Dave Stieb retires the first 26 batters he faces before giving up two hits in a 2 – 1 win over the Yankees.

 Dave Stieb, baseball’s heartbreak hurler, is getting closer to perfection but no closer to that elusive no-hitter. The 32-year-old right-hander, who lost consecutive no-hit bids with two outs in the ninth inning last September, came within one out of a perfect game Friday night before settling for a two-hit 2-1 victory for the Toronto Blue Jays over the New York Yankees. Stieb joined five other pitchers who lost no-hit bids in the ninth inning this season but only Cincinnati’s Tom Browning had a perfect game going when Philadelphia’s Dickie Thon doubled to lead off the ninth inning on July 4. And none of them Brown, Nolan Ryan of Texas, Kirk McCaskill of California, John Farrell of Cleveland and Mark Langston of Seattle came within one out of a no-hitter.

Ironically, the games by Ryan, McCaskill, and Langston were against Toronto. “It’s disappointing, but I’ve been through it before, Stieb said. “After they got the hit I had to bear down, and they got another hit and I had to bear down again, and then Kelly Gruber made a great play. We won the game 2-1 and that’s what matters. Stieb’s near-gem came in the 28th game since the opening of the Blue Jay’s new SkyDome and was witnessed by a sellout crowd of 48,789, the largest home crowd in Toronto history. After easily retiring the first 26 batters and striking out 11, including pinch hitters Hal Morris and Ken Phelps to start the ninth, Stieb fell behind 2-0 on Roberto Kelly, who lashed the next pitch into left field for a double.

The Blue Jays have never had a no-hitter in their 13-year history. “I got behind and made a good 2-0 pitch, but he got around on it, Stieb said. Steve Sax singled Kelly home on the next pitch, but third baseman Gruber made a diving stop of Luis Polonias smashing the Blue Jays only difficult fielding chance of the game and forced Sax at second. “Whenever you take it to the ninth you have to be aware of it, but I try not to think about it, Stieb said. I was a little less nervous this time because of the other times. Stieb came into the game with a 4.11 ERA but a 10-6 record. His only other complete game this season was a one-hitter against the Yankees on April 10. Jamie Quirk, no longer in the majors, singled with one out in the fifth inning. Over the first 8 2-3 innings, the Yankees hit several balls hard but all went directly at Toronto fielders. Sax and Don Mattingly lined out to center fielder Lloyd Moseby in the first inning, Polonia lined sharply to shortstop Tony Fernandez in the fourth and Sax lined to right fielder Mookie Wilson in the seventh. Mattingly hit a semi-line drive to end the seventh which left fielder George Bell caught with one hand while holding his cap, which had blown off his head, in the other. I had pretty good control, good rhythm, and good stuff, Stieb said. Stieb lost his other no-hit bids last Sept. 24 against Cleveland and Sept. 30 against Baltimore. Both near-misses were spoiled on two-out singles on 2-2 pitches by Cleveland’s Julio Franco and Baltimore’s Jim Traber. Stieb outdueled New York rookie Clay Parker, 3-2, who allowed five hits and both Toronto runs in six innings. The Blue Jays scored in the second on singles by Bell and Fred McGriff and Ernie Whitt’s infield out. They got their second run in the sixth on Nelson Liriano’s single, Fernandez’s infield out, and Wilson’s double. The crowd gave Stieb a standing ovation as he took the mound for the ninth inning. The first batter was Morris, a rookie, batting for Randy Velarde. With the crowd cheering on every pitch, Morris took the first pitch for a strike. He took a ball, swung and missed for strike two, then fouled off a pitch before striking out on a high fastball. – Phelps batted for Alvaro Espinoza and took a strike, swung and missed, took a ball and then went down swinging. With the crowd getting louder and louder, Kelly took a high breaking ball, a breaking ball inside, and then doubled. Stieb s stared at the ground as the crowd gave him another huge ovation. The 6-foot-l, 195-pound Stieb, a native of Santa Ana, Calif., and a 10-year major-league veteran, was the Blue Jays fifth-round selection in the June 1978 amateur draft. He joined the major-league club on June 27, 1979. He is the all-time Toronto leader in innings pitched, strikeouts, complete games, shutouts (27), and victories (142). Asked what he will be thinking if he ever again flirts with a no-hitter, Stieb replied, It’ll be in the back of my mind way back.

Vintage Baseball HOT ON EBAY
Card Collections ENDING SOON ON EBAY
MOST WANTED ROOKIE CARDS
VINTAGE SPORTS TICKETS
Baseball Hall of Famers

@ET-DC@eyJkeW5hbWljIjp0cnVlLCJjb250ZW50IjoicG9zdF90YWdzIiwic2V0dGluZ3MiOnsiYmVmb3JlIjoiTGVhcm4gTW9yZSBhYm91dCB0aGUgdGVhbXMsIHBsYXllcnMsIGJhbGwgcGFya3MgYW5kIGV2ZW50cyB0aGF0IGhhcHBlbmVkIG9uIHRoaXMgZGF0ZSBpbiBoaXN0b3J5IC0gLSAtIC0gLSAtIC0gIiwiYWZ0ZXIiOiIiLCJsaW5rX3RvX3Rlcm1fcGFnZSI6Im9uIiwic2VwYXJhdG9yIjoiIHwgIiwiY2F0ZWdvcnlfdHlwZSI6InBvc3RfdGFnIn19@

Other Resources & Links

Baseball-Reference Box Score