Paul Maholm’s shutout last night was quite impressive, allowing only three hits, no walks, and a reached on error. When you only allow four baserunners, two of which are eliminated on double plays, runs are tough to come by. Here are all the Braves shutouts since 1989 where the pitcher allowed four or fewer baserunners:
Amazingly, Jurrjens managed to only allow two baserunners in a game last year, a far cry from this year’s debacle. The Big Three engulf this list, with Glavine and Maddux each pitching six such games and Smoltz with three. Going further back, Warren Spahn had 13 great shutouts and Phil Niekro had nine. While not all of these pitchers turned out to be great Braves (Mike Bielecki and Horacio Ramirez, anyone?), this is very nice company for Maholm to keep.
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