The Pittsburgh Pirates swept the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend by scores of 9-1, 17-7 and 1-0. However, the story of the series came in the bottom of the second inning of game two.
That is when the Reds pitchers could not find the strike zone. For only the third time in Major League Baseball history, a team reached base on seven consecutive walks!
How could this happen? It actually did. With one out in the second inning, Reds starting pitcher Rhett Lowder of Albemarle, North Carolina allowed three straight walks, and then Reds relief pitcher Connor Phillips allowed four straight walks. The seven Pirates batters who walked were second baseman Brandon Lowe of Suffolk, Virginia, left fielder Bryan Reynolds of Baltimore, Maryland, right fielder Ryan O’Hearn of Dunedin, Florida, third baseman Nick Gonzales of Tucson, Arizona, designated hitter Marcell Ozuna of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, first baseman Spencer Horwitz of Timonium, Maryland, and rookie shortstop sensation Konnor Griffin of Jackson, Mississippi.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, The first time there were seven consecutive walks in an inning came on August 28, 1909 in a 6-4 Chicago White Sox win over the Washington Senators. Dolly Gray of Houghton, Michigan was the only Senators pitcher in the game as he allowed seven straight walks in the bottom of the second inning. All six runs the White Sox scored in the game came in the inning, and Gray had 11 walks in the game.
The second time there were seven consecutive walks in an inning came on My 25, 1983. In the bottom of the third inning, seven straight Braves batters reached base via a walk in a 6-0 Atlanta win over the Pittsburgh Pirates.
