In today’s game, going the full nine innings is almost unheard of in Major League Baseball. During lefty Dontrelle Willis‘ prime, however, it was far from unusual for the Florida Marlins’ ace.
Not only could Willis pitch deep into games, but he pitched well in those contests. On this day 20 years ago, Willis tied A.J. Burnett‘s Marlins record with his fifth shutout of the year in a 6-0 win over the San Diego Padres.
Willis had his fair share of strikeouts, but at Dolphins Stadium on Aug. 17, 2005, pitching to contact proved to be a fruitful endeavor. Thanks to three double plays over the first five innings, Willis faced just one batter over the minimum through seven innings.
At the plate, the Marlins wasted little time giving their lefty starter the lead. After Jeff Conine drew a two-out walk from San Diego’s Woody Williams in the bottom of the first, Carlos Delgado followed with a two-run home run to put Florida ahead to stay.
In the bottom of the second, the Marlins tripled their lead to 6-0 by pushing across four runs. Willis helped himself with a two-run double on the first pitch he saw at the plate before scoring on Juan Pierre‘s RBI triple. Damion Easley followed with a sacrifice fly. That would be all the scoring and all that Willis needed.
The Padres didn’t put a runner in scoring position until the top of the ninth when Damian Jackson doubled with one out. Willis buckled down to get Joe Randa to ground out. Eric Young Sr. popped out to end the contest and give Willis his sixth complete game and fifth shutout of the year.
For the night, Willis allowed just three hits and one walk while striking out three. He completed the game on an economical 109 pitches. Willis didn’t throw more than 15 pitches in any inning.
For the 2005 season, Willis would lead all of baseball with seven complete games and five shutouts. His final shutout tied the record set by A.J. Burnett in 2002 and came on this day two decades ago.