World Series: Scherzer vs. Cole and the best matchups ever

Where the Game 1 collision of Washington and Houston aces ranks among the best  World Series pitching matchups in history

The buildup to Tuesday’s World Series game 1 pitching matchup between Houston’s Gerrit Cole and Washington’s Max Scherzer justifiably heralded it as one of the best duels in World Series history.

Cole entered the game on the heels of a 2019 season in which he established himself as among the game’s top pitchers. He went 20-5 with a league-leading 2.50 earned run average, which translates to a league-best 185 ERA+. ERA+ is a statistic that contextualizes a pitcher’s performance against the performances of his fellow pitchers on a scale where 100 equals the league average. In simple terms, that meant that Cole performed 85 percent more effectively than the average American League pitcher.

Scherzer’s numbers were nearly as good. Although compiling just an 11-7 record in 27 starts for the Nationals, he delivered a 2.92 earned run average and produced a 157 ERA+.

That made the combined ERA+ of Cole and Scherzer 342, among the highest combined totals of any two matchups in the 116-year history of the World Series.

It does not, however, crack the list of the 10 best matchups of all-time, falling just nine points short of that distinction.

That list of the 10 best matchups spans all of World Series history, beginning with the event’s earliest days and continuing right up through the 2018 Series. It contains many names casual fans will be familiar with, although they may also be struck by some of the names not on the list.

For example, although there is a Dodger left-hander on the list, it’s not Sandy Koufax. That’s because as dominant as Koufax was in his seven World Series starts, he was never pitted against a pitching opponent whose skills rivaled his own. The best Koufax vs. Somebody matchups occurred in 1963 (against New York’s Whitey Ford) and 1966 (against Baltimore’s Jim Palmer), each reaching only a combined ERA+ of 288.

Based on combined ERA+ of the starters, here are the 10 best pitching matchups in World Series history.

Roger Clemens vs. Jose Contreras,  351 ERA+

Roger Clemens had such a long and quality career that it’s difficult to argue he was at his peak with the 2005 National League champion Houston Astros. Nevertheless, the record shows that the 42-year-old Clemens went 13-8 with a league-leading 1.87 ERA over 211 innings, striking out 185 opponents in the process. It all added up to a league-leading 226 ERA+.

Contreras, a 33-year-old veteran of Cuban baseball in his third major league season, went 15-7 for the American League champion Chicago White Sox. A member of an under-appreciated rotation that also included Mark Buehrle, Jon Garland, and Freddy Garcia, he ran up a 125 ERA+ in his 32 starts and 205 innings.

The two were pitted against one another in the Opening Game of that season’s World Series…but not for long. When the Sox tied into Clemens for three runs on four hits in the first two innings, Astros manager Phil garner lifted his ace in favor of Wandy Rodriguez. The Astros rallied to tie the game in the third, only to see Rodriguez surrender the lead for good in the fourth.

Chicago won 5-3 and went on to sweep the Astros, in the process thwarting Garner’s hopes of saving Clemens for additional use later in the Series.

Chris Sale vs. Clayton Kershaw, Game 1, 2018, 351 ERA+

The ace of Boston’s American League champions, Sale was the League’s dominant pitcher in 2018. He was 12-4 in 27 starts encompassing 158 innings, all of that adding up to an All-Star game selection, fourth place in Cy Young Award voting, and a 209 ERA+. Statistically, that meant Sale was more than twice as effective as the average AL pitcher in 2018.

Kershaw, meanwhile, was Kershaw.  In 26 starts for the National League champion Dodgers, he compiled only a 9-5 record with a dozen no-decisions, but did so on a 2.73 earned run average and while averaging nearly a strikeout per inning. That added up to a 142 ERA+.

Naturally, their respective managers selected Sale and Kershaw to open the 2018 World Series. The Dodgers tapped Sale for five hits and three runs in the first four innings, prompting Boston manager Alex Cora to remove his ace in the fifth, the game tied at 3-3.

When Kershaw got into immediate trouble in the bottom of the fifth, Dodger manager Dave Roberts did the same thing. His relief allowed both runners put on base by Kershaw to score, hanging him with an eventual 8-4 defeat.

Kershaw and Sale would both pitch in one more Series game, although they did not face each other. Kershaw started and lost the fifth and deciding game 5-1 to David Price. After Kershaw was lifted, Sale came on to pitch the ninth and record the Series-clinching out.

7. Christy Mathewson vs. Andy Coakley, Game 3, 1905, +375 ERA+

It is time to lament the World Series matchup that might have been.

In only the second playing of the Fall Classic, fans anticipated a collision between Mathewson and Philadelphia Athletics left-handed ace Rube Waddell. Matty had run up a 31-5 record and league-leading 1.28 earned run average for John McGraw’s Giants, working  338 innings for a 230 ERA+.

Waddell was the left-handed version of Mathewson. He had gone 27-10 for Connie Mack’s A’s with a  league-leading 1.48 ERA and an astonishing 287 strikeouts. It all added up to a 179 ERA+, giving Waddell and  Mathewson a combined score of 409.

Alas, the matchup never took place. Waddell was injured late in the season and did not pitch in the Series. Instead, Mathewson was pitted against Eddie Plank, Andy Coakley, and Chief Bender in his three World Series starts, all of them shutout victories.

Of the three, Coakley, at 145, had the best ERA+, making his third game meeting with Mathewson the most attractive. But the game proved to be no contest. Giants batters lit into Coakley for nine runs and nine hits, and since Mathewson wasn’t giving anybody anything that was more than enough to give New York the Series edge. They clinched two days later on Mathewson’s third straight shutout.

Three-Finger Brown vs. Nick Altrock, Games 1 and 4,1906, 376 ERA+

Much has been written about the strategic brilliance of White Sox manager Fielder Jones withholding his best pitcher, Ed Walsh. From a direct collision with Cubs ace Brown, opting instead to pit Walsh against lesser Cub hurlers.

It worked out because Jones actually had a plethora of quality options on the staff of his ‘Hitless Wonders.’ Nick Altrock, viewed today largely as a clown but a 20-game winner in 1906, rated a very acceptable 123.

Jones pitted Altrock against Brown twice in that Series, and Altrock proved the equal of the Cubs ace.

It was an achievement because Brown that year was as good as advertised. The right-hander with the deformed right hand-delivered a 26-6 record, a league-leading 1.04 ERA and a 253 ERA+ in 277 innings.

But his opponent, Altrock, was had gone 20-13 for the White Sox, with a 2.06 ERA in 30 starts.

In their Game 1 meeting, Altrock proved his mettle by beating Brown 2-1, both pitchers allowing just four hits.

Three days later, with the White Sox holding a two-games-to-one advantage, Brown and Altrock squared off again, Brown winning this time 1-0.

Two days after that, his favorites having lost the fifth game, Cubs manager Frank Chance was forced to send Brown out again, this time on just one day’s rest. More on that presently.

Spud Chandler vs. Max Lanier, Game 1, 1943, 376 ERA+

Because it was contested during the midst of World War II, by teams somewhat devoid of stars, the 1943 Series is often overlooked today. Yet its first game pitted two pitchers having spectacular seasons.

Chandler was the ace of that Yankee team, a 35-year-old veteran enjoying by far his best season. Chandler went 20-4 with a 1.64 ERA and 198 ERA+, making him nearly twice as good as the average American League pitcher.  They earned him a selection to that season’s All-Star team and, at season’s end, they also earned him the American League’s Most Valuable Player award.

Lanier was a 27-year-old right-hander who went 17-12 with a 1.90 ERA for the defending World Series champions. His 178 ERA+ was both a personal and league-best.

Naturally, Cardinal manager Billy Southworth selected Lanier to oppose Chandler in Game 1 of that year’s World Series.

Joe Gordon’s two-run fourth-inning home run gave the Yankees a 2-1 lead. But Lanier evened the score one inning later with a base hit that scored Ray Sanders. Then in the sixth, Lanier wild pitched the go-ahead run across, and Yankee catcher Bill Dickey drove home an insurance run to give Chandler a 4-2 decision.

Lanier earned a no-decision in the Series’ fourth game, a 2-1 Yankee victory. One day later, Chandler shut out the Cardinals to clinch the World Series win for the Yankees in five games.

Greg Maddux vs. Orel Hershiser, Games 1 and 5,1995, 381 ERA+

Of the many World Series appearances made by Atlanta’s Smoltz-Maddux-Glavine trio between 1991 and 2003, Maddux’s 1995 battle with Cleveland’s Orel Hershiser stands out.

During the regular season, Maddux had won 19 of his 21 decisions, 10 of them via complete games. His 1.63 ERA led the National League for the third straight year, and his 260 ERA+ rated him more than 2.5 times superior to the average National League hurler.

At age 36, Hershiser was not the pitcher he had been with the 1988 Dodgers, but he remained very good. His 16-6 record and 3.87 ERA in 26 starts translated to a 121 ERA+.

The two greats of their time matched up twice in that 1995 Series, which Atlanta won in six games. In the opener, Maddux beat Hershiser 3-2 as the Braves’ ace limited the Indians to just two hits. Hershiser allowed just three hits in his six-plus innings of work, but one of those hits was a Fred McGriff home run.

They met again in game 5, Cleveland trailing three-games-to-one and needing a victory to stay alive. Hershiser gave it to them, working eight innings of five-hit ball to beat Maddux 5-4.

That win, however, only delayed the inevitable. Two nights later, Glavine, with closer help from Mark Wohlers, shut out the Indians 1-0 to wrap up Atlanta’s only World Series championship.

Grover Cleveland Alexander vs. Ernie Shore, Game 1, 1915, 395 ERA+

The 1915 season was Hall of Famer Alexander’s heyday, running up statistics that seem implausible today. In 49 appearances – 42 of them starts – he compiled a 31-10 record and stunning 1.22 ERA. Alexander pitched 36 complete games, 12 of them shutouts, delivering 376 innings of workload.

In delivering the Philadelphia Phillies their first pennant in franchise history, he struck out 241 batters, all of that adding up to a 241 ERA+.

The American League champion Boston Red Sox didn’t have an Alexander, but they had plenty of pitching quality, led by Shore. His 19-8 regular season was built on a 1.64 ERA in 32 starts, 17 of them complete games. It added up to a 170 ERA+.

Shore and Alexander faced each other only once in that fall’s five-game World Series, but it was a classic. With Alexander scattering seven singles, the Phillies led 1-0 until Boston finally drew even on Duffy Lewis’s base hit following a walk to Tris Speaker in the top of the eighth.

To that point, Shore had in some ways been even better, holding the Phillies to just three singles. The Phils put two of those hits together to score their only run in the fourth. Then in the bottom of the eighth, the Phillies tapped Shore for the two decisive runs on a couple of walks plus two base hits.

Alexander thwarted Boston in the ninth to wrap up what would prove to be the Phillies; only win of that Series. Boston swept through the next four games, all by margins of one run. Alexander lost the third game 2-1 despite pitching a complete-game six-hitter, and Shore won Game 4 by an identical score.

Three-Finger Brown vs. Doc White, Game 6, 1906, 420 ERA+

Brown’s 1906 frustrations with ‘Hitless Wonder’ White Sox starter Nick Altrock have already been documented. But Altrock wasn’t the toughest opponent the Cubs Hall of Fame pitching great ran into that frustrating fall.

Statistically, the White Sox best pitcher that remarkable season was actually Guy Harris ‘Doc’ White, a 27-year-old left-hander. A practicing dentist with a degree from Georgetown – hence his nickname – White went 18-6 for the Sox in 1906 with a league-leading 1.52 ERA. That translated to a league-leading 167 ERA+ that was 32 points higher than his more celebrated teammate, Walsh.

In the World Series, Sox manager Fielder Jones assigned White to pitch the second game, where he ran into one of the great mound performances in Series history. The Cubs cuffed White around, but it probably wouldn’t have mattered because Cubs star Ed Reulbach threw a one-hitter, winning 7-1.

In the fifth game, White worked the final three innings in relief of Walsh, holding the Cubs to just one hit and posting what would be counted today as a save in the White Sox’ 8-6 win.

Although he had pitched three innings the previous day, Jones chose White to take the mound against Brown for the possible Game 6 clincher. It was no contest. The White Sox tormented Brown, who had pitched a complete game win two days earlier.  With eight of the first 14 Sox batters hitting safely, they gave White a -1 lead through just two innings.

White coasted from there, scattering seven hits in an 8-3 decision that provided one of the most anti-climactic endings in World Series history.

Bob Gibson vs. Denny McLain, Games 1 and 4, 1968, 452 ERA+

Between them, Gibson and McLain delivered two of baseball’s greatest pitching seasons in 1968. So it’s only right that their two meetings during the 1968 Fall Classic should rank as the definitional Clash of Mound Titans.

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Both seasons are legendary even today. Gibson went 22-9 for the Cardinals with a league-leading 1.12 ERA that still ranks among the best in all of baseball history. That drove his ERA+ to stratospheric heights, 258, the seventh-best of all time.

McLain, of course, became the last pitcher to win 30 games in a single season, His 31-6  record came atop a 1.96 ERA in 41 starts and 336 innings of work. That added up to a 154 ETA+.

The two aces met twice in the 1968 Series. Gibson dominated the opener, striking out 17 Tigers and shutting them out 4-0 on just five hits. McLain left for a pinch hitter in the sixth inning, having allowed three runs.

Four days later, with the Cardinals leading two-games-to-one, the aces squared off a second time.  If anything, this was even less of a contest. While the Cardinals extracted four runs and six hits out of McLain in the first three innings, Gibson stuck out 10 more Tigers in another complete-game win, this time by a score of 10-1.

When the Tigers came back to win the fifth game but still facing elimination, Tiger manager Mayo Smith opted to return his ace to the mound on just two days rest for Game 6. This time McLain delivered a complete game 13-1 win.

One day later, Gibson faced the Tigers for the third time, this time pitted against Mickey Lolich, who was also working on just two days of rest. Finally, in the seventh inning, the Tigers broke up the double shutout with a four-run outburst against Gibson and won the Series decider 4-1 on Lolich’s five-hitter.