Wednesday, April 16, was the lowest scoring day of 2014 in which more than one game was played.
| Game Date | Runs Scored | Games | Runs per Game | Home Runs | HR per Game | Strikeouts per 9 IP |
| 2014-03-30 | 4 | 1 | 4.00 | 1 | 1.00 | 10.06 |
| 2014-04-16 | 83 | 15 | 5.53 | 19 | 1.27 | 7.49 |
| 2014-04-02 | 99 | 16 | 6.19 | 20 | 1.25 | 8.31 |
| 2014-04-06 | 106 | 15 | 7.07 | 22 | 1.47 | 6.82 |
| 2014-04-01 | 58 | 8 | 7.25 | 13 | 1.63 | 8.08 |
| 2014-04-11 | 117 | 15 | 7.80 | 23 | 1.53 | 8.65 |
| 2014-04-05 | 119 | 15 | 7.93 | 28 | 1.87 | 8.46 |
| 2014-03-22 | 16 | 2 | 8.00 | 2 | 1.00 | 9.00 |
| 2014-04-07 | 56 | 7 | 8.00 | 6 | 0.86 | 6.47 |
| 2014-04-12 | 128 | 15 | 8.53 | 33 | 2.20 | 8.04 |
| 2014-04-10 | 78 | 9 | 8.67 | 21 | 2.33 | 9.84 |
| 2014-04-15 | 96 | 11 | 8.73 | 20 | 1.82 | 7.93 |
| 2014-04-13 | 132 | 15 | 8.80 | 42 | 2.80 | 7.88 |
| 2014-03-31 | 116 | 13 | 8.92 | 24 | 1.85 | 8.52 |
| 2014-04-09 | 143 | 16 | 8.94 | 36 | 2.25 | 8.56 |
| 2014-04-14 | 85 | 9 | 9.44 | 27 | 3.00 | 7.99 |
| 2014-04-03 | 100 | 10 | 10.00 | 18 | 1.80 | 7.52 |
| 2014-04-04 | 143 | 14 | 10.21 | 31 | 2.21 | 7.78 |
| 2014-04-08 | 147 | 14 | 10.50 | 30 | 2.14 | 8.15 |
It was a very unusual day, as there were five shutouts, including a double header shutout in which the Cubs didn’t score against the Yankees, a 1-0 game, a 2-0 game, two 3-0 games, and a 4-0 game. The shutouts weren’t exactly blowouts. The most runs scored in a game was 10, and both those games went extra innings. (Three of the four games with at least nine runs scored went extra innings.)
The most interesting thing to me, however, is the strikeout per 9 IP column. That’s also one of the lowest values of the season. High strikeout games tend to be low scoring, since there is not much chance of balls finding holes. They never get a chance to find fielders. The walk rate was one of the lowest of the season at 2.74 per 9 IP (second lowest of the season), but the defense had to play well, too. I’ve heard some reporting on the increased use of defensive shifts in use this season, and they may very well be working to drive down scoring. Yesterday looks like a prime example. With low Ks and BBs, there were plenty of balls in play. Fielders did a good job of turning them into outs.
Yankees did employ the shift against the Cubs, to a degree I haven’t seen before. Yankee broadcasters even noted it.
But it was also a cold day.
Lowest walks of season, even though the Red Sox walked 15 (15!) times
Wasn’t a particularly low strikeout day at all compared to the season so far. 8.15 K’s per team per nine innings is right in line with 2014’s complete pitcher strangulation of the game.
Of course, compared to baseball history, the day was a ridiculous K-fest. The huge zone continues to take its toll on the hitters, with balls well off the “corner” routinely called strikes.
As long as the umps let the pitchers dominate completely, we’ll continue to drive down runs scored per game. Defensive shifts may have a little to do with it. But the zone is the main culprit.
Not so coincidentally, baseball is down in attendance again, too. (Check the Baseball Reference tracker.) As long as the pitchers dominate, expect ticket sales to continue the flat to down trend of the past six seasons.
The only real question is whether baseball will tumble into outright deadball territory, below eight runs per game. The sport has been headed there for many years now, as offense has dropped season after season. This could be the year when “official” deadball arrives.
My prediction of a record number of 1-0 games is looking good right now. We’ve had ten of them so far, or 4.5% of all games played. That percentage would produce 110 1-0 games for a full season, which would bury the all-time record set back in the original deadball era.
By the way, we’re into the fourth inning in each of today’s first three games. Total runs scored: zero.
Hallelujah! David Murphy – a player I like a lot, he should help Cleveland – singles in a run for the Tribe. We’re on the board.
Yankees were eighth in use of shifts last year but they have amped it up for sure. Mick Kelleher is in charge of positioning NY infielders and Michael Fishman provides him with the data.
Another team, adding personnel, specifically to pour through data and position players.