Early Wynn found out early that he wouldn’t throw a no-hitter on May 1, 1959.
It was the second batter of the first inning ruined the party as Boston’s Pete Runnels singled against the Chicago White Sox ace as the Red Sox visited Comisky Park.
What no one knew at the time was that would be the only hit for the Red Sox as the White Sox would go on to win 1-0.
Wynn fanned 14 hitters in the complete game victory, but that’s not what makes this game unusual for the future Hall of Fame pitcher.
This day was all about Wynn, who was on his way to winning the Cy Young Award that season.
With Tom Brewer on the mound for the Red Sox, the right hander had limited Chicago to four hits in the scoreless affair as Wynn came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth.
Having already doubled in the sixth, Wynn drilled a solo homer for the only run of the contest making him one of 14 pitchers to hit a homer in a 1-0 victory.
Wynn closed out the contest with a perfect ninth with a pair of strikeouts.
The victory gave Wynn a 3-1 mark up to that point. He went on to start in the all-star game on the way to posting an American League best 22-10 record. He beat out Sam Jones of the San Francisco Giants and teammate Bob Shaw for the Cy Young Award.
Chicago would win the AL pennant before falling to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series as Wynn would finish third in the balloting for the Most Valuable Player behind teammates Nellie Fox and Luis Aparicio.
Wynn ended his career with five 20-win seasons in 23 years as he finished with a 300-244 record.
Enshirned in Cooperstown in 1972, Wynn began his career in 1939 with the Washington Senators. After a year in the minors, he returned to the Senators from 1941 to 1948. He served in the military during the 1945 season.
Traded to Cleveland prior to the 1949 season, Wynn helped the Indians reach to the World Series in 1954 as he was on a staff with fellow Hall of Fame inductees Bob Lemon and Bob Feller.
He played for the Indians until he was sent to the White Sox before the 1958 season. He stayed with Chicago until his final season in 1963 when he returned to the Indians and earned his 300th win.
The Latest
The most recent hurler to accomplish the feat providing a game’s only run with a homer was Noah Syndergaard of the New York Mets.
Syndergaard did it against the Cincinnati Reds last season on May 2.
Other pitchers who have homered in a 1-0 victory are Harry McCormick, Tom Hughes, Gene Packard, Red Ruffing, Spud Chandler, Milt Pappas, Johnny Klippstein, Jim Bunning, Juan Pizarro, Bob Welch, Odalis Perez and Yovani Gallardo.
The Strikeouts
Syndergaard had 10 strikeouts against the Reds last year becoming the fourth pitcher to reach that mark in this type of game as he joined Wynn (14), Ruffing (12) and Gallardo (11).