Efficiency II - Eight Is Unbelievable

Keeping with my theme of efficiency, or making the most of your hits, here's my favorite game.

April 12, 1994
Oakland 8, Toronto 4

TOR A    1  0  1    0  2  0    0  0  0  -   4  9  4
OAK A    3  0  2    0  3  0    0  0  x  -   8  2  0

Today's Boxscore

Yeah, they really scored eight runs on two hits. The next most runs on two hits (since 1969) is six. And that was done only once. Even five runs on two hits has only been done four times. So this is definitely a rare, perfectly esoteric gem.

Unfortunately, there's no play-by-play for this game. So it's rather puzzling to find that Oakland had four runners thrown out on the bases--three were caught stealing and one on a double play. And that they left five additional runners on base. But you soon see how that might have happened: Toronto pitching issued 12 walks and their fielders made four errors. That's a bad combo...especially when they come in bunches. Oh, and the only two Athletics hits? A double and a homer.

Unexpectedly, though, there were eight RBI's credited, meaning that no runs came in as a direct result of an error. And only the three fifth inning runs were unearned. So let's see...three runs came in on the two hits and there was one sac fly. So there must have been some combination of four bases loaded walks and run-scoring grounders. That's an awful lot of either. In any case, this was one strange game.

Games like this are treasure troves for weird lines. Check it out:

• Rickey Henderson had one of the weirdest lines of all time: 1 3 0 0. That is, 0-for-1 with three runs. Tough to do.
• Stan Javier ran a close second with his 3 3 1 1. That is, 1-for-3 with three runs and an RBI.
• Blue Jay Scott Brow produced one of the more unusual pitching lines you'll see:

             IP   H   R  ER  BB  SO  HR
  Brow      2.2   0   3   0   3   2   0

  Hmmm...walk three guys and have them all score without allowing a hit? Sounds like your teammates didn't help you out much. Errors? How many you want?...Inherited runners? No thanks.
• Despite only two hits, five Oakland players got on base twice in the game.
• And the Stat of the Game: Four Oakland players drove in a run despite going hitless.
  

It was also a "sweep" game. That's what I call a game in which one team wins the game without losing even an inning. That is, in no inning are they outscored. One of these weeks, I'll run a series on those.

And one last note. Two current and two probable Hall-of-Famers played in this game: Paul Molitor, Dennis Eckersley, Rickey Henderson, and Mark McGwire.

Bonus Boxscore:
On the same day, believe it or not, Boston also had one of the most efficient games ever, with one of the only four times since 1969 that a team scored seven more runs than hits. It's a little less impressive, though, when you do this with 15 hits. Check it out:

BOS   6  1  2    0  0  8    4  1  0  -  22 15  0
KC    0  1  3    0  0  0    4  0  3  -  11 15  3

Bonus Boxscore

Stat of the game: Both teams pounded out the same number of hits, but Boston still won by 11! Well, 11 extra base hits, 13 walks, and three KC errors will do that...

So, I know, now you're dying to find out: What's the most a team has won by while still outhit? Tune in next time! I guarantee, it's another rub-your-eyes "huh?" kind of game!