Here's how Hershiser's historic streak happened

When the calendar turned to September in 1988, Orel Hershiser was already having a great season for the Dodgers. To that point, he had a 2.84 ERA through 29 games (28 starts) and his second career All-Star appearance under his belt. He finished off August strong, firing three consecutive complete games with a total of four earned runs.

Then, he kicked things into another gear -- one that took him all the way into the record books.

It is absurdly difficult to keep a scoreless-innings streak going for a prolonged stretch, even for the most talented of Major League pitchers. One hanging pitch or some bad small-ball luck and boom, it’s over. According to Baseball Almanac, in AL/NL history going back to 1901, there have been a total of 24 scoreless streaks that surpassed 40 innings; just four of those ended up going more than 50 (including that of the previous record holder, Don Drysdale, with 58 straight in ’68).

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Hershiser himself understood how monumental an undertaking this was.

“I remember last year, I think, somebody had a survey asking players what they thought the most unbeatable records are,” Hershiser told the Los Angeles Times in 1988. “I voted for [Drysdale’s scoreless-innings streak] first, because of all the circumstances [in which] they can score a run.”

So the odds were against Hershiser, even as one of his era’s best pitchers at the peak of his career. But the “Bulldog” defied those odds, becoming all but untouchable for that magical month.

Coming off those three complete games to close out August, Hershiser tallied five consecutive shutouts in September. He would have had a sixth straight if he’d gotten any more offensive support in his final regular-season start on Sept. 28, a 10-inning, 116-pitch effort that the Dodgers ultimately lost in 16. But of course, that one extra inning was the record-breaking one. So while he wouldn’t add on to his Major League-leading totals in complete games (15) and shutouts (eight), he got something bigger: immortality in the form of a record that might never be broken.

The run sealed Hershiser as the unanimous National League Cy Young Award winner for 1988. It also set him up for a stellar postseason that ended with a World Series ring, as well as the NL Championship Series and World Series MVP Awards. Although it doesn’t count for his streak, Hershiser blanked the Mets for eight frames to open Game 1 of the NLCS, making it 67 straight scoreless innings before he finally allowed a run, which he did in the top of the ninth. (The streak officially ended at 59, as he allowed a run in his first inning of the 1989 regular season.)

How exactly did he do it? How many times did he come close to losing it? Here’s a game-by-game look at Hershiser’s scoreless streak:

Game 1: Aug. 30, Stade Olympique
Final: Dodgers 4, Expos 2
Innings total: 4

Hershiser allowed a pair of RBI hits with two outs in the fifth, which would be the final two runs he allowed during the 1988 regular season. Afterward, he settled in to hold Montreal scoreless for the last four innings of the game -- and the first four of his streak.

Game 2: Sept. 5, Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium
Final: Dodgers 3, Braves 0
Innings total: 13

The first of Hershiser’s five consecutive shutouts came against a Braves lineup that included the formidable Dale Murphy (albeit in the declining phase of his career) and All-Star first baseman Gerald Perry. By Game Score, it was the best start of Hershiser’s streak, with eight strikeouts and just five baserunners allowed (four hits, one walk). Two runners got as far as second base, but besides that, Hershiser faced no major traffic and cruised to the victory.

Game 3: Sept. 10, Dodger Stadium
Final: Dodgers 5, Reds 0
Innings total: 22

This was the most precarious of Hershiser’s starts, with a total of 10 batters reaching (seven hits, three walks). The biggest jam came in the top of the third, when Hershiser allowed a pair of two-out singles then issued a walk to load the bases. But he got Eric Davis to strike out swinging, and from there managed to scatter the other baserunners enough to not let Cincinnati get anything going.

Game 4: Sept. 14, Dodger Stadium
Final: Dodgers 1, Braves 0
Innings total: 31

Hershiser saw a lineup very similar to the one he’d seen nine days prior in Atlanta, but that familiarity didn’t help the Braves much. Hershiser was nearly as dominant this time out, striking out eight once more with six hits and two walks. Hershiser ran into a spot of trouble in the seventh when Andres Thomas doubled to open the frame, then advanced to third on an error. A groundout to first, an intentional walk, a strikeout and a flyout to left ended the threat and kept Hershiser’s streak intact.

Game 5: Sept. 19, The Astrodome
Final: Dodgers 1, Astros 0
Innings total: 40

Once again, Hershiser got the bare minimum in offensive support, but he made it stand with yet another gem. His only real jam came in the first, when Kevin Bass hit a two-out single, stole second and took third on an error. But Hershiser got a big groundout to escape unscathed, and the one run the Dodgers scored in the seventh would be all he needed on his way to that milestone 40-inning mark.

At this point, Hershiser was still skeptical about his ability to get the record. As reported by the Los Angeles Times’ Sam McManis, Hershiser noted that he would need to throw a shutout in each of his final two starts of the season, and even if he did, he’d be an inning shy of sole possession of the record. (And asking manager Tommy Lasorda to put him in for an inning of relief with the playoffs looming? Forget it!)

“I doubt it can be done,” Hershiser told the L.A. Times. “I really do. I’ve always said that that might be the one record that would never be broken. I’m not just trying to jinx myself or anything. But it’s true.”

Game 6: Sept. 23, Candlestick Park
Final: Dodgers 3, Giants 0
Innings total: 49

In enemy territory, Hershiser came very close to his streak ending at 43 innings when he found himself in a first-and-third situation with just one out in the third. Ernie Riles hit a grounder to second, which looked like an easy double-play ball, but Dodgers shortstop Alfredo Griffin threw wildly to first, allowing Jose Uribe to cross the plate safely … or so it seemed. As it turned out, Brett Butler’s wide slide into second was ruled interference, giving L.A. the double play after all and taking that run off the board.

Hershiser kept the Giants in check from there, with no one getting beyond second base for the remainder of the game.

“I still think it’s a long shot,” Hershiser told the L.A. Times after this start. “But there is a chance. It’s one game, one shutout. I’m pretty relaxed, actually, compared to before the last one … because the record [then] seemed so far away.”

Game 7: Sept. 28, Jack Murphy Stadium
Final: Padres 2, Dodgers 1 (16 innings)
Innings total: 59

Hershiser entered this start needing another nine scoreless innings to tie Drysdale, and one more to break the record. As luck would have it, the Padres’ Andy Hawkins had his best start of the season that night. While Hershiser was putting up zeros, Hawkins was too. After Hawkins delivered a scoreless top of the ninth, Hershiser responded with a 1-2-3 bottom half of the frame, meaning he would get that chance -- though he admitted after the game that, initially, he was content to stay tied with Drysdale, and it took some convincing from Lasorda to get him to go back out there.

Although he was already at 98 pitches, the bottom of the 10th was the first time all night that Hershiser really had to break a sweat. The first batter, Marvell Wynne, struck out swinging but reached on a wild pitch. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, then took third on a grounder to short. Hershiser intentionally walked Garry Templeton to face Keith Moreland, who flied out on a 1-2 pitch.

With that, Hershiser walked off the mound officially holding the record for longest scoreless streak in AL/NL history. And who else was there to greet the Bulldog with a hug but Don Drysdale himself? At the time, Drysdale was working as a broadcaster for the Dodgers; he watched that fateful final inning from Los Angeles’ dugout, and was genuinely happy it was Hershiser who dethroned him.

“At least it stays in the family,” Drysdale told the L.A. Times.