Fastball

Minnesota Twins' Pitcher Joins Rare and Historic Group with Big Win on Saturday

Saturday was certainly the night of Bailey Ober, as the righty put up historic numbers in a win over the Oakland Athletics.

Brady Farkas

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober (17) delivers a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on June 22.
Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Bailey Ober (17) delivers a pitch against the Oakland Athletics during the first inning at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum on June 22. / D. Ross Cameron-USA TODAY Sports

The Minnesota Twins pounded the Oakland Athletics on Saturday afternoon in Oakland by a score of 10-2. With the win, the Twins are 42-35 on the year while the A's dropped to 29-50.

While the offense was great for Minnesota, the real story was the historic pitching performance of right-hander Bailey Ober.

Ober threw a complete game in the win, striking out 10 and walking none. He allowed just two earned runs in moving to 7-4 on the year. He lowered his ERA to 4.50.

Per @StatsCentre on social media:

Fewest pitches thrown in a 10+ strikeout complete game:
86- Reggie Cleveland (STL, July 21, 1971 vs PHI)
88- David Cone (NYY, July 18, 1999 vs MON)
89- Jim Bunning (PHI, June 21, 1964 vs NYM)
89- @Twins Bailey Ober (Saturday vs the A's)
90- Dave Stieb (TOR, August 4, 1989 vs NYY)

Ober was able to get ahead in counts, control the zone and then put hitters away. Four different A's hitters struck out multiple times in the contest.

The 28-year-old Ober is in his fourth career big league season. Lifetime, he's 19-16 with a 3.86 ERA. He has now struck out 83 batters in 82.0 innings this year. His contributions are even more valuable given that the Twins lost ace Sonny Gray in free agency over the offseason. Furthermore, Anthony DeSclafani underwent elbow surgery before the season started.

The Twins will take on the A's again on Sunday afternoon with first pitch coming at 4:07 p.m. ET. Pablo Lopez (MIN) is set to face off against lefty Hogan Harris.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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