We’ve all heard it said before: “You never know when you’re going to see something at the ballpark that you’ve never seen before.”Friday night was without a doubt one of those nights.
Philadelphia Phillies fans can’t help but roll their eyes every time someone says “47-year-old Jamie Moyer,” or, “The Ageless Wonder Jamie Moyer,” but on Friday everyone was focused on one thing: Jamie Moyer is now the oldest pitcher to have pitched a complete game shutout, and no matter how you slice it, that’s just plain incredible.
Jamie Moyer (W, 4-2, 4.38 ERA) last tossed a shut out on June 2, 2006 for the Seattle Mariners against the Kansas City Royals, earning his third win of the season. Friday’s win over the struggling Atlanta Braves (12-17) who have lost 12 of their last 16 games, was Moyer’s 10th career shutout in his 24th season on the books. Let’s take a look back:
What’s most remarkable is how at 47-years-old, Jamie Moyer practically matched himself pitch for pitch with the first shutout he threw almost twenty-four years ago. His pitch speed ranged from 70-83 MPH, but kept most of his stuff in the area of 81-82 MPH. He even got out of the second inning with just three pitches: a 75 MPH changeup, an 81 MPH cutter, and an 80 MPH sinker.
But Jamie’s pitching wasn’t the only thing that stood out, though. When Moyer came to the plate to lead off the bottom of the 8th, the crowd burst into chants of “Jamie! Jamie! Jamie!” and remained on their feet throughout his at-bat. Except this wasn’t just any old plate appearance. Jamie worked a big-league at-bat, forcing Jesse Chavez to throw him 11 pitches, and his teammates couldn’t help but sit in the dugout and giggle at the five – FIVE – balls he fouled off before eventually flying out to Matt Diaz in foul territory. Moyer came back out to finish off the Braves in the 9th to more chants of his name echoing throughout Citizens Bank Park and wrapped up what is going to be remembered most likely as the most magical start of his career.
The Phillies couldn’t have won the game without scoring a few runs, though. The core, Polanco, Utley, Howard, Werth and Ibanez, all finished the night with two hits each. Jayson Werth continued to not-so-silently petition for a contract with his second 3-run home run in as many days to put the Fightins up 3-0 in the third inning. Although that would be all the Phillies needed to sew up the game, the lineup came out swinging in the 5th just for good measure. With two outs, Polanco, Utley, and Howard looked on from their respective bases as Rauuuuuulll ripped a single to left field driving in two runs. The Braves took a chance intentionally walking Chooch to load the bases, and boy did it backfire. The next batter, Wilson Valdez, wasted no time shooting a single out to center field to bring home two more runs. Shane Victorino is the only man in the lineup to have gone hitless on Friday, but what he didn’t bring to the plate, he made up for in solid center field defense. The Phillies went on to win 7-0, improving their record to 18-11 and they remain 2 games ahead of the Mets going into the weekend.
Joe Blanton (0-1, 5.40 ERA) takes the mound against Kris Medlen (1-1, 2.55 ERA) tomorrow at 3:10 PM EDT with the national broadcast on FOX. Pin It Now!
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