Sometimes there has to be an ending.
Although the recent Strat-o-Matic 1970s Cy Young Tournament on Press Room Pass was won by Randy Jones of the 1976 San Diego Padres, there seemed to be something missing.
Jones won all of of his tournament contests and didn’t allow a run for 36 straight innings.
Could there be more scoreless innings? That was the question to be asked as Jones and his teammates would face the 1975 Boston Red Sox, which won the 1970s Diamond Gems Tournament.
The answer turned out to be yes, but the game didn’t end well for the Padres as the Red Sox won 5-3.
A RBI single by Rico Petrocelli with two outs in the fourth ended the streak by Jones at 39⅔ innings, which is pretty remarkable even in a fantasy game.
Prior to Petrocelli’s hit, the Padres had scored twice in the second and once in the third to build a 3-0 advantage.
Enzo Hernandez drove in two runs with a single in the second, while Dave Winfield added a sacrifice fly in the third.
Boston added another run in the fifth on a ground out by Fred Lynn as the Padres led 3-2.
The score remained the same until the Red Sox had three straight singles off Jones with one out in the top of the ninth inning as he was pulled from the contest in favor of Butch Metzger.
With the bases loaded, Metzger gave a up a run on a single that was hit back to the mound by pinch-hitter Cecil Cooper to tie it at 3-3.
Lynn’s sacrifice fly put the Red Sox on top before Carl Yastrzemski added an insurance run with a single.
The Padres had an opportunity in the bottom of the ninth against Boston reliever Dick Drago.
Doug Rader and Fred Kendall got things underway with back-to-back singles before Hernandez lined out.
Drago ended the rally by inducing pinch-hitter Jerry Turner to hit into a double play to earn the save.
Luis Tiant went eight innings for Boston to get the win as he allowed nine hits, hit a batter and fanned six.
Jones would be charged with all five runs as he also gave up nine hits with five strikeouts.
Overall in his five outings, Jones went 4-1 surrendering five runs on 27 hits with four walks and nine strikeouts in 44 innings for a 1.02 ERA.
1970s Cy Young Tournament
Jones defeated the 1971 Chicago Cubs 6-0 in the championship game with a four-hitter to complete his run though four starts allowing 18 hits in 36 innings with four walks and four strikeouts.
The other wins were over the 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers (3-0), the 1972 Cleveland Indians (1-0) and the 1977 New York Yankees 1-0.
In Real Life
Along with Nate Colbert and former team owner Ray Kroc, Jones was part of the first induction class for the San Diego Padres Hall of the Fame in 1999.
Jones won the 1976 Cy Young Award and started the all-star game for the National League that season as he posted a 22–14 mark with a 2.74 ERA.
The lefty played for the Padres from 1973-1980 before finishing his career with the New York Mets in 1981-1982 with an overall record of 100-123.