I was waxing ecstatic about Roy Halladay a while back - it's just something that happens when you follow this team - and was sufficiently inspired to build a database with every one of his ML starts, just to know how his latest gem compared with the rest.
But that wasn't enough. I just had to find out where Doc's best stood on the list of all-time Blue Jays starts. Which, I realized would require a bigger boat.
Here it is.
It turns out that Blue Jays starters have tossed games that come in at 90 or better on the Game Score measure 25 times. As you might expect, the three men who've done it most often are three best long-term Blue Jays starters in franchise history. Dave Stieb - naturally - threw more 90+ games than anyone. Stieb threw five of them. His two best games each get a Game Score of 92: the no-hitter in September 1990 is matched by an extra-inning effort against the Angels in September 1982 in which he didn't even get a decision. Roy Halladay has cleared the 90 mark four times, the best being his two-hitter against Minnesota in May 2005, which checked in 93. And while Jimmy Key was a very good pitcher, he's not remembered as particularly dominant. But his best games are pretty impressive - he has three 90+ games, the best of them being a memorable no-decision against Detroit in June 1985 - he pitched 10 scoreless innings, allowing just 2 hits: Game Score 92.
No one has ever cleared 100, but Roger Clemens came closest, with this dominating effort against in August 1998. It was the second of three consecutive shutouts, and in this one he held the Royals to three singles (two of the infield variety) - no one else reached base, and none of the three baserunners made it as far as second base. He struck out a team record 18 while walking no one. Game Score: 99. The Rocket's other 90+ game during his two year reign of terror as a Blue Jay checks in with the second highest Game Score in team history: this was a two-hit shutout of the Rangers in September 1997. Clemens struck out only 14 this time and again didn't walk anyone. Game Score: 97.
Jim Clancy is the other Blue Jay who has cleared 90 twice - like Stieb and Key, one of those games is no-decision in June 1982 in which he pitched into extra innings (Game Score:92) - the other was a two-hit shutout of the Angels in May 1987. No, his near perfect game against the Twins in September 1982 (a one-hit shutout) doesn't make the list - he only struck out two Twins, and the Game Score was "only" 86..
The other nine Blue Jays starters to crack 90 on the Game Score scale are (in chronological order): Jesse Jefferson, Jim Gott, Luis Leal, Todd Stottlemyre, Pat Hentgen, Esteban Loaiza, Ted Lilly, Dave Bush, and Dustin McGowan. The games by Hentgen (the famous duel with Kevin Appier) and Jefferson (an 11 inning shutout) are of special notice, as they hit 95 on the Game Score scale, highest by any Blue Jay until Clemens came along.
Now here, just for the hell of it, are all the Jays starters ranked by Average Game Score
ST W L AVG/GS
Clemens 67 41 13 66.0
Cone 24 13 9 59.3
Candiotti 19 6 7 56.6
Halladay 241 119 59 54.9
Stieb 408 174 134 54.7
Castillo,F 24 10 5 54.0
Key 250 111 76 53.9
Marcum 54 19 12 53.6
Burnett 66 30 23 53.5
Alexander 103 45 26 53.4
Guzman 195 76 62 52.7
Underwood 62 15 29 51.4
Todd 26 7 10 50.9
Wells 138 67 42 50.5
Clancy 345 128 140 50.4
Bush 40 10 15 50.3
Williams,W 76 24 28 50.3
Hentgen 238 102 83 50.1
Musselman,J 19 8 6 50.1
Leiter 61 23 23 50.0
Lilly 89 37 34 50.0
McGowan 56 19 22 49.6
Escobar 101 43 38 49.4
Leal 151 48 54 49.2
Chacin 58 25 15 48.9
Stottlemyre 175 64 68 48.9
Flanagan 76 26 27 48.7
Litsch 38 15 15 48.5
Cerutti 108 40 33 48.3
Gott 65 19 28 48.0
Morris 61 28 18 47.8
Stewart 48 19 16 47.6
Johnson 29 10 7 47.4
Jefferson 91 21 50 47.3
Lemanczyk 82 27 45 47.0
Michalak 18 6 7 46.6
Carpenter 135 46 50 46.5
Garvin 65 14 31 46.5
Person 22 5 10 46.5
Batista 31 10 12 46.4
Walker 31 10 8 46.0
Towers 89 33 40 46.0
Downs 18 5 4 45.8
Loaiza 69 25 28 45.8
Janssen 17 6 10 45.7
Moore 37 9 17 45.5
Hendrickson 34 12 9 44.9
Lyon 21 6 8 44.9
Acker 17 4 5 44.9
Miller 33 11 9 44.5
Lidle 31 12 15 44.1
Bomback 19 4 10 43.8
Hanson 45 13 19 43.7
Parris 33 9 11 43.6
Hamilton 46 14 17 43.1
Mirabella 23 5 12 42.2
Quantrill 20 4 10 40.9
Huffman 31 6 18 40.2
Byrd 17 2 13 37.2
ST W L IP H R ER BB SO HR ERA AVG/GS 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 -0
Stieb 408 174 134 2772.3 2480 1178 1066 987 1620 222 3.46 54.7 5 27 57 89 74 68 48 33 7 0 0
Clancy 345 128 140 2182.7 2172 1098 999 812 1234 216 4.12 50.4 2 11 36 67 63 72 43 44 7 0 0
Key 250 111 76 1627.0 1552 672 613 370 896 157 3.39 53.9 3 9 30 62 54 42 22 22 5 1 0
Halladay 241 119 59 1651.3 1604 710 644 371 1176 137 3.51 54.9 4 14 37 46 55 39 22 14 5 4 1
Hentgen 238 102 83 1581.7 1628 821 749 565 986 200 4.26 50.1 1 9 20 54 32 54 44 12 9 3 0
Guzman 195 76 62 1215.7 1099 612 550 546 1030 115 4.07 52.7 0 7 35 37 34 38 20 14 7 3 0
Stottlemyre 175 64 68 1083.3 1130 571 531 383 633 115 4.41 48.9 1 2 13 32 40 32 35 15 4 1 0
Leal 151 48 54 910.7 939 465 425 305 467 100 4.20 49.2 1 4 16 20 31 32 29 14 3 1 0
Wells 138 67 42 890.3 938 465 425 207 568 101 4.30 50.5 0 7 17 27 29 17 18 15 6 1 1
Carpenter 135 46 50 823.3 932 500 449 314 570 107 4.91 46.5 0 7 7 20 22 35 17 18 6 3 0
Cerutti 108 40 33 624.0 664 320 283 197 268 95 4.08 48.3 0 2 5 12 34 26 19 9 0 1 0
Alexander 103 45 26 738.3 742 314 296 170 390 81 3.61 53.4 0 4 13 22 26 16 16 4 2 0 0
Escobar 101 43 38 620.7 624 342 314 279 491 56 4.55 49.4 0 4 10 15 25 16 17 8 6 0 0
Jefferson 91 21 50 579.7 608 328 297 232 271 70 4.61 47.3 1 4 6 11 21 10 22 13 3 0 0
Towers 89 33 40 517.3 625 306 276 94 286 79 4.80 46.0 0 1 9 14 15 17 12 14 7 0 0
Lilly 89 37 34 505.3 485 269 254 228 424 77 4.52 50.0 1 1 6 17 21 18 16 7 2 0 0
Lemanczyk 82 27 45 539.1 592 307 273 197 222 47 4.56 47.0 0 2 8 13 13 14 16 13 3 0 0
Williams,W 76 24 28 475.0 466 246 232 171 324 77 4.40 50.3 0 1 5 17 18 16 8 9 2 0 0
Flanagan 76 26 27 452.3 480 217 198 150 194 39 3.94 48.7 0 2 7 9 19 17 11 10 1 0 0
Loaiza 69 25 28 424.0 515 255 235 103 256 53 4.99 45.8 1 1 5 8 17 11 9 9 7 1 0
Clemens 67 41 13 498.7 373 143 129 156 563 20 2.33 66.0 2 10 22 14 7 4 7 0 1 0 0
Burnett 66 30 23 427.3 395 214 197 161 418 48 4.15 53.5 0 3 10 18 9 12 5 7 2 0 0
Garvin 65 14 31 418.7 466 240 224 153 217 58 4.82 46.5 0 0 4 13 9 18 8 12 1 0 0
Gott 65 19 28 369.3 380 210 190 155 240 32 4.63 48.0 1 1 4 13 11 11 13 9 2 0 0
Underwood 62 15 29 422.0 412 214 179 178 264 46 3.82 51.4 0 1 8 14 7 16 8 8 0 0 0
Morris 61 28 18 393.3 411 230 213 145 235 36 4.87 47.8 0 2 6 11 11 12 8 4 6 1 0
Leiter 61 23 23 365.3 345 187 172 213 296 27 4.24 50.0 0 2 8 6 13 16 10 5 1 0 0
Chacin 58 25 15 331.7 340 165 154 118 185 45 4.18 48.9 0 0 3 11 16 13 9 6 0 0 0
McGowan 56 19 22 324.3 316 181 168 124 259 30 4.66 49.6 1 1 6 7 11 16 8 3 1 2 0
Marcum 54 19 12 310.0 277 132 127 98 240 47 3.69 53.6 0 3 7 12 7 15 5 2 3 0 0
Stewart 48 19 16 295.3 297 175 167 134 207 49 5.09 47.6 0 0 4 12 8 8 9 4 1 1 1
Hamilton 46 14 17 250.0 311 170 160 86 151 33 5.76 43.1 0 0 0 9 11 8 6 5 6 1 0
Hanson 45 13 19 271.7 320 183 169 133 189 38 5.60 43.7 0 0 3 5 6 16 6 6 2 1 0
Bush 40 10 15 231.7 235 118 106 53 137 31 4.12 50.3 1 1 2 11 6 9 6 1 3 0 0
Litsch 38 15 15 218.3 238 113 96 53 104 29 3.96 48.5 0 0 3 8 7 7 8 4 1 0 0
Moore 37 9 17 213.3 226 135 119 92 93 22 5.02 45.5 0 0 3 4 9 8 4 8 1 0 0
Hendrickson 34 12 9 184.3 222 115 100 45 89 25 4.88 44.9 0 0 1 6 7 8 4 5 2 1 0
Parris 33 9 11 181.0 222 110 104 76 97 31 5.17 43.6 0 0 2 3 7 9 4 6 1 1 0
Miller 33 11 9 168.3 176 108 104 98 109 23 5.56 44.5 0 1 1 6 6 6 3 9 1 0 0
Lidle 31 12 15 192.7 216 133 123 60 112 24 5.75 44.1 0 1 1 4 6 8 3 4 4 0 0
Batista 31 10 12 190.0 197 111 103 92 97 20 4.88 46.4 0 1 1 7 7 5 5 1 4 0 0
Huffman 31 6 18 173.0 220 130 111 68 56 25 5.77 40.2 0 1 0 4 4 6 8 4 4 0 0
Walker 31 10 8 169.0 182 100 96 63 98 26 5.11 46.0 0 0 2 4 7 10 4 1 2 1 0
Johnson 29 10 7 152.7 167 81 74 39 65 13 4.36 47.4 0 0 2 6 7 4 5 5 0 0 0
Todd 26 7 10 172.0 167 85 75 63 80 24 3.92 50.9 0 0 2 6 9 3 4 2 0 0 0
Cone 24 13 9 181.3 149 69 64 70 147 15 3.18 59.3 0 3 6 6 2 3 3 1 0 0 0
Castillo, F 24 10 5 137.0 112 58 55 56 104 18 3.61 54.0 0 0 4 4 8 4 2 2 0 0 0
Mirabella 23 5 12 112.0 140 74 64 57 40 11 5.14 42.2 0 0 2 2 3 2 8 6 0 0 0
Person 22 5 10 127.3 123 85 79 58 99 19 5.58 46.5 0 0 3 3 3 7 2 3 0 1 0
Lyon 21 6 8 116.3 131 73 70 31 61 20 5.42 44.9 0 0 1 5 2 3 7 1 2 0 0
Quantrill 20 4 10 101.7 137 77 71 33 70 24 6.29 40.9 0 0 0 1 5 3 7 4 0 0 0
Candiotti 19 6 7 129.7 114 47 43 45 81 6 2.98 56.6 0 2 4 4 2 4 1 1 1 0 0
Bomback 19 4 10 109.0 128 67 62 45 44 13 5.12 43.8 0 0 0 2 5 5 5 1 1 0 0
Musselman, J 19 8 6 96.7 92 45 39 39 42 4 3.63 50.1 0 0 2 6 3 1 3 4 0 0 0
Michalak 18 6 7 99.7 108 55 48 40 50 12 4.33 46.6 0 0 1 5 1 5 3 2 1 0 0
Downs 18 5 4 84.3 100 54 49 31 70 10 5.23 45.8 0 0 1 2 5 4 4 1 1 0 0
Janssen 17 6 10 91.3 98 57 53 21 42 12 5.22 45.7 0 1 1 2 3 4 2 3 0 1 0
Acker 17 4 5 88.3 82 61 57 40 44 13 5.81 44.9 0 0 1 3 4 3 1 5 0 0 0
Byrd 17 2 13 82.3 93 65 57 63 36 5 6.23 37.2 0 0 0 0 3 6 4 3 1 0 0
Wills 14 2 4 68.7 76 45 40 36 33 8 5.24 44.4 0 0 1 1 0 0 2 1 1 0 0
Prokopec 12 2 7 63.0 77 44 41 22 37 13 5.86 43.0 0 0 0 0 6 1 3 1 1 0 0
Flener 12 2 2 62.0 67 39 37 29 41 9 5.37 45.8 0 0 0 4 2 2 1 2 1 0 0
Singer 12 2 8 57.3 67 50 41 37 33 5 6.44 39.7 0 0 0 0 3 3 4 2 0 0 0
Nunez 12 2 1 52.7 52 29 28 25 54 4 4.78 48.4 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0
Kucek 12 2 6 48.0 59 44 39 26 22 7 7.31 39.3 0 0 0 1 2 4 2 2 1 0 0
Berenguer 11 1 9 66.0 58 40 33 34 28 7 4.50 48.5 0 0 0 2 5 1 1 2 0 0 0
Trachsel 11 2 5 63.0 72 40 37 25 32 10 5.29 44.5 0 0 0 1 3 4 2 1 0 0 0
Darwin 11 1 8 61.7 83 53 51 21 34 13 7.44 37.5 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 3 0 1 0
Janzen 11 2 6 61.0 81 59 56 35 36 16 8.26 33.8 0 0 0 0 3 1 2 3 2 0 0
Davis, D 11 4 6 53.7 68 31 28 26 24 5 4.70 43.4 0 0 0 0 5 3 2 0 1 0 0
Lemongello 10 1 7 65.0 77 53 49 26 34 11 6.78 39.1 0 0 1 1 0 1 4 3 0 0 0
Hurtado 10 4 2 65.0 69 45 43 36 25 10 5.95 42.2 0 0 0 1 3 2 2 1 1 0 0
Ohka 10 2 5 56.0 68 39 36 22 21 10 5.79 41.1 0 0 0 1 1 3 3 2 0 0 0
McLaughlin 10 2 3 55.7 72 36 32 15 25 8 5.17 42.5 0 0 1 0 2 2 3 2 0 0 0
Andujar 10 1 7 48.3 74 48 39 16 28 11 7.26 35.7 0 0 0 0 1 4 2 2 1 0 0
Menhart 9 0 3 57.0 50 36 31 26 36 6 4.89 48.8 0 0 1 0 3 3 2 0 0 0 0
Edge 9 3 4 51.7 60 32 30 24 19 6 5.23 43.3 0 0 0 2 0 3 2 2 0 0 0
Kirkwood 9 3 4 50.7 56 27 24 21 20 5 4.26 47.2 0 0 1 2 1 2 2 1 0 0 0
Filer 9 7 0 44.7 34 18 18 16 22 6 3.63 52.4 0 0 2 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 0
Ware 9 2 5 40.3 48 42 40 37 25 6 8.93 35.4 0 0 0 3 1 0 1 0 3 1 0
Vuckovich 8 2 4 61.3 69 32 27 22 50 6 3.96 51.3 0 1 0 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 0
Sturtze 8 3 4 44.0 54 38 30 20 25 9 6.14 39.1 0 0 0 0 3 0 2 2 1 0 0
Taubenheim 8 0 5 35.7 39 25 22 19 26 5 5.55 44.3 0 0 0 1 2 2 2 1 0 0 0
Eichhorn 7 0 3 38.0 40 28 23 14 16 4 5.45 43.4 0 0 0 1 1 1 4 0 0 0 0
Carrara 7 1 4 38.0 51 40 33 21 22 9 7.82 34.1 0 0 0 0 2 1 2 0 1 1 0
Boucher 7 0 3 35.3 39 20 18 16 16 6 4.58 45.4 0 0 0 1 2 2 1 1 0 0 0
Lamp 7 3 3 32.7 35 23 18 9 18 4 4.96 45.0 0 0 0 0 3 2 2 0 0 0 0
Viola 6 1 3 30.3 43 28 26 21 18 6 7.71 34.0 0 0 0 1 0 1 2 1 0 1 0
Blair 6 0 3 30.0 37 20 20 14 21 2 6.00 42.2 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 1 1 0 0
Smith, M 6 0 3 23.3 31 24 22 17 8 2 8.49 34.5 0 0 0 0 0 1 4 1 0 0 0
Hargan 5 0 3 27.0 35 17 17 13 11 2 5.67 42.2 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0
Munro 5 0 2 23.0 32 24 21 15 12 4 8.22 34.4 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 1 0 0
Davis, S 5 1 1 19.0 19 14 10 12 17 4 4.74 46.0 0 0 0 0 1 3 1 0 0 0 0
Cummings 4 1 0 22.0 28 9 7 10 8 2 2.86 46.5 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0 0 0 0
Darr 4 1 2 19.3 21 11 10 9 21 3 4.66 49.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0
Brow 4 1 1 18.7 19 15 12 12 6 3 5.79 41.5 0 0 0 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0
Cornett 4 1 3 17.0 22 17 15 9 14 1 7.94 39.5 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 0
Linton 4 1 3 17.0 20 20 20 13 8 4 10.59 33.5 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0
Musselman, R 4 0 0 15.7 15 7 5 7 7 0 2.87 48.8 0 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
Morgan 4 0 2 12.7 20 12 12 3 8 2 8.53 40.3 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2 0 0 0
Thurman 4 1 2 12.0 22 15 15 9 9 4 11.25 34.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 1 0 0
Gozzo 3 3 0 20.0 18 4 3 5 8 0 1.35 59.7 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Daal 3 1 1 18.0 18 6 5 5 20 2 2.50 57.7 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Timlin 3 1 1 14.7 14 3 3 7 10 0 1.84 54.3 0 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
Eyre 3 1 2 14.3 18 16 15 5 13 3 9.42 37.7 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0
Douglass 3 0 2 13.0 18 15 15 8 14 4 10.38 34.3 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 0
Clark, B 3 0 1 12.7 16 10 10 4 10 1 7.11 43.3 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Niekro 3 0 2 12.0 15 11 11 7 7 4 8.25 38.7 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 0 0
Spoljaric 3 0 3 12.0 18 20 18 13 8 3 13.50 23.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0
Sanchez 3 0 1 11.0 12 9 9 12 4 1 7.36 39.7 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0
Gaudin 3 1 2 10.3 24 14 14 4 11 4 12.19 28.7 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 0
Williams,M 3 1 1 6.0 12 12 12 6 3 5 18.00 31.7 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 0 0
Black 2 1 1 13.7 9 6 6 2 3 1 3.95 55.0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Parrish 2 1 0 13.0 10 4 4 4 7 0 2.77 58.0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Glynn 2 1 0 10.0 9 5 5 7 7 2 4.50 48.0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Painter 2 1 0 9.0 10 5 5 2 11 1 5.00 49.0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Jackson 2 0 1 8.7 13 8 8 2 2 1 8.31 34.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Coco 2 0 0 8.3 10 7 7 6 4 1 7.56 37.5 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Cooper 2 0 1 8.3 14 13 13 4 3 5 14.04 23.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0
Candelaria 2 0 2 7.7 11 6 6 5 4 2 7.04 38.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0
Purcey 2 0 1 7.3 7 9 9 11 3 2 11.05 32.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
Geisel 2 0 1 7.0 8 8 7 6 4 2 9.00 36.5 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0
Freisleben 2 0 1 7.0 12 8 8 2 2 3 10.29 32.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Kershner 2 0 1 6.7 11 8 7 3 2 1 9.45 33.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0
Zambrano 2 0 1 5.3 12 10 10 5 1 5 16.88 24.0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Andrews 2 0 1 5.0 18 11 11 3 2 3 19.80 17.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Wasdin 2 0 1 3.7 14 11 11 3 4 2 27.00 20.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0
Ward 2 0 1 2.0 7 9 8 4 1 0 36.00 27.5 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0
Murphy 1 1 0 6.0 6 1 1 3 4 0 1.50 57.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Banks 1 0 0 5.3 9 5 5 0 1 1 8.44 31.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Rosario 1 0 1 3.0 5 3 3 2 2 0 9.00 37.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Fraser 1 0 1 3.0 7 6 6 3 1 1 18.00 19.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0
Tallet 1 0 0 2.3 0 1 0 4 2 0 0.00 53.0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
Barlow 1 0 0 1.3 5 3 3 1 1 1 20.25 32.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
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