. Laborious luck losses will all the time occur. As Jacob deGrom can inform you from lengthy expertise, any pitcher ok to carry the opposite workforce to a single run will finally endure a 1-0 loss. (In truth, all 5 of the highest spots on that specific 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 best mark ever.) Nevertheless it takes a confluence of things to finish the season with nice numbers throughout all your losses.
Simply ask Quinn Priester. After years of prospect hype, Preister broke out to the tune of a 3.32 ERA and 13-3 report with the Brewers this season. Though he solely misplaced three video games, he ran an ERA of three.00 in these losses, the very best 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 unhealthy luck.
Logan Webb turned in arguably the very best season of his wonderful profession, ending fifth amongst all pitchers with 5.5 WAR, however he is aware of a bit of one thing about unhealthy luck too. He ran a 3.22 ERA and a couple of.60 FIP total, making 2025 his fifth straight season with an ERA beneath 3.50 and an FIP beneath 3.20. Nonetheless, it’s simple to think about issues going even higher for Webb. He completed 15-11, and people 26 complete selections put him in a tie for the third-most in baseball. As you’d count on, he obtained 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 no 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 quaint shouting match about whether or not or not Paul Skenes actually deserved the NL Cy Younger with a 10-10 report 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. Nonetheless, throughout these 10 losses, the Pirates scored simply 11 complete runs – 11 runs in 10 video games! One way or the other, when Skenes left these video games, he’d stored the Pirates inside two runs of the lead six occasions. Sadly for him, they might 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, working 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 closing 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 obtained 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 no less than three losses this season, and practically 100 factors beneath Glasnow’s .607 OPS in wins and no-decisions. He allowed only one residence 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 here are spectacular in their very own approach, however I’ve additionally checked the historic report, and we didn’t see something actually spectacular by way of unhealthy luck this 12 months. In case you run a Stathead seek for the pitchers with the very best loss-only ERAs of all-time, you’ll discover 15 completely different pitchers who misplaced no 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 cause 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 have been unearned. This 12 months, that quantity was just under 8%. That is simple to clarify. Fielding has improved dramatically over time, and as Sam Miller has documented, grade inflation has made its solution to the official scorer’s desk, making it tougher to earn an error than ever earlier than. Realizing this, you would possibly assume that it could be unimaginable for one among right now’s pitchers to place up a historic season within the unhealthy luck division, however that’s not fairly true. If we have a look at the bottom 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 throughout the previous decade. Michael Pineda’s 2014 season is on the very prime of the checklist. 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!
Finest Loss-Solely ERA Since 1946
Supply: Stathead
Minimal of 5 losses.
Unsurprisingly, we additionally see deGrom’s Cy Younger 2018 season on the checklist. He joins Bob Gibson and Pedro Martínez in making the checklist whereas profitable the award. deGrom went 10-9, and the Mets scored 11 complete runs in these 9 video games. The road I actually 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. Nonetheless, 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 only weren’t inclined to take action whereas he was truly on the mound and able to learn from them.
All of that is to say that though no person cracked the checklist this 12 months, right now’s pitchers nonetheless have an opportunity. With the fitting season-long mixture of nice pitching, paltry run assist, unhealthy protection, and runs from inherited runners, anybody might find yourself on the prime of this doubtful Stathead search. They most likely wouldn’t contemplate this excellent news, although.
