High-Hit Shutouts

The Twins record for hits allowed in a complete game shutout is 13, by Jim “Mudcat” Grant in a 6-0 win versus the Senators at Met Stadium on July 15, 1964. Grant also walked one in the game. The Twins had acquired Grant in a trade with Cleveland less than a month earlier, on June 20. In 1965, Grant led the American League with 21 wins and six shutouts.

There have been three 11-hit complete game shutouts in Twins history. Jim Kaat gave up 11 hits and a walk in a 6-0 win in Chicago on April 11, 1971. At the plate he went 2-for-4 with a double, two RBI, and a run scored. (Bonus Fact: Kaat homered while pitching a shutout twice, first on July 24, 1963, and again on October 1, 1970. Jim Perry did so on April 13, 1968.)

Rick Lysander gave up 11 hits and three walks in a 7-0 win against the Angels in the second game of a doubleheader at the Metrodome on August 1, 1983. The Twins turned three double plays in the game.

Carlos Silva gave up 11 hits and two walks in a 10-0 win against the Angels at the Metrodome on August 3, 2004.

Silva beat the Brewers on just 74 pitches on May 20, 2005, giving up five hits and no walks in a 7-1 win at the Dome. He led the majors with 0.430 walks per nine innings that season.

See all four Twins 11+ hit shutouts on Baseball Reference.

The most hits an opposing pitcher has allowed in a complete game shutout of the Twins is 11, by Milwaukee’s Marty Pattin at Met Stadium on June 26, 1971. Pattin did not issue a walk in the 5-0 Brewers win. 

Three Royals pitchers combined to give up 13 hits in a shutout of the Twins at Kauffman Stadium on August 31, 2005. The Royals won on a walk-off single, with Denny Hocking scoring the winning run. 

The Twins record for baserunners in a complete game shutout is 14, by Grant, Lysander, and Silva in the above mentioned game, and Steve Luebber, who gave up eight hits and six walks in a 3-0 win against the Athletics at Met Stadium on August 2, 1976.

In Luebber’s next start (August 7 in Texas) he had a no-hitter going with two out and two strikes in the ninth. He had to settle for a two-hit 3-1 win (with the run being unearned). Bill Campbell came in to get the final out.

The most baserunners an opposing pitcher has allowed in a complete game shutout of the Twins is 13, by Al Fitzmorris who gave up eight hits and five walks in a 1-0 Royals win in Kansas City on September 7, 1974. Twins pitcher Joe Decker allowed just two hits and two walks in the game. 

Jerry Koosman pitched into the ninth against the Rangers at Met Stadium on September 22, 1980, allowing 14 baserunners on nine hits, three walks, and two Twins errors. With two on in the ninth, Doug Corbett came in to get the final three outs, while also issuing a walk for a total of 15 baserunners in the 1-0 Twins win. Roy Smalley drove in Hosken Powell with a two-out single in the first for the Twins’ only run of the game.

Starting pitcher Boof Bonser and relievers Glen Perkins, Matt Guerrier, and Joe Nathan combined to allow 17 baserunners in an 11-inning shutout of the Royals at the Metrodome on April 26, 2007. Twins pitchers allowed 15 baserunners through nine innings. Juan Rincón pitched a perfect top of the 11th, and earned the win when Mike Redmond drove in Justin Morneau with a walk-off single in the bottom of the inning.

Opposing pitchers have combined to allow 16 baserunners in shutouts of the Twins twice. First by the Angels in Anaheim on September 19, 1975, and by the Royals in Kansas City on August 31, 2005.

The Twins record for walks in a complete game shutout is nine by Jim Roland on April 21, 1963. He allowed just three hits in a 7-0 win in Chicago.

Nolan Ryan issued eight walks when he no-hit the Twins in Anaheim on September 28, 1974.

Francisco Liriano issued six walks in his no-hitter in Chicago on May 3, 2011. (Playing for Detroit, 1973 Highland Park grad Jack Morris also issued six walks in a no-hitter in Chicago on April 7, 1984)

All of these hits and walks in shutouts got me thinking about the opposite. Dean Chance actually gave up a run in his no-hitter in Cleveland on August 25, 1967.

There have been 14 one-hitters in Twins history, but only 10 of them were shutouts. The only baserunner Jim Kaat allowed on July 1, 1973 was Frank Robinson, who hit his 534th home run in the 2-1 Twins in in Anaheim. Bert Blyleven allowed a run in one-hitters on September 26, 1973, and July 4, 1974. And Ken Schrom gave up a run in a one-hitter on June 26, 1985.

Blyleven did pitch a one-hit shutout on May 24, 1973.

The Twins have won two games in which they only got one hit. They beat Boston 2-1 at Met Stadium on September 6, 1964, despite Bill Monbouquette giving up just one hit. After Rich Rollins reached on an error with two out in the sixth, Zoilo Versalles hit a two-run homer.

Chicago’s Freddy Garcia gave up just one hit and two walks at the Metrodome on August 23, 2005, but that one hit was a Jacque Jones homer leading off the eighth. Johan Santana, meanwhile, pitched a three-hit shutout through eight innings, with Joe Nathan saving the 1-0 Twins win.

Jack Morris one-hit the Twins at Met Stadium on August 21, 1980, but still gave up two unearned runs on Roy Smalley RBI groundouts in both the first and ninth innings. The Tigers won 4-2. 

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