Wade Davis allows first homer since 2013, a streak covering 125 2/3 innings
We do our best to remain unbiased around the Big League Stew offices, but if you’d don’t mind us saying we would not be opposed to a Royals-Blue Jays postseason series this October.
The defending American League champions from Kansas City and quickly emerging powerhouses from Toronto are currently battling in a four-game weekend series that has been highly entertaining.
Coming off their aggressive push at the trade deadline, the Blue Jays took rounds one and two in exciting fashion on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, the resilient Royals battled back to win 7-6 in one of the most thrilling back-and-forth games played all season.
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The game was highlighted by Ben Zobrist’s first two homers in a Royals uniform. Eric Hosmer had a big afternoon as well for Kansas City, driving in three runs. His eighth-inning RBI single put the Royals up for good. For Toronto, Josh Donaldson launched a two-run shot, his 26th of the season. Jose Bautista also connected twice, including a momentous eighth-inning blast that ended Wade Davis’ near two-year run without allowing a homer.
As for the specifics of Davis’ streak, he had not allowed a home run in 45 appearances this season. He also didn’t allow a home run in 71 regular season appearances last year. You have to go back until Aug. 24, 2013 to find the last one, and that came in Davis’ final appearance as a starting pitcher. Since then, he’s gone 123 relief appearances and 125 2/3 innings without a home run allowed, which was far and away the longest current streak in MLB.
In fact, the longest streak now belongs to Tigers reliever Blaine Hardy, who is currently sitting on 77 innings. We’ll have to check in with him again next June.
Davis also pitched 14 1/3 innings last postseason without allowing a homer. Those innings don’t count toward the streak, but they may be the most impressive given the pressure-packed circumstances.
As for the modern MLB record, Davis actually didn’t even make it halfway there. Greg Minton of the San Francisco Giants pitched 269 1/3 consecutive innings over 178 relief appearances without allowing a home run from June 1, 1979 through May 1, 1982.
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Of all the record streaks that exist in baseball, that may rank among the toughest to top. Wade Davis gave it a great try, but the great Jose Bautista was just a little better on Saturday.
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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Townie813
