Washington Nationals: How did the 2017 pitching trio rank among all-time pitching staffs?

2005 Houston Astros

One of the pitching staffs that has truly flown under the radar when considering all-time great pitching staffs is the Astros staff of 2005 that was swept by the White Sox in the World Series that season.

The pitching staff had a clear front three in Roy Oswalt, Andy Pettitte, and Roger Clemens, though Brandon Backe made two incredible starts out of his three playoff starts in the 2005 season. In those two starts (one in the NLCS and one in the World Series), Backe went 12 2/3 total innings, allowing just 1 run, striking out 14 hitters on the biggest stage of his young career.

Roger Clemens may have been 42 years old, but his 2005 season was one of his absolute best of his career, as he went 13-8 over 32 starts, throwing 211 1/3 innings, with a 1.87 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and a 62/185 BB/K ratio.

He threw the least of the three at the top of the rotation however, as Roy Oswalt took the lead in the workhorse category for the Astros that season, making 35 starts, going 20-12 with 4 complete games over 241 2/3 innings, with a 2.94 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and a 48/184 BB/K ratio.

Clemens convinced his friend and former teammate Andy Pettitte to join him in Houston, and in 2005, Pettitte had one of his best seasons of his career for the Astros. He made 33 starts, throwing 222 1/3 innings, with a 17-9 record, 2.39 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, and 41/171 BB/K ratio.

The Astros starting staff in 2005 threw 1,029 innings, putting up a 3.46 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 6.8 K/9, and a 2.63 K/BB. Those first three in the rotation threw 675 1/3 of those innings, with a 2.43 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 7.2 K/9, and 3.58 K/9 ratio. Clemens, Oswalt, and Pettitte combined for 20.5 bWAR on the season.

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