For a franchise that has never had a perfect game, Shelby Miller's start Friday was about as close as they have ever come. And at least by one metric, his one-hit complete game Friday was the best outing in Cardinals history.
Miller's 98 game score, a stat sabermetrician Bill James came up with to quantify pitcher performance in a given outing, is the highest in franchise history in a nine-inning game according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Manager Mike Matheny said he received a number of phone calls about Miller's start, praising his 22-year-old's masterpiece.
"That was something many of us may never see. Very, very impressive," Matheny said. "The more you think about it the more you respect what he pulled off. That was almost like a no-hitter."
Miller struck out 13 batters and walked none, while retiring 27 straight batters after allowing a leadoff single.