Bailey Ober struck out 10 batters and allowed only four hits in his first-ever complete game, leading the Minnesota Twins to a 10-2 victory over the Oakland Athletics on Saturday.
Ober, who now holds a 7-4 record, threw just 89 pitches to complete the game, tying his career high in strikeouts and issuing no walks. This marked the 13th complete game in the majors this season.
It was the fewest pitches thrown in a complete game by a Twins pitcher since Carlos Silva in 2005. This achievement was only the fifth time Minnesota has had a complete game with fewer than 90 pitches since pitch counts began being tracked in 1988.
Despite giving up solo home runs to JJ Bleday and Tyler Soderstrom in the first two innings, Ober kept control by throwing just 19 balls throughout the game. Oakland’s manager Mark Kotsay compared Ober’s performance to that of Greg Maddux, while Twins manager Rocco Baldelli praised his effectiveness.
Baldelli mentioned, “In the eighth inning, I looked up and saw that Ober had thrown fewer than 20 balls. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that before, and I’ve seen some exceptional pitching performances. He was effective in every aspect.”
Ober utilized early swings from Oakland hitters and effectively used his offspeed pitches, capitalizing on the aggressiveness he observed from them in their previous encounter last week.
Reflecting on his achievement, Ober shared, “Pitching a complete game has been a personal goal. It’s my first since my college days at Charleston. As a starter, every game, you aim to go the distance.”
After the seventh inning, Ober told pitching coach Pete Maki, “I’m finishing this thing.” He maintained his energy levels and struck out the side in the eighth inning and the leadoff hitter in the ninth to secure the win for the Twins.
