The Minnesota Twins were leading 5-4 in the top of the eighth and threatening to take the lead even further with a runner on third and two outs. After allowing consecutive hits from Lukas Erceg, Athletics manager Mark Kotsay made the decision to bring in Sean Newcomb in relief and made history.
With two outs, Sean Newcomb caught Austin Martin at first base after a short rundown play and recorded the out on a pickoff throw, but did not officially face a batter (he threw two pitches). According to Athletics Baseball Information Manager Mike Celleck, this is the first time in Athletics history that a pitcher has recorded a win without officially facing a batter. This marks the 27th time since 1901 that a pitcher has done this; the last time was in 2020, when Giants relief pitcher Tony Watson accomplished the feat.
Sean Newcomb became the first pitcher in Athletics history to win a game without facing a batter.
— Mike Selleck (@MikeSelleck) June 22, 2024
For comparison, perfect games have been pitched 24 times in MLB history, making it one of the rarest feats in baseball. Newcomb’s two-pitch game was less grueling but just as rare.
The Athletics won the game in part thanks to Newcomb’s interception, which Mark Kotsay said gave the Athletics momentum. In the top of the bottom of the eighth, after Tyler Soderstrom (2-for-2 with a career-high three RBI) was hit by Twins closer Joan Duran, Shea Langeliers hit the first pitch he saw, a split ball high inside the zone.
“I was just trying to narrow my zone as much as possible and throw pitches that I could swing at,” the Athletics catcher said after his latest heroic feat. [Duran]”We have to be aggressive early on. We can’t let them get two strikes.”
“He works really hard to keep the bat higher than the ball,” Mark Kotsay said of the catcher’s swing. [Darren Bush] And I watched it in slow motion in the dugout on my iPad, and it was a perfect swing.”
Coming into this game, five of the Athletics’ previous seven losses had come by one run and five of their previous eight losses had come in the team’s final at-bat. On Friday night, in front of 9,158 fans at the Coliseum, it was the Athletics’ turn to reverse that trend and get a little revenge after the Twins swept the Athletics in four games last weekend in Minnesota.
