Earned Runs and Strikeouts

Despite the fact that I posted about the White Sox' lousy game, I spent yesterday afternoon at Wrigley Field watching the Cubs and Rockies. Rich Harden was supposed to make the Rockies look like midgets grasping for stuff on the top shelf, and the Cubs were supposed to make Jason Marquis look like a cow trying to lick its own behind.

But things didn't work like that. Harden struck out eight in three innings while giving up ample walks and runs, and the Rockies ended up taking it 5-2. Marquis gave up only one run in seven innings.

Maybe I was getting a little ahead of myself, but I wondered what the record of strikeouts was when a pitcher gave up 10 earned runs in a game.

And that would be (at least since 1954) 9 strikeouts by Mike Norris on a September 26,1980 game against the Brewers. He gave up 10 runs on 17 hits... yet he had a 7-5 lead going into the top of the ninth until Ben Ogilvie's inside the park grand slam followed by Gorman Thomas' solo shot. The game would end 10-7. It was during a fantastic 22-9 season for Norris, where he finished second to Steve Stone in the Cy Young voting and snagged a Gold Glove. He completed 24 games, of the A's incredible team total of 94 complete games, as Billy Martin rode the arms of five different pitchers to double digit complete games. Rick Langford completed 28 games, Norris added his 24, and even Brian Kingman, with his 8-20 record, completed 10. Matt Keough (20) and Steve McCatty (11) rounded out the five.

Next, I wondered what the highest number of earned runs allowed were for a 10+ strikeout performance. It is 9. Done May 22,2003 by the Reds' Ryan Dempster, who struck out 10 Braves while giving up those nine runs.