Max Scherzer, not Justin Verlander, is carrying the Detroit Tigers’ pitching staff this season. Last night, the 2013 CY Young winner beat the Chicago White Sox while doing something he’s never done in his career.
Pitch a complete game.
Scherzer broke the longest streak any pitcher has had to start their career without going the distance (win or lose). Per SI.com, Scherzer’s 178-game streak was freakishly long for how dominant the Tigers’ pitcher has been throughout their career. Here’s the list of longest such streaks:
| Rk | Player | GS | Years |
| 1 | Max Scherzer | 178 | 2008-2014 |
| 2 | Tony Armas | 167 | 1999-2008 |
| 3 | Bud Norris | 139 | 2009-2014 |
| 4 | Shawn Chacon | 134 | 2001-2008 |
| 5 | Scott Olsen | 127 | 2005-2010 |
| 6 | Casey Fossum | 120 | 2001-2009 |
| 7 | Claudio Vargas | 114 | 2003-2010 |
| 8 | Travis Wood | 106 | 2010-2014 |
| T9 | Byung-Hyun Kim | 87 | 1999-2007 |
| T9 | Mike Thurman | 87 | 1997-2002 |
Truly outrageous if you consider who else is on this list. Scherzer is now 8-2 with a 3.05 ERA and 1.19 WHIP on the season. The rest of those players listed above are middle-of-the-rotation type pitchers.
This is likely a relief for Scherzer, as every starting pitcher knows a complete game holds extra emphasis to how well you pitched during that outing.
All eyes shift to Baltimore Orioles’ Bud Norris, who is 39 games short of Scherzer’s record.
Photo: MLB.com