San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn only had one three strikeout game in his career. It came against Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Bob Welch.
There are any number of fascinating statistics when it comes to San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn. Perhaps the most fascinating of those statistics is his ability to make contact – he only struck out twice in a game 34 times, and had just one three strikeout game in his career. To show how different the game has become, there were exactly 300 such games last season
That game happened on April 14, 1986. Facing the Los Angeles Dodgers and Bob Welch, Gwynn was 1-5, striking out three times in the contest. He would later say that Welch got him a fourth time, but the umpire blew the call, keeping Gwynn from ever having a four strikeout game.
In the end, Gwynn and the Padres had the last laugh. They won the game 4-3 in 11 innings, a game that Dodgers had been on the cusp of winning. Mariano Duncan led off the top of the 10th with a home run, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 lead heading into the bottom of the inning. Welch was still in the game at that point, and had gotten Gwynn to hit a fly ball to left, where defensive replacement Ken Landreaux made an error to put the Padres’ legend on second. A two out single by John Kruk tied the game, and Bruce Bochy won the contest with his homer to lead off the bottom of the 11th.
For Gwynn, 1986 was a typical season. He led the National League with 211 hits and 107 runs, producing a .329/.381/.467 batting line, hitting a then career high 14 homers and stealing 37 bases. Over his 701 plate appearances, he struck out just 35 times, making Welch’s performance in that April 14 game all the more impressive.
Welch had a solid year that season as well, although his record did not indicate as such. He finished the year with just a 7-13 record but deserved much better. In his 235.2 innings, he posted a 3.28 ERA and a 1.197 WHiP, striking out 183 batters with 55 walks.
Over the years, Welch had become known for two moments in his career. There was his time in the 1978 World Series, where he struck out Reggie Jackson on wild swings in Game Two, only to have Jackson get his vengeance in Game Six. Then there was his 1990 season with the Oakland A’s, where Welch won 27 games and took home the AL Cy Youn award.
For as impressive of a career as Bob Welch may have had, his greatest feat came as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 14, 1986. On that day, he became the only person to strike out San Diego Padres legend Tony Gwynn three times in a game.