The date was May 17th. Shelby Miller of the Atlanta Braves was starting in Miami against the Marlins. Miller made it into the ninth inning without allowing a hit. He retired Adeiny Hechavarria and Jhonatan Solano to start the frame. Miller was one out away from a no-hitter…and Justin Bour ruined everything by bouncing one up the middle. After a Dee Gordon single, Miller retired Martin Prado to finish off his shutout. The victory improved Miller to 5-1 on the season.
He hasn’t won a game since.
It’s been 21 starts and nearly four months since Miller’s gem at Marlins Park. He’s 0-13 in those 21 starts despite pitching to a 3.51 ERA. Some of the losses were clearly on Miller, like when he allowed seven runs (six earned) in just 4 1/3 innings last week in Washington. But most of the losses and no-decisions aren’t his fault. 12 of those 21 starts have been of the quality variety. None have resulted in wins, and five were losses pinned to Miller’s resume. The Braves have given Miller exactly 21 runs of those support in those 21 games – never more than three runs per game. In fact, the Braves put a goose egg on the board in 11 of Miller’s starts since his last win.
And it’s not as if wins are getting vultured from Miller either – the Braves have won a total of three games Miller has started in his last 21. Two were extra inning walk offs.
Obviously, this isn’t a good thing for Miller or the Braves. It has to be more than a little bit demoralizing – pitch your ass off, and you have nothing to show for it? Cool. Needless to say, we thought it would be fun to take a look at all the stuff that *has* happened in Major League Baseball since Miller had another notch placed in his win column.
Warning: Braves fans might lost their minds by the time this blog post is completed.
-Six different pitchers have thrown a no-hitter.
-The Braves have gone 38-66, the worst mark in the majors.
-They’ve also gone from 3.5 games behind the first place Mets to 23.5 back.
-15 different Braves pitchers have won games. Five of those 15 are no longer with the organization, and three more are on the DL.
-Jason Heyward, traded by the Braves to the Cardinals for Miller this winter, has hit .304/.367/.465 with eight homers and 17 steals.
-Six Braves not named “Shelby Miller” have notched quality starts. The Braves are 21-13 in those 34 starts.
-The Braves have scored at least four runs in a game 40 times. Of course, Miller was only one the mound for two of those games, and left the mound before they got to the four run mark.
-25 pitchers have allowed at least five runs in a start and gotten a win, including AJ Burnett twice, Collin McHugh twice, and Colby Lewis thrice.
Poor Shelby just can’t get a break.
