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Ross Stripling has undoubtedly been one of the best stories of the 2018 baseball season. The consistency provided to an otherwise damaged rotation has been invaluable to a team that dug itself a big hole to climb out of early on.
Even when he was coming out of the bullpen in April, Stripling was ahead of the game. The right-hander made 11 appearances as a reliever over the first 31 games of the season and gave up only one run in 15 1⁄3 innings. Stripling stood out in a group that had an ERA near 5.00 to that point in the season.
But the 28-year-old really shined when he was permanently placed in the rotation in May.
In nine starts since May 6, Stripling has allowed just 12 runs (11 earned) in 53 innings and has had complete command of the strike zone. Stripling has walked only four while striking out 66 over that time for a whopping 16.5 strikeouts-to-walk ratio. 32.4% of batters to face Stripling on this run have ended their at-bat with a strikeout.
But here is the most impressive thing about Stripling at the moment. He has faced 112 since he last walked a batter on May 30 against the Phillies. Stripling currently has a streak of four straight starts without issuing a walk, which is something only 14 Dodgers pitchers have ever done.
If he gets through Tuesday’s start without allowing a walk, Stripling will join only four other pitchers in Dodgers history to have done it in five straight.
Consecutive Starts No Walks
| Player | Year | GS | SO | BB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Year | GS | SO | BB |
| Orel Hershiser | 1991 | 6 | 18 | 0 |
| Don Drysdale | 1966 | 6 | 21 | 0 |
| Don Drysdale | 1962 | 5 | 27 | 0 |
| Dutch Leonard | 1934 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| Tom Zachary | 1934 | 5 | 10 | 0 |
It should be noted that Tom Zachary walked four batters in a relief appearance between starts in his streak.
Just for good measure, no Dodger pitcher has completed an entire calendar month without allowing a walk while starting five games or more.
Here is a list of pitchers that have accomplished just that in baseball since 1908:
No Walks in a Month
| Player | Month | Year | GS | SO | BB | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BF | WHIP | SO9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Month | Year | GS | SO | BB | ERA | IP | H | R | ER | BF | WHIP | SO9 |
| Mike Leake | July | 2016 | 5 | 31 | 0 | 5.70 | 30.0 | 40 | 20 | 19 | 126 | 1.333 | 9.3 |
| Hiroki Kuroda | Sept/Oct | 2014 | 5 | 34 | 0 | 2.81 | 32.0 | 29 | 11 | 10 | 125 | 0.906 | 9.6 |
| Phil Hughes | May | 2014 | 5 | 24 | 0 | 1.62 | 33.1 | 34 | 6 | 6 | 132 | 1.020 | 6.5 |
| Kevin Slowey | Sept/Oct | 2011 | 5 | 17 | 0 | 7.57 | 27.1 | 37 | 23 | 23 | 119 | 1.354 | 5.6 |
| Greg Maddux | August | 2007 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 2.37 | 38.0 | 37 | 10 | 10 | 150 | 0.974 | 5.0 |
| Paul Byrd | May | 2007 | 6 | 21 | 0 | 3.60 | 40.0 | 49 | 17 | 16 | 167 | 1.225 | 4.7 |
| Jon Lieber | Sept/Oct | 2006 | 6 | 22 | 0 | 4.33 | 35.1 | 42 | 18 | 17 | 149 | 1.189 | 5.6 |
| Javier Vazquez | May | 2005 | 6 | 39 | 0 | 2.15 | 46.0 | 41 | 11 | 11 | 181 | 0.891 | 7.6 |
| Greg Maddux | July | 2001 | 5 | 26 | 0 | 2.82 | 38.1 | 37 | 12 | 12 | 147 | 0.965 | 6.1 |
| Eric Hillman | July | 1993 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 2.86 | 34.2 | 34 | 12 | 11 | 134 | 0.981 | 3.9 |
| Luis Tiant | August | 1977 | 5 | 23 | 0 | 4.97 | 29.0 | 38 | 16 | 16 | 117 | 1.310 | 7.1 |
| Ken Raffensberger | July | 1950 | 6 | 14 | 0 | 3.79 | 40.1 | 43 | 21 | 17 | 166 | 1.066 | 3.1 |
| Red Lucas | Sept/Oct | 1933 | 6 | 9 | 0 | 3.77 | 43.0 | 58 | 22 | 18 | 183 | 1.349 | 1.9 |
| Babe Adams | July | 1922 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 4.72 | 34.1 | 45 | 21 | 18 | 144 | 1.311 | 2.4 |
It’s amazing enough when a starter gets through one start without walking a batter, let alone five like Stripling goes for Tuesday.